Philip Anselmo

LIVE SHOW REVIEW: DANZIG & DOWN At The Forum- 3.28.25

I love when it’s been a long while since you’ve seen a certain band live, then you go to the show and it’s just what you wanted it to be and even a little bit more too, since it’s been that long in between shows. This past weekend I went to see Danzig (who I haven’t seen live since 2013) and one of my all time favorite bands, Down (who I haven’t seen live in almost 10 years) at The Forum. What a show it was too. Also playing this evening were Abbath (first time seeing them live) and Cro-Mags (didn’t catch them). The Forum over the last decade plus has really stepped up their game in terms of sound, and the shows they hold. Getting to see Down here was quite special (think the last time they played the Forum was when they were on tour with Heaven And Hell (Dio era Black Sabbath).

First band I saw of the evening was Abbath. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a black metal band play and they sure were good. I forgot that the main guy was also previously in Immortal. Abbath was a good choice for this show (just thought of this, why wasn’t this tour billed as the new Blackest Of The Black tour- I’ll have to inquire). It was nice to see Norwegian Black Metal still thriving and destroying. Though I didn’t see Cro-Mags, the 1, 2 punch of Hardcore Punk then Black Metal is quite the way to open a show.


Now the part that really got me, DOWN!!! I love Down. I actually get into arguments with people because I like Down more than I like Pantera. To me Down just has more substance and depth. There’s nothing like seeing Down live and firing on all cylinders. It’s truly a magical thing to see and hear. Playing songs mainly from their classic debut, NOLA, as well as a couple from their second album, Down had the crowd in the palm of their hand for the hour they were on stage. The moment they all took the stage and the first notes of “Lysergic Funeral Procession” began, you knew that you were in for one hell of a set. From there it was just classic after classic. It’s always a pleasure to hear favorites of mine like “Losing All,” “Ghosts Along The Mississippi,” one of the best Track One’s of all time “Temptation’s Wings,” and one of the best closers too in “Bury Me In Smoke.” I also love that during the “Bury Me In Smoke” Phil sang the a bit of “Nothing In Return (Walk Away)” and that absolutely was a special moment. I love that song. It’s so epic that it too should be played live! Down was on fire and everyone sounded killer. Watching Philip, Pepper, Kirk, Jimmy and Pat on stage truly having fun and ripping through a great set like that is why I love going to concerts and seeing my favorite bands, Down especially!


Danzig headlined this evening and by the time he went on and the lights went down, it was sure time for things to get a bit darker. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Danzig live. The last time was probably the best Danzig show I have ever seen. This show is right up there though. There’s such a fun theatricalness to a Danzig show that it keeps you into it. Knowing his audience well, the set consisted of songs mostly from the first 3 albums with a few scattered ones from Danzig IV, Circle Of Snakes, and Deth Red Sabaoth. Personally I love Danzig III so getting to hear any of the songs from that album is a joy for me. The performance this evening of “How The Gods Kill” was great (you can watch it on the Audioeclectica Instagram page). Glenn is still one hell of a frontman and when he’s on like he was this evening, it’s pretty spectacular. Joining Glenn on stage was longtime Danzig collaborator and Prong’s Tommy Victor on guitar, Samhain’s Steve Zing on bass and Karl Rosquist on drums. Watching the crowd get into the show song by song was interesting. You could tell who knew more than just a handful of songs. Either way, it was a great bill all around.

DOWN Set List:
01) Lysergik Funeral Procession
02) Lifer
03) Hail The Leaf
04) Ghosts Along The Mississippi
05) Pillars Of Eternity
06) Temptation’s Wings
07) Stone The Crow
08) Eyes Of The South
09) Bury Me In Smoke

DANZIG Set List:
01) Skin Carver
02) Brand New God
03) Twist Of Cain
04) Evil Thing
05) Hammer Of The Gods
06) How The Gods Kill
07) Her Black Wings
08) Killer Wolf
09) Black Hell
10) Tired Of Being Alive
11) The Hunter (Albert King Cover)
12) Am I Demon
13) Not Of This World
14) Mother
ENCORE:
15) She Rides
16) Dirty Black Summer
17) Do You Wear The Mark

DOWN PHOTOS:








DANZIG PHOTOS:

