Philip Anselmo

PHILIP ANSELMO’s ‘Drunken Show’ (Video)

A very intoxicated Philip Anselmo (DOWN, PANTERA, SUPERJOINT RITUAL, PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS) was interviewed by EMP Rock Invasion on August 14 at the Summer Breeze festival in Dinkelsbühl, Germany. You can watch the chat below. Anselmo recently toured Europe with his backup band THE ILLEGALS — guitarist Marzi Montazeri (ex-SUPERJOINT RITUAL), drummer José Manuel Gonzales (WARBEAST) and bassist Steve Taylor. Anselmo's career-first solo album, "Walk Through Exits Only", sold around 8,700 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 35 on The Billboard 200 chart. Produced by Anselmo and Michael Thompson, and recorded over a couple of years at Philip's New Orleans studio, Nodferatu's Lair, "Walk Through Exits Only" is abrasive, aggressive, anthemic and 100% Anselmo. According to Anselmo, he worked on an estimated 15-17 songs for "Walk Through Exits Only", which was issued via his own Housecore Records (MRI/Megaforce) "I could've put on any number (of songs) I wanted, but for me, these eight songs all together, 40-something minutes, that's my idea of a proper listening length," he told Billboard.com. "When you start to get longer, it gets a little redundant and boring, and I didn't want to bore anybody."

PHILIP ANSELMO Says METALLICA’s ‘Load’ Album Should Never Have Been Released: ‘It’s A Terrible Record’

Former PANTERA and current DOWN frontman Philip Anselmo talked about some of the records that have had an impact on his life for the "Discs Of Doom" article in the latest issue of U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine. Asked which album should never have seen the light of day, Anselmo replied: "I would have to say [1996's] 'Load' by METALLICA. I mean, it's a terrible record, man. I just don't get it. If you're gonna put out a record like that, just do a fucking side project or something, ya know?" Anselmo first publicly critized METALLICA's "Load" in 2003, when he slammed the heavy metal giants for touring with supporting acts like LIMP BIZKIT and LINKIN PARK and challenging them to a road duel, head-to-head on any stage, telling an interviewer, "Heavy metal lies in the underground and if they're worried about... Why in the hell would METALLICA be worried about ticket sales? Bring out some fuckin' good bands." He explained: "That was due to a conversation [METALLICA frontman] James Hetfield and I had years ago when I was talking to him about their new album. I think that was when 'Load' was out, and it kind of shocked everybody — everybody was freaked out." Anselmo elaborated in a subsequent interview, claiming that METALLICA never would have shared a stage with PANTERA in the U.S. "because they know what would fuckin' happen. We would fuckin' eat them alive! That's the end of the fuckin' sentence. We would crush 'em." METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich responded to Anselmo's challenge by saying, "Is he that desperate to tour? I love all these challenges. The ol' step it up...," and adding that Anselmo "has a tendency to talk a lot of horseshit most of the time." Anselmo appeared to soften his tone by the time DOWN and METALLICA toured together in 2008, and two years later, Anselmo told Ultimate Guitar that he considered METALLICA to be "THE ROLLING STONES of metal" in terms of career longevity. In a 2013 interview with Revolver magazine, Lars Ulrich was asked what he felt was METALLICA's most underappreciated release. "I think 'Load' and 'Reload' [1997] are great records," he replied. "They are creatively on par with every other record we've made. Obviously, they're bluesier records, and at that time, we were listening to a lot of LED ZEPPELIN, DEEP PURPLE and AC/DC, and we had a different kind of foundation than records before or after. And I understand that there are people who couldn't quite figure out what was going on with the haircuts and the rest of it, and that's fine. But musically, if you strip all that other stuff away, if you just listen to the 27 songs — 'Load' and 'Reload' were intended as one double-record — it's a great collection of songs that is on par with everything else that we've done creatively. But, I mean, who needs another person to sit there and argue about, you know, fucking 'Carpe Diem Baby'? They are different records, but that was the intention. [Laughs] It's not like we sat there and thought we were remaking '…And Justice For All'. [Laughs] We are obviously aware of that. But I think personally there's great songs on both of those records and I'm very proud of those records."

