PHILIP ANSELMO: METALLICA Are 'THE ROLLING STONES Of Metal'

Steven Rosen of Ultimate-Guitar.com recently conducted an interview with Philip Anselmo (DOWN, PANTERA, SUPERJOINT RITUAL, ARSON ANTHEM). A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Ultimate-Guitar.com: The new DOWN record is done?

Anselmo: Not even touched. We did a show in Switzerland [this past summer], a festival, but that really wasn't as memorable as the second show which was with AC/DC in Bucharest, Romania. That was fuckin' amazing; it was 50,000 people. The only thing that tarnished the whole event was that [HEAVEN & HELL was forced to cancel its appearance] and we all know that Ronnie James Dio passed away.

Ultimate-Guitar.com: You were a Dio fan?

Anselmo: I've got to say it right here and right now: Ronnie was probably one of the — you'll hear this a million times but if it were ever true — Ronnie was the nicest guy you could ever meet, man. He was one of the good guys. I've known him since 1993 and he's always kept in touch with me someway, somehow. We played more gigs together with DOWN a few years back and it's a big loss.

Ultimate-Guitar.com: You did recognize what Ronnie brought to metal as a vocalist?

Anselmo: No matter what today's younger generation think, I know what my generation thinks and the generation before my generation: an end of an era has occurred, man. Ronnie was alone. Probably one of the best heavy metal rock and roll singers around; maybe even a little underrated. I think he was right up there; him and Glenn Hughes and Paul Rodgers and even Chris Cornell. Let's go for it.

Ultimate-Guitar.com: Do you have any feelings about some of the modern metal bands? Groups like MASTODON, LAMB OF GOD, AVENGED SEVENFOLD, and those types of bands?

Anselmo: I've got respect for MASTODON; I think they play very well for what they do. I think the drummer is very, very entertaining to watch; he's a fuckin' excellent drummer. Super-cool guys to hang out with; a lot of fun. I think that music is a wide open world. Of course I know what you're fishin' for. I think PANTERA left a big imprint on them. It's flattering and sometimes if I walk into a room and I hear somethin' playing real, real low that sounds real fuckin' familiar, nine times out of ten it's one of them bands you're mentioning. But that's fine. The biggest argument could be this and I get this: PANTERA doesn't exist anymore. The records exist but we're not creating music anymore so there's a void there. And I guess these bands are filling a void. So you've got to take that into account as well.

Ultimate-Guitar.com: Do you think that any of these contemporary bands will have the impact and staying power that PANTERA had?

Anselmo: PANTERA revolutionized the sound and the approach to heavy metal. It's been regurgitated. Once you up the production on a product and not just the playing but the actual production, then it's going to up the ante. Period. Bands are going to want that sound and Dimebag had a monster fuckin' guitar sound; it was all a matter of getting it on tape right. He always had that great sound.

Ultimate-Guitar.com: If a band called PANTERA came out today with an album called "Cowboys From Hell", would it make an impact?

Anselmo: Would it have been a tougher road [today]? I don't think so because I think PANTERA at our prime would have destroyed anything in our fucking path. So I can't really think that way.

Ultimate-Guitar.com: So who's the new PANTERA?

Anselmo: A modern band? The only band I can think of that will have longevity like that for heavy metal would be METALLICA for sure. They're THE ROLLING STONES of metal. They can if they want to, and I believe they do from the last I've seen of them, keep creating music; keep writing music together. They have a good time doing it and they have a massive fuckin' following so why not do that very thing? Look at AC/DC; look at HEAVEN & HELL up to the point [of Dio's passing]; and look at Ozzy Osbourne. I'm not sure if he's doing gigs but he did gigs into his middle 60s. It's there for METALLICA if they want it and like I say, I do believe they will be that band. But modern bands? I can't really judge that; I don't know. MASTODON could play music together forever as well and they can have a hardcore following forever as well. Whoever's in the kids' faces; like SLIPKNOT. If I was a young teenager or even a kid, they would be my KISS of this generation. You know what I'm saying? So SLIPKNOT could keep doing what they do for as long as they're havin' fun. So, yeah, there are some bands out there who can do it and will do it on a massive scale. Sure. 'Til they call it quits and only 'til that point and that's saying something; that's longevity one way or another. No matter what anyone thinks of the fuckin' music. Because music is like fuckin' opinions and like anything else you're gonna get in life: good and bad; I like it; I don't like it. Tastes are varied, man, so much in this music world. Look, I adore the bands that I adore. On the flipside, as much as you love a 100 different genres of bands, there are another 100 I can easily say I dislike too.

Read the entire interview from Ultimate-Guitar.com.