Culture Shock: After Long Wait, Down Releases New CD
September 17, 2012
DOWN
It might seem at first glance like it’s been a long time since the New Orleans band Down released new music.
The last record was 2007’s “Down III: Over the Under,” and while five years between albums might be unusually long for most bands, it’s par for the course for Down, which usually takes between five and seven years to offer new tunes.
“Down IV: Part I — The Purple EP” comes out Tuesday and is a groovy collection of six songs clocking in at 33 minutes and change.
According to lead singer, Phil Anselmo, fans can rest assured that even if Down doesn’t follow a set schedule, it will always deliver a quality album.
“We are the worst bold-faced liars on the planet when it comes to keeping promises on when the next record will be coming out,” Anselmo joked in an interview with the Tribune from his home in New Orleans. “Everybody is busy, busy, busy with a million different things. When you’re doing all that, time flies and the next thing you know, you’re a liar and you’re sitting there going ‘We haven’t put out a record in three years.’
“We can make plans to get together after three years, and the next thing you know, by the time all the plans are made and everybody aligns and the stars align, it’s another year later,” he added with a laugh. “It’s just chaos. The new album is out, and I’m very much ready for the public to consume it.”
Down released its eponymous debut “NOLA” in 1995. Considering all of its members belonged to other, more successful bands, it was initially perceived as a supergroup or a side project for those involved. As time has passed and things have changed in those other bands, Down is becoming the grizzled group of veterans who now has projects on the side.
“Down is something I do because I still enjoy doing it. More importantly, it’s for the fans of the band,” said Anselmo, the former frontman for Pantera.
Anselmo said he keeps busy lending a helping hand to his other bands, producing albums for his label, Housecore Records (www.thehousecorerecords.com), and working on a book.