PHILIP ANSELMO Joins REX BROWN’s KILL DEVIL HILL On Stage To Perform PANTERA’s ‘Mouth For War’ (Video)

Iconic PANTERA and DOWN vocalist Phlip Anselmo joined KILL DEVIL HILL, the band featuring his former PANTERA and DOWN bandmate Rex Brown on bass, on stage yesterday (Friday, May 16) at the Rock On The Range festival in Columbus, Ohio to perform the PANTERA classic "Mouth For War". Video footage of the performance (courtesy of WGRD.com) can be seen below. Anselmo recently joined DOWN's Revolver Golden Gods tourmates BLACK LABEL SOCIETY on stage at a couple of shows to perform the PANTERA classic "I'm Broken" as an encore. During a September 2013 interview with Artisan News, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY mainman Zakk Wylde was asked about the possibility of a hypothetical PANTERA reunion with him filling in for the late "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott on guitar. "It'd be up to [former PANTERA members] Vinnie [Paul Abbott, drums], Phil and Rex — they're the guys that make everything happen," he said. "So if they were all gonna do it and honor Dimebag and [if they said to me], 'Zakk, would you wanna honor Dime and do Dime's parts?' Of course, I was a pallbearer for him — I laid him to rest — so, of course, I'd say, it would be a beautiful way to honor him and stuff like that. And to celebrate all things PANTERA and what they achieved. 'Cause they changed the game, as far as extreme metal goes. I mean, they're the kings of it. But it's up to the fellows. Then it would just be me woodsheddin' 25-8, learning all of Dime's parts, you know what I mean?! Yeah, but like I said, as far as I'm concerned, it would just be honoring Dime. Like with the Yankees, you honor… everybody's wearing Thurman Munson's '15' for that day, just because we're honoring Thurman's greatness. So it's the same thing, man." Asked about the likelihood of a PANTERA "reunion" with Wylde filling in for Dimebag, Vinnie Paul told the Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas radio station 97.1 The Eagle Rocks in March 2012: "I spent two hours with Zakk, sitting down — a really great talk about… [Zakk] calls [Dimebag] 'the old man.' I mean, [Zakk] and my brother were so tight. If [a PANTERA reformation] ever were to happen, [Zakk] would be the guy [to step in for Dimebag]. But I honestly think, out of respect for my brother, we should just leave the 14 amazing years PANTERA had be. We're all happy doing our own thing. We have to continue living and do other things." Dimebag's longtime girlfriend Rita Haney in 2011 called on Vinnie and Anselmo to settle their differences in honor of Dimebag, who was shot and killed by a crazed gunman while performing with DAMAGEPLAN at a Columbus, Ohio rock club in December 2004. Vinnie, who is Dimebag's brother, and Anselmo have not spoken since PANTERA split in 2003. But the relationship got even more acrimonious when Vinnie indirectly blamed Philip for Dimebag's death, suggesting that some remarks the vocalist had made about Dimebag in print just weeks earlier might have incited Dimebag's killer. Speaking to Fuse News, Anselmo said about the possibility of a PANTERA reunion with Wylde filling in for Dimebag: "For me, really, I think it would mean a lot for Rex and Vince and myself to sit down and, I guess, bury the hatchet where we can be on more friendly terms. And, you know, I think it would mean a lot to the fans." He added: "Without Vince, there's not any PANTERA reunion at all; it's useless. But he damn well knows my door's wide open. He needs to bust out the keys and unlock his, man. I'm waiting, but I'm not holding my breath."

