PHILIP ANSELMO Says 'There Will Be Some More Ambitious Songwriting' On Next DOWN EP

ARTISTdirect.com editor in chief Rick Florino recently conducted an interview with former PANTERA and current DOWN frontman Philip Anselmo. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

ARTISTdirect.com: [The new DOWN EP] "Down IV - Part Two" embodies what DOWN was always meant to be. It's a natural continuation of the BLACK SABBATH inspiration and exploration more than ever. The songs are longer in places and tread dreamier territory. It codifies what you guys have always talked about and really captivates.

Anselmo: Thank you, Rick. At the end of the day, it has to sound like DOWN. DOWN was founded straight up because of BLACK SABBATH and all of the influences therein. To me, having the new infusion of writers is important. Pat's [Bruders, bass] contribution on the second EP was massive. Our new guitar player, Bobby Landgraf, came in as a contributor right off the bat having watched us for many years and been a fan of the band. To have a great guitar player like that come in and give his spin on what he feels a DOWN riff should sound like or qualify as, it's an absolute injection of new blood and enthusiasm throughout the entire band. I can't give those guys enough credit for what they brought to this particular record. I'm in full agreement with you. It's a DOWN record one-hundred percent through and through. It couldn't be mistaken for any other band really at this point in time.

ARTISTdirect.com: There are some surprises for the DOWN horde as well. You wouldn't have necessarily heard a song like "Conjure" on [DOWN's debut album] "Nola".

Anselmo: I agree "Conjure" is unique in its own way. Really, it's BLACK SABBATH-slash-ST. VITUS worship. When put in our hands, there's the slippery way the guys play the riff and execute, and there's definitely also the Ozzy Osbourne influence that permeated throughout my entire vocal performance. It feels natural in a weird way as a progression. It feels very organic, which is strange to say coming from the BLACK SABBATH and ST. VITUS influence point of view. Yet, it's still here in 2014. I use the word "influence" very strongly here. Anything we touch is going to end up sounding like DOWN, but we allowed the songs to flow and just come out the way they came out without too much fuss. We weren't too over conscientious about the length of songs or anything like that. We let the songs flow out of us. I feel very good about it. Like I said, it came from a very natural place and very true place as far as what DOWN embodies.

ARTISTdirect.com: Have you begun thinking of more music already?

Anselmo: First and foremost, the material is for the most part all pretty new. I don't think they're riffs that have been laying around for too terribly long. I know for a fact, Pat's riffs, which are basically "Bacchanalia" and maybe "Conjure" as well, were right off the cuff. Most of these songs are very new so to speak and not derived from older riffs. I'll say this. The outro to "Bacchanalia", we're looking at that as, I guess, a bridge to the third installment of the EPs. Right now, I'm guessing there will be some more ambitious songwriting on the third one. Not that we would ever stray too far from what DOWN does, I don't really think we ever would. Now, "ambitious" is an ambitious word to use when discussing an EP that isn't even written yet. [Laughs] DOWN is a band that has many dynamics to it, whether it be heavy metal or songs like "Stone The Crow" or straight-up acoustic numbers. We can do many things within the genre. As far as attacking the third installment, I like things to be spontaneous and not too terribly thought out and planned completely in advance. Basically, we're going to be taking one EP at a time. The mood we're in will set the tone for the third EP. I'll put it like this. The third EP will be very interesting.