KIRK WINDSTEIN Talks Alcohol Addiction, CROWBAR And DOWN In New Interview

October 4, 2010

MetalSucks recently conducted an interview with Kirk Windstein of CROWBAR, DOWN and KINGDOM OF SORROW. Windstein addressed the recent news surrounding his decision to drop off KINGDOM OF SORROW's Ozzfest stint in favor of treating his alcohol problem. He also explained the myriad delays that affected the upcoming DOWN DVD, "Diary Of A Mad Band", which comes out tomorrow but was originally filmed in 2006; updated fans about the forthcoming new CROWBAR album; and commented on CROWBAR's legacy as a band that influences today's young crop of metal bands. Excerpts from the chat follow below.

On whether he has leaned on his bandmates for support and advice during the recovery process:

Windstein: "Yeah, totally. I've talked to Rex [Brown, DOWN bassist] about it because he's dealt with a lot of problems himself. There's not a person in any of my bands that hasn't experienced it from time to time with the exception of Nicky and Charlie from KINGDOM OF SORROW (the drummer and guitar player); they've never had a drink or tried a drug in their life. Everyone else in my bands, in DOWN and Jamey [Jasta] from KINGDOM and the guys in CROWBAR, have all at times had issues with stuff. Every person is different, and it's a matter of keeping yourself healthy and not letting it get out of control. For me, it got out of control. Would I be a fool and a liar to sit here and say that I don't think about it? It's a normal thing to always think that you can control it. That's what the battle of it is. It's like, 'Okay, I'm home. I'm detoxed. I get it. I'm in the right headspace. I'm physically and mentally in the right place and headed in the right direction.' It's a matter of you realizing that you doing what you need to do is basically what it comes down to."

On when fans can expect to hear a new DOWN album:

Windstein: "2011 I would say. Yeah. Something for sure. We're not even there yet, so I think that's totally feasible. Obviously not this year because it would have to be signed, sealed, delivered and done already. It's not there by any means. It's always going to happen and DOWN is always going to be there. So that's a good thing."

On the progress of the recording sessions for the new CROWBAR album:

Windstein: "As far as where we're at with the recording of the record, I should be finishing guitars tonight. I'm going there with the intention of them being finished on the 12 tracks. There is one mellow, instrumental segue piece that I'll probably finish up maybe this weekend. I started vocals and have a lot of lyrics written already. There is one more thing to be done on bass. The drums have been complete [for a while]. So we're really moving along well. It's just a matter of finishing everything up. Zeuss is going to mix it for us. He mixed the last KINGDOM and also tracked and mixed the first KINGDOM. He's done quite a bit of stuff for HATEBREED and a lot of other bands. I'm looking forward to getting it out and getting on the road. With that said, with the new CROWBAR record we're also going to have a 10-song live CD with two unreleased studio bonus tracks — brand new bonus stuff that'll be released through Housecore, which is Phil's [Anselmo] label. There are some re-releases in the back coming out through him as well. So I'm looking forward to that too. There's a lot going on with CROWBAR right now, which is good. I like to keep all three bands busy, man."

On the sound of the new CROWBAR record:

Windstein: "Basically, just CROWBAR in the year 2010 is basically what it is. It encompasses every influence and every style that CROWBAR has ever done through the course of the previous 8 studio records — over the course of the last 20 years. Some of the stuff sounds very similar to our very early stuff and some of it is stuff that we've never done before. It's just CROWBAR. It's heavy. It's aggressive. It's dark. It's fast at times. It's very melodic and super doom metal at times. It's a real thunderous collection of tunes. I'm very excited about it."

Read the entire interview from MetalSucks.

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