PHILIP ANSELMO Joins ZAKK WYLDE And BLACK LABEL SOCIETY On Stage To Perform PANTERA’s ‘I’m Broken’ (Video)

Former PANTERA and current DOWN singer Philip Anselmo joined BLACK LABEL SOCIETY on stage last night (Thursday, May 8) at Palladium in Worcester, Massachusetts to perform a cover of the PANTERA classic "I'm Broken". Fan-filmed video footage of his appearance can be seen below. During a September 2013 interview with Artisan News, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY mainman Zakk Wylde was asked about the possibility of a hypothetical PANTERA reunion with him filling in for the late "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott on guitar. "It'd be up to [former PANTERA members] Vinnie [Paul Abbott, drums], Phil and Rex [Brown, bass] — they're the guys that make everything happen," he said. "So if they were all gonna do it and honor Dimebag and [if they said to me], 'Zakk, would you wanna honor Dime and do Dime's parts?' Of course, I was a pallbearer for him — I laid him to rest — so, of course, I'd say, it would be a beautiful way to honor him and stuff like that. And to celebrate all things PANTERA and what they achieved. 'Cause they changed the game, as far as extreme metal goes. I mean, they're the kings of it. But it's up to the fellows. Then it would just be me woodsheddin' 25-8, learning all of Dime's parts, you know what I mean?! Yeah, but like I said, as far as I'm concerned, it would just be honoring Dime. Like with the Yankees, you honor… everybody's wearing Thurman Munson's '15' for that day, just because we're honoring Thurman's greatness. So it's the same thing, man." Asked about the possibility of a PANTERA "reunion" with Wylde filling in for Dimebag, Vinnie Paul told the Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas radio station 97.1 The Eagle Rocks in March 2012: "I spent two hours with Zakk, sitting down — a really great talk about… [Zakk] calls [Dimebag] 'the old man.' I mean, [Zakk] and my brother were so tight. If [a PANTERA reformation] ever were to happen, [Zakk] would be the guy [to step in for Dimebag]. But I honestly think, out of respect for my brother, we should just leave the 14 amazing years PANTERA had be. We're all happy doing our own thing. We have to continue living and do other things." Dimebag's longtime girlfriend Rita Haney in 2011 called on Vinnie and Anselmo to settle their differences in honor of Dimebag, who was shot and killed by a crazed gunman while performing with DAMAGEPLAN at a Columbus, Ohio rock club in December 2004. Vinnie, who is Dimebag's brother, and Anselmo have not spoken since PANTERA split in 2003. But the relationship got even more acrimonious when Vinnie indirectly blamed Philip for Dimebag's death, suggesting that some remarks the vocalist had made about Dimebag in print just weeks earlier might have incited Dimebag's killer. Speaking to Fuse News, Anselmo said about the possibility of a PANTERA reunion with Wylde filling in for Dimebag: "For me, really, I think it would mean a lot for Rex and Vince and myself to sit down and, I guess, bury the hatchet where we can be on more friendly terms. And, you know, I think it would mean a lot to the fans." He added: "Without Vince, there's not any PANTERA reunion at all; it's useless. But he damn well knows my door's wide open. He needs to bust out the keys and unlock his, man. I'm waiting, but I'm not holding my breath."

PHILIP ANSELMO Says He ‘Felt Like A Trapped Animal’ During Touring Cycle For PANTERA’s ‘Far Beyond Driven’