Track One: Down- Temptation’s Wings

I thought I’d start off the new year with a great song and a killer track one to boot. I will never forget the first time I heard this song. I was 13 years old and I was chatting with one of the guys who worked at the Tower Records in my town. I recall our conversation swinging toward Pantera as I was also looking to get their live album that was out. The guy said instead of getting the 101 Proof album I should check out this other album which had Philip in it as well. The guy even went and put the CD on in the store and then a couple moments later, the CD was in my hand and in my discman back in the car on the way home. From that point on I’ve been a huge Down fan. So much so that I prefer listening to Down over Pantera. Yes it’s true but, that’s for a whole other topic for another day. The first song, “Temptation’s Wings” is one of those track one’s that the moment you first hear it, you already know you’re going to like what’s to come and the want for more just grows and grows. Interestingly, this song dates back to about 1990/1991 when Down first came to fruition. It’s got this great Sabbath meets Zeppelin vibe with a great bit of Southern Rock charm. Put it this way, I would put this song in my top 25 favorite track one’s! Looking forward to seeing Down in 2025 and having a new album out later this year. If you aren’t familiar with Down, you should rectify that and quick!

Down- Temptation’s Wings:

Down- Down I- NOLA:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SG82oeXCclA&list=OLAK5uy_kj_nOYGgi9xj7tZ-yxXZ6pWH90CL_sw3o

2020 End Of The Year Lists: Best Vocalist
audioeclectica-radio-logo

Next up on Audioeclectica.com’s 2020 End Of The Year Lists, the Top 10 Vocalists The stipulation is that, an album/EP had to have been released this year.

Vote for your favorite in the comments section. At the end of the month, I will release the results of the readers poll.

This list is also in NO PARTICULAR ORDER!!!


01) Greg Puciato- Greg Puciato/Killer Be Killed
02) Billy Corgan- The Smashing Pumpkins
03) Lance Black- In Parallel
04) Philip H. Anselmo- En Minor
05) EL-P & Killer Mike- Run The Jewels
06) Kadeem France & Erik Bickerstaffe- Loathe
07) Jacob Bannon- Umbra Vitae
08) Gavin Rossdale- Bush
09) Chelsea Wolfe- Mrs. Piss
10) Anthony Paganelli, Lance Jackman, Jess Gowrie & Lennon Hudson- Horseneck

Live Review: Slayer, Primus, Ministry, Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals at The Forum

78957011_10220865083394762_6172269283146465280_o.jpg

This past weekend were the “Final” Slayer shows. It was very appropriate that they close it out in Los Angeles, seeing as though they are from the great LA area. What was originally going to be one show, turned to two after the first night sold out immediately. Then they announced the lineup of the show. Slayer would be joined by one of the most diverse lineups they’ve played in years. Primus was direct support along with Ministry and Philip H. Anselmo and The Illegals performing nothing but Pantera songs.

 

The night began with a ferocious set by Philip H. Anselmo and The Illegals. Their short but sweet set was the highlight of the night (other than Slayer of course). For 30 minutes, they really delivered the goods as they ran through their Pantera set. Starting with “Mouth For War” was a great idea as it really got the crowd pumped. “Becoming,” “I’m Broken,” and “Strength Beyond Strength” were absolutely killer as well. During “Fucking Hostile” Anthrax’s Charlie Benante joined the band on the drums and that one just about crushed the pit. “This Love” was a great choice to play as well, with actor Jason Momoa running out on stage with his kids to sing along. Closing out their set was “A New Level” and they really knocked it out of the park with this one. Phil was absolutely on and sounded terrific. The guys in The Illegals really did a stellar job with these songs. Having Phil and The Illegals open up this show was the perfect choice.

 

Ministry was up next and they were pretty solid. Though they played the same exact set as the did the night before. It had been a minute since I last saw Ministry live and with an entirely different lineup. One of the best parts of seeing Ministry this go round was that on bass they have Paul D’Amor, who you might recognize as the original bassist for Tool. Watching him onstage going all out was pretty great. The band’s set was all classic songs like “Stigmata,” “Just One Fix,” “Thieves,” The Missing” and “Jesus Built My Hotrod,” so that made this pretty cool. It was just lacking something that I can’t quite put the right words to.

