Searching my blog archives, I see I haven’t reviewed this band yet. They could be considered a supergroup, as the band members had already achieved some notoriety in other bands already, Crowbar being the most prominently represented (and I have NONE of their albums). They have three full length albums, two EPs, and a live album/DVD. I never got a chance to see them live in person, but recently they played a live streaming show in which they played NOLA, the first album, in its entirety.
Of the component bands,
I have all of Pantera’s albums and have seen them as an opening act at
an Ozzfest, never as a headliner. I have
all of Corrosion of Conformity’s albums and have seen them several times
fairly recently after Pepper Keenan returned - never as a three piece and never
as the pre-Pepper punk band. It was Blind
and “Vote with a Bullet” which aroused my attention back in the day. Crowbar I saw fairly recently opening
for the Obsessed. I was unaware they
were from New Orleans until the band took the stage with fleur-de-lys symbols
pervasive and the drummer wearing a Saints jersey. With
the exception of Crowbar, with whom I’m not familiar, I would actually compare
Down’s material favorably to Pantera and Corrosion of Conformity, if only
slightly so. Anyone who likes those
bands – or who likes Crowbar – should certainly enjoy Down.
1. NOLA (1995). Temptation’s
Wings; Lifer; Pillars of Eternity; Rehab; Hail the Leaf; Underneath Everything;
Eyes of the South; Jail; Losing All; Stone the Crow; Pray for the Locust; Swan
Song; Bury Me in Smoke
Lineup: Phil Anselmo (vocals) (Pantera);
Pepper Keenan (guitar) (Corrosion of Conformity); Kirk Windstein (guitar)
(Crowbar); Todd Strange (bass) (Crowbar); Jimmy Bower (drums) (Crowbar).
Tour 9/20/95 to
12/30/95. No DC or Baltimore area show.
2. II: A Bustle in Your Hedgerow
(2002). Lysergik Funeral Procession;
There’s Something on My Side; The Man That Follows Hell; Stained Glass Cross;
Ghosts Along the Mississippi; Learn From This Mistake; Beautifully Depressed;
Where I’m Going; Doobinterlude; New Orleans is a Dying Whore; The Seed; Lies, I
Don’t Know What They Say But…; Flambeaux; Dog Tired; Landing on the Mountains
of Megiddo
Same lineup except with
Rex Brown (Pantera) on bass instead of Todd Strange.
Tour: 4/28/02 to 5/25/02. No DC or Baltimore area show. They toured Europe for this album and
recorded various shows – see below.
3. III: Over the Under (2007). 3 Suns and 1 Star; The Path; N.O.D.; I
Scream; On March the Saints; Never Try; Mourn; The Tides; His Majesty the
Desert; Pillamyd; In the Thrall of It All; Nothing in Return
After Dimebag’s death in 2006. Same lineup as
II.
Tour: 9/27/07 to 10/14/08. This tour went much further, including
overseas AND Baltimore (10/31/07 at Sonar).
+ Diary
of a Mad Band (CD/DVD). Live album
recorded in London on the II tour in 2006, but released after III
(no songs from that album played). The
DVD portion has different songs filmed in different cities (the band members’
clothing abruptly changes during the songs).
4. IV Part 1 (The Purple EP) (2012). Levitation; Witchtripper; Open Coffins; The
Curse Is A Lie; This Work is Timeless; Misfortune Teller
Pat Bruders (Crowbar) took
over on bass from Rex Brown.
5. IV Part 2 (EP) (2017). Steeple; We Knew Him Well; Hogshead/Dogshead;
Conjure; Sufferer’s Years; Bacchanalia.
Bobby Landgraf on guitar
in place of Kirk Windstein. The band
did not tour either EP. Having listened
to them again I’d say there is a substantial drop off in quality from
NOLA/II/III and the IV EPs; while the first three albums were enjoyable, I
found the IV EPs to be big time MEH.
Your mileage may vary.
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