In the April/May 2014 issue of Revolver magazine, the surviving members of PANTERA — vocalist Philip Anselmo, drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott and bassist Rex Brown — speak about the making of the band's classic 1994 album, "Far Beyond Driven", which is being re-released next week as a 20th-anniversary, two-disc edition. The new version will include a newly remastered version of the original recordings along with a new live performance from the 1994 Monsters Of Rock festival. Speaking about PANTERA's touring activities that followed the release of "Far Beyond Driven", Vinnie Paul said: "When we went on the road, that's when the wheels started coming off and people didn't know what other people were doing. Phil had his own bus. Things started turning into what they turned into in the end. "Phil started isolating himself from the rest of us. It got to the point where we wouldn't see each other until about 20 or 30 minutes before showtime. You never knew if he was going to be in a shitty mood or a good mood. You just hoped it was good enough to get through the show. That's truly where some of the shows started lacking. They weren't as good as they used to be, and he would start his rants and go on for 20 minutes while we stood around and looked at him, like, 'What the fuck are you saying to these people, dude? They want to hear us play some songs. Let's play some music.'" Said Anselmo: "The touring was really a mixed bag for me. The [chronic back] pain was intense, but the thrill was still there much of the time, and when I was onstage, that part of it I enjoyed very much. But during this time, I was drinking an entire bottle of Wild Turkey every night before a show to numb the pain I was experiencing. "I felt trapped, man. I felt lost even trying to explain to the guys in my band, who were so used to seeing Superman up onstage, that I was not Superman anymore. I felt like a trapped animal, honestly. I felt cornered and very confused. "The words that would come out of my mouth [while we were on stage] were abrasive. I was lashing out at other bands when I really had no business mentioning other bands during a PANTERA show. I was going slowly insane throughout the touring of this record, whether it be from pills, alcohol, or the mental stress from carrying around the chronic pain along with the addiction." When PANTERA broke up in 2003, Vinnie Paul and his brother, PANTERA guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott formed DAMAGEPLAN. On December 8, 2004, while performing with DAMAGEPLAN at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio, Dimebag was shot and killed onstage by Nathan Gale. He was 38 years old.

PHILIP ANSELMO Has ‘Great Memories’ Of PANTERA’s ‘Far Beyond Driven’ Album

On January 24, Sheila Esmaili-Doki of the Sherman Music Examiner conducted an interview with former PANTERA and current DOWN frontman Philip Anselmo. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below. Sherman Music Examiner: How was the "Metal Masters 5" show? I watched some footage from that and it looked pretty amazing. Philip Anselmo: It was fun, you know, always fun meeting up with those guys... ANTHRAX and SLAYER, specifically. Meeting up with those guys, who really took me and PANTERA under their wings. We were such kids, you know. It means the world. They're great friends. And the MEGADETH guys... shit, man, Chuck Billy [TESTAMENT] being there and Billy Sheehan and all the rest of them. I don't want to leave anybody out -- there were a lot of musicians out there. It's always fun. It can be a bit of a clusterfuck here and there, but it's always a blast. Sherman Music Examiner: I noticed that "Strength Beyond Strength" was in the setlist, which was really cool. It reminded me about the 20th anniversary of [1994 PANTERA album] "Far Beyond Driven" coming up. Does it seem like that has been 20 years? That album being #1 on Billboard back then was a pretty outstanding thing. Does it seem like the time has passed quickly since then or does it seem like a long time ago? Philip Anselmo: You know, I guess I could say a little bit of both. Sometimes, it's, like, "Oh my God, time flies." And then other times, it's, like — you know, it's been a long haul and a lot has changed... you can see the distance and feel the distance, but 20 years — you think about when you're 20 years old and you think you've been on the earth a very long time, and it's not true at all. It's a long time, but I've got great memories and I still love that album. Sherman Music Examiner: I know you have mentioned before that you always have low expectations for any music release you put out and that you are kind of a pessimist. Have the reactions to [your solo debut] "Walk Through Exits Only" surprised you in any way? It has gotten a lot of positive feedback, and it is an incredible release. Philip Anselmo: Once again — you really said it, you know — I am a pessimist. And I don't put any expectations out there because I guess they set you up to let you down if you're that type of person, and I'm not that type of person. I realize that people are going to love music or hate music or be indifferent to it. For me, you know, especially on this leg on the tour, where I was very adamant about playing small clubs — for me, the vibe is awesome so far. Because I think we're really just that type of band. So I feel like we are where we belong, it's a new thing, and where it goes from here is anybody's guess, and also, where it goes from here is, I guess — how much work you put into it. So we'll see. I'm as in the dark as anybody else, but as far as the shows go, I'm having a blast. Read the entire interview at Sherman Music Examiner.