Primus was right before Slayer. It was definitely an interesting choice. Throughout their set, you could sense that something was a bit off. The crowd was losing interest and the energy was sort of being sucked out of the room the longer they played. I even fell asleep for a good 10-15 minutes during their set. Primus are a good band and great musicians. I can also see why they were asked to be a part of this tour due to the long history they have with the guys in Slayer but, they really really zapped the room almost out of the show.

Thankfully it wasn’t long until Slayer took the stage and the place went ape shit. A short video preceded the band coming on stage. The video featured fans thanking the band for all the years of music and blah blah blah… FUCKING SLAYER!!! Then, the lights came down and the visuals started and bang, right into “South Of Heaven.” For the next almost 2 hours, Slayer ripped through songs like “Repentless,” Postmortem,” “War Ensemble,” “Stain of Mind” Disciple,” “Seasons In The Abyss,” “Hell Awaits,” “Dead Skin Mask” and “Chemical Warfare.” Gary Holt was absolutely ripping it up on his leads and seemed to be having one hell of a great time playing. Tom Araya seemed to be very contemplative as his sang and played. Throughout the set, he couldn’t help but smile as he took it all in. Paul Bostaph was straight up killing it on the drums. And Kerry King was very locked into his playing but, even he seemed to be enjoying the moment a bit too. Ending their set with the trifecta of “Raining Blood,” “Mandatory Suicide” and “Angel Of Death” was pretty awesome

 

It was a very somber yet exciting night. If this is truly Slayer’s last show, they went out with quite a bang. For a band that’s been at it this hard for over 30 plus years, it’s never easy but, when you have a fan base as dedicated and die hard as Slayer fans are, it makes it all worth while. Sure I would have liked to hear a few other songs other than some of what they picked to play but, that’s ok, I got the favorites I wanted. I’ve seen Slayer many times over the years and this was one hell of a show. The Forum was a great place to see them close it out. Thank you Slayer for all the years of heavy tunes and inspiration! You will be missed

 

Slayer Set List:

01) South Of Heaven
02) Repentless
03) Postmortem
04) World Painted Blood
05) Hate Worldwide
06) War Ensemble
07) Stain Of Mind
08) Disciple
09) When The Stillness Comes
10) Born Of Fire
11) Payback
12) Seasons In The Abyss
13) Jesus Saves
14) Chemical Warfare
15) Hell Awaits
16) Dead Skin Mask
17) Show No Mercy
18) Raining Blood
19) Mandatory Suicide
20 ) Angel Of Death

Primus Set List:
01) Those Damned Blue Collar Tweekers
02) Too Many Puppies
03) Sgt. Baker
04) The Seven
05) Cygnus X-1
06) Southbound Pachyderm
07) Mr. Krinkle
08) Welcome To This World
09) Professor Nutbutter’s House Of Treats
10) My Name Is Mud
11) Jerry Was A Race Car Driver

 

Ministry Set List:

01) The Missing
02) Deity
03) Stigmata
04) Supernaut (Black Sabbath Cover)
05) Just One Fix
06) N.W.O.
07) Thieves
08) Jesus Built My Hotrod

Philip H. Anselmo and The Illegals Set List:
01) Mouth For War
02) Becoming
03) I’m Broken
04) Goddamn Electric
05) Strength Beyond Strength
06) Fucking Hostile (with Charlie Benante)
07) This Love
08) A New Level

Against The Grain: Scour

13174078_1731432720464116_5692688053123460728_n.jpg

There are certain genres of heavy music that most people just don’t get. In fact most people would give you “the look” if they heard what you were listening to. One of the best things about being into heavy music is the matter of not caring what people think about what you listen to. Which brings me to Scour. This band is a “supergroup” consisting of Philip H. Anselmo (Pantera, Down, Superjoint, etc) – vocals, Derek Engemann (CATTLE DECAPITATION) -Guitar, Chase Fraser (ANIMOSITY) – Guitar, John Jarvis (PIG DESTROYER) – Bass, and Jesse Schobel (STRONG INTENTION) – Drums. Their debut E.P. sounds nothing like their main projects. Their sound can be derived from influences of the  ’90s Scandinavian black metal movement. The six songs that appear on the E.P. are nothing short of heavy, dark, and pummeling. The songs “Dispatched,” “Clot,” “Codes,” and “Tear Gas,” all exemplify what modern day black metal with a bit of thrash should sound like.

