ROCKET Interviews Philip H. Anselmo
March 9, 2010
Philip H. Anselmo is a living “Heavy Metal God” , widely considered the ‘pound for pound’ greatest metal vocalist of them all – but that’s not to say he hasn’t been to hell and back.
After losing his former PANTERA band mate Darrell “Dimebag” Abbott by way of a tragic on stage shooting on Dec 8, 2004, Anselmo and the entire city of New Orleans were next literally flooded out of their own homes by Hurricane Katrina – a category 5 monster – and forced to take a brutal dose of mother nature. To add further insult to the hellish turn of events, Anselmo then found himself having to get major back surgery. Never one to throw his hands up in defeat, the music icon simply tightened his boot straps and unloaded a third album from his long running Sabbath-influenced DOWN project, along with moving full speed ahead in signing new acts, such as Texas thrashers WARBEAST (featuring RIGOR MORTIS vocalist Bruce Corbitt), to his very own Housecore record label.
WARBEAST’s debut “Krush The Enemy” is more than an all-out thrash assault… it’s a ‘brotherhood’ that’s come together – during difficult times – to keep the true metal tradition going strong… no matter what. The ‘Stronger Than All’ code he’s always lived by has definitely been put to the test in the past five years, but it’s Anselmo’s uncompromising love of music that’s helped him survive the toughest chapter in his life.
The Metal Den’s Randy “Rocket” Cody has conducted an EXCLUSIVE interview with Philip H. Anselmo for TMD’s loyal following of DEN HEADZ all across the globe!
Rocket: What initially inspired you to want to start your own record label?
Philip: There’s music I’ve made in the past, music I’ll make in the future, and a handful of bands from around the world that deserve to be heard. The thought of licensing the personal music I’ve been holding onto for over ten-years with some other “label” was ghastly; it wasn’t going to happen. So I knew one day I’d HAVE to put the stuff out on my own! Fast forward to the present… Extreme music has been kind to me on all levels of human existence, so the idea of helping newer bands grow and prosper is natural.
Rocket: You signed WARBEAST (formerly Texas Metal Alliance) to Housecore and took it upon yourself to truly be involved in the recording of the band’s debut “Krush The Enemy”. Why was it so important to you that you be involved so deeply in the process?
Philip: 1st of all, WARBEAST is a great band. 2nd, like any of our bands, I want to be as close as possible without interfering. If a band WANTS me to be in the studio with them, it’s my pleasure. If not, I trust their judgement. It’s THEIR band. If a band wants my production input, I don’t charge a cent because we’re both working to get the best results, obviously! Their names AND my name will be on the product! The band’s satisfaction with the end result is the most important thing. With WARBEAST, I felt that I was familiar enough with Bruce’s background, as well as Rick and Scott, to contribute. I also know Thrash Metal VERY well, especially the older school DFW Thrash sound. The band asked me to help out, period. That’s all they needed to do really, and man of course I said, “Fucking right!” Bruce and I got to work closely together, and that was a very cool experience. With WARBEAST, there’s a lot of detailed to their music, as well as vocal passages that deserved an extra amount of attention. They do what they do so well, we had to make sure everything was clear and audible enough for each guys liking. It’s a special record for them. It’s a GREAT record to me.
Rocket: You and Bruce Corbitt of RIGOR MORTIS/WARBEAST have known one another for many years. Can you recall the very first time you saw a RIGOR MORTIS show and tell us how it made you feel?
Philip: I can’t remember the name of the bar, but what I remember the most was how absolutely fucking intense they were. They were up on that stage, ugly as hell (ha!), ripping the shit out of the set! I’d heard their 1st demo before I saw them that night, so I knew most of their songs, but what amazed me was how much effort they put into their music! The demo didn’t do them justice! The songs were there, but to see them played live was a different experience. Crazy-intense!!!
Rocket: You recorded WARBEAST’s debut “Krush The Enemy” at your own home studio in New Orleans. As I understand it, you helped work with Bruce on his vocal delivery a bit before you actually began laying down his vocals. Was that a good experience for you and can you tell me more about what you were going after?
Philip: I answered part of this question earlier, but yes the experience was very rewarding. Bruce and I worked on specific things in specific areas that either he or I felt needed to be addressed. The same thing happened with the band before they actually started recording, so I think it’s more of a “check list’ type thing I like to do, just to make sure we’re all on the same page. Bruce did a great job. All I really do is “suggest” ideas. We tried a few different approaches, kept what we wanted and moved on. Bruce was a complete trooper, but we weren’t doing rocket science; this was about bringing out the best in his performance. Bruce does what he does and he is who he is, I didn’t wanna change that at all. It was our intention to pay closer attention to detail, take our time and come out of there with the best ‘Bruce’ we could. I believe it’s his best work. He believes it’s his best. Honestly I’ll say it’s his best work, so far… he’ll have to out-do himself on the next one! But we feel real extremely good about the work he did on ‘Krush the Enemy’. It’s bad ass.
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