PHILIP ANSELMO And THE ILLEGALS: Promotional Video For Upcoming Tour

Philip Anselmo, legendary frontman of PANTERA and DOWN, will kick off the second leg of his first-ever solo tour, dubbed "Technicians Of Distortion", on January 10 in Houston, Texas and head westward, trampling through over a dozen cities with additional support provided by HYMNS. On this trek, Anselmo will once again be joined by his backup band THE ILLEGALS — guitarist Marzi Montazeri (ex-SUPERJOINT RITUAL), drummer José Manuel Gonzales (WARBEAST) and bassist Steve Taylor. Anselmo's recently released, limited-edition two-song "Housecore Horror Fest" 10-inch vinyl EP will be available for purchase on all tour dates. A new one-and-a-half-minute promotional video for the upcoming tour can be seen below. Anselmo's career-first solo album, "Walk Through Exits Only", sold around 8,700 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 35 on The Billboard 200 chart. Produced by Anselmo and Michael Thompson, and recorded over the past couple of years at Philip's New Orleans studio, Nodferatu's Lair, "Walk Through Exits Only" is abrasive, aggressive, anthemic and 100% Anselmo. According to Anselmo, he worked on an estimated 15-17 songs for "Walk Through Exits Only", which was issued via his own Housecore Records (MRI/Megaforce) "I could've put on any number (of songs) I wanted, but for me, these eight songs all together, 40-something minutes, that's my idea of a proper listening length," he tells Billboard.com. "When you start to get longer it gets a little redundant and boring, and I didn't want to bore anybody." Asked why he felt the need to start another band outside of DOWN, Anselmo told The Washington Times: "If you look at DOWN, we're made up of three different bands, EYEHATEGOD and CROWBAR and whatever the fuck Pepper's [Keenan, guitar] doing, you know; he does a lot of different things. So, we have this flexibility of freedom and dead time is lame. Instead of starting some fucking other band, you know, branding it with a name and having to have people buy into a whole new name, this is something I wanted to do for the long term and something I can do long term because I don't want any other fucking projects. That's the beauty of having a solo band. I can really do what I want. So, 'Walk Through Exits Only' is one expression of music. We have another EP coming out in October that's really completely different than anything that I've put out. And then we're gonna get even more different and base it off the