For all his faults and tendencies to put his foot in his mouth, Philip Anselmo, has delivered one of his best vocal performances on an album in some time. His ferocious growls and screams are right in line with how black metal vocals should sound. Musically this band is top notch. I for one would love to see them have time to really work together and create a full length album.

So if you are looking for something different and heavy, then Scour is what you need.

 

Scour- The Grey EP:

Unsung Masterpieces: Pantera- The Great Southern Trendkill
232

There are certain albums in every bands catalog that get overlooked. Most people when they talk about Pantera talk about Vulgar Display of Power and Far Beyond Driven. In 1996, amongst a lot of band tension, Pantera was able to put together their most brutal and honest album The Great Southern Trendkill. This album is known for relentless screaming throughout the album most notably on “Suicide Note Pt.II.” Also featured on the album are some of the fastest tempos and most down-tuned guitars that the band ever recorded. It also has a more experimental nature to its songs, such as the acoustic guitar and keyboard-laden “Suicide Note Pt. I”, the long breakdowns in the middle or near the end of songs like “Suicide Note Pt. II”, “Sandblasted Skin”, “Drag The Waters” and “War Nerve”. Some of the more intricate vocals that Philip Anselmo has doen can be heard on songs such as “Suicide Note Pt. II”, “The Underground In America”, “Sandblasted Skin”, “War Nerve” and “Living Through Me (Hell’s Wrath)”. A very interesting fact about the making of Trendkill was that Phil Anselmo recorded the vocals for this release in Trent Reznor’s studio in New Orleans, while the rest of the band stayed in Dallas to work on their parts. Of all the albums Pantera released, this one is by far my favorite. The lyrics go beyond just the normal anger. Topics such as hate for the media (“War Nerve”), suicide (“Suicide Note”), drug abuse (“10’s”, “Living Through Me (Hell’s Wrath)”) the end of the world (“Floods”), trends (“The Great Southern Trendkill”, “Sandblasted Skin”) and teenage taboo on life (“The Underground In America”) are all brought up. 

1996 saw the release of Metallica’s Load, Sepultura’s Roots, Rage Against The Machine’s Evil Empire, and Korn’s Life Is Peachy. The Great Southern Trendkill stood out amongst all the other metal bands releases of 96. with the exception of Neurosis’s Through Silver and Blood. Do yourself a favor and take another listen to The Great Southern Trendkill and you’ll have a totally different appreciation for it!

The Great Southern Treadkill:

By: Brian Lacy

Album Review: Down IV- Part 2

Image

When Down announced they were going to go release a series of EP’s instead of a full length, I was excited. What that meant was more swamp-y, punishing riffs to go around. Not to mention More Philip Anselmo, Pepper Keenan and Jimmy Bower! Down IV Part II is 35 minutes, of sludgy riff madness. This EP is a more focused approach than Down IV Part I. Even though Rex Brown and Kirk Windstein are gone, Pat Bruders and Bobby Landgraf hold their own and bring in some fresh perspective to what Down is known for. Opening track “Steeple” is their best album opener since “Temptations Wings” from their classic debut NOLA. The riff is filled with such groove. Phil’s vocals are in top shape. “We Knew Him Well” is a solid jam with the heavy chunky riffs that down has become known for. “Hogshead Dogshead” opens with a swirling solo then jumps right into a crooning Phil. This could also be the weakest track on the album. “Conjure” has a very distinct Black Sabbath vibe. This is also one of the best songs they’ve ever written. Hopefully this becomes a live staple for all shows to come. “Sufferers’s Years” has a great intro and the guitar work throughout the song. Pepper and Bobby really play well off each other. This song really showcases that. Closing out the album is “Bacchanalia.” This song definitely has that 70’s vibe to it. Almost bordering on Thin Lizzy. Jimmy and Pat really shine as a rhythm section on this song. The outro explores the more acoustic nature of the band. This song could be foreshadowing into the realm of the next EP. 

All in all Down has made an EP that they can be proud of. If at first you aren’t into it, give it a couple more listens and immerse yourself in the EP. Your mind will be changed. Down makes music in an honest fashion. There are no gimmicks when it comes to this band. What you see and hear is what you get. And with a lineup like this, you wouldn’t expect anything less.

Click below for the album stream:

http://noisey.vice.com/blog/stream-the-new-down-iv-part-ii-ep

Video for “We Knew Him Well”

 

By: Brian Lacy