PHILIP ANSELMO: I Don’t Know Why VINNIE PAUL Is Scared Of Me

PANTERA/DOWN vocalist Philip Anselmo recently spoke to Loudwire about the moment he knew PANTERA was over and how he misses having a friendship with the band's drummer, Vinnie Paul Abbott. "It is unfortunate," Anselmo said about the rift between him and Vinnie Paul (see video below). "I am a music fan. I hate reading about fucking my favorite bands arguing or inner turmoil or anything like that, especially under these circumstances. It's kind of unfair to the fans. "I'm sick of the fence riding, or the fence in general, because it took all of us to break the band up. "The truth is, when I was doing terribly, and I realized that PANTERA was dissolving and [Vinnie Paul and PANTERA guitarist 'Dimebag' Darrell Abbott] had moved on and they were doing [a new band called] DAMAGEPLAN, the first thing I did was call Vince. And he was, like, 'Man, this is what we're doing.' He was actually pretty cool about it. And he said, 'It's good to hear from you.' And I said, 'What do you think, man? I wanna talk to Darrell.' He goes, 'Man, I don't know. He's really upset with you.' And I called [Darrell]. And he was short, he was to the point. He said, 'We're sick of waitin' for you. We're gonna go ahead and do DAMAGEPLAN.' And that day I knew PANTERA was over." Anselmo also spoke about whether there he has publicly tried to reach out to Vinnie Paul in an effort to bury the hatchet. He said: "There was no public attempt, really; it was just [me being asked about it in] interviews. It was really just interviews. "He's surrounded by security guards. Man, if I showed my face, Jesus Christ… "I don't know why he's scared of me. He's got this fear. I think it all comes from deep love, really. 'Cause when you love something, or somebody, so much and things go backwards, that if you love 'em that much, then eventually the word 'hate' comes in, and you can hate 'em even worse. So… "I know the dude loves me. I know he does. And I miss him." Anselmo was asked how he feels about hearing Vinnie Paul state over and over again in interviews that he is not interesting in having any kind of personal relationship with Philip and former PANTERA bassist Rex Brown. "I don't even pay attention to that," Anselmo replied. "I don't even know that that happened. I don't pay attention. He's the captain of his own ship — that's that — and I'm heading in my direction." Dimebag's longtime girlfriend Rita Haney in 2011 called on Vinnie and Anselmo to settle their differences in honor of Dimebag, who was shot and killed by a crazed gunman while performing with DAMAGEPLAN at a Columbus, Ohio rock club in December 2004. Vinnie, who is Dimebag's brother, and Anselmo have not spoken since PANTERA split in 2003. But the relationship got even more acrimonious when Vinnie indirectly blamed Philip for Dimebag's death, suggesting that some remarks the vocalist had made about Dimebag in print just weeks earlier might have incited Dimebag's killer.

PHILIP ANSELMO: ‘I Consider Myself An Explorer In Music’

Smells Like Infinite Sadness recently conducted an interview with former PANTERA and current DOWN vocalist Philip Anselmo. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below. Smells Like Infinite Sadness: When did you decide you wanted to make a solo album? Anselmo: That's a tough thing to pinpoint, but if you look at my track record at all, even when I was in PANTERA and all throughout those crazy years of incredible memories, and, honestly, great success, I was always doing different projects. And really I think as a musician… to be pinned down to one genre, it feels a little bit unfair. I guess I consider myself an explorer in music. You know, DOWN is what is it is: a BLACK SABBATH-based band that happens to have a Southern feel and maybe that's because of where we come from and how we get things across… but we know that at the end of the day when we go to write DOWN music how it's going to turn out and what it should turn out to be. For me as far as doing the solo record… I'm a big fan of extreme music of all sorts, and especially death metal and black metal, and any subgenre that may fall in between the cracks… And I wanted to create a record that I felt was as extreme as anything out there but with perhaps a different twist on its approach, whether it be lyrically or just pure attitude-wise. So whether I've done that, I guess time will tell… so right now DOWN and my solo band (THE ILLEGALS) are my only two working bands, and I'm going to try to keep it like that for semi simplicity, or maybe quasi simplicity's fucking sake. We'll see how it goes from there, man. I have to give a little shoutout to the fact that my solo band has another EP coming out strictly for the [Housecore Horror Film & Music Festival]; it's a two-song, 10-inch vinyl and very different than anything off "Walk Through Exits Only". I think that's its epic in its own way, as a matter of fact. The EP is called "Housecore Horror Film Fest EP"… [I] think the B-side is really one of the most epic songs I've ever written in my life. Smells Like Infinite Sadness: How does the live experience differ from you with DOWN vs. THE ILLEGALS? Does each set feel different for you (for lack of a better term) when playing for an audience? Anselmo: It is different, man. DOWN has been around for a long time. We did our first demo in ‘92, and I guess our first record came out in ‘95… and DOWN has a very strong core fan base whereas THE ILLEGALS are looked at as something new, something different. I think people are still wrapping their heads around it, whereas with DOWN, everyone's familiar with the stuff and they know the personalities on stage and the songs inside and out. So there is a difference there, a different type of energy a different type of approach and a different type of crowd reaction… so it's a little bit different on both scales of the spectrum. But that's fine by me. I'm really cool with the unexpected. It is what it is and that's how the ball bounces and I'll take it.