I'm done rambling. Down to business. After six long years, the who's-who of metal decided to get back together, bringing Rex on to replace the previous bassist. Phil, Pepper, Kirk, Jimmy Bower--the whole gang, and new producer Warren Riker, all headed into an old barn on Phil's vast property down in Louisiana called 'Nosferatu's Lair.' They spent 28 days with rented equipment, some weird 60's porn, and plenty o' the leaf, and cranked out this mofo.

"Lysergik Funeral Procession" kicks the album off with a 70's metal bang and a memorable riff to boot. The production is a lot less 'metal' this time, and more 'hard rock,' with plenty of other quirky musical effects, from a Hammond B3 to a 1930's steel guitar. Blues and country are further explored, evidenced by amazing songs like "Where I'm Going," and "Stained Glass Cross." A weird interlude and a drum n' bass jam, and well as a few folksy/bluesy jams are also tossed into the mix. Phil sings through 96% of this album, and it's great to hear his clean voice instead of the cat-in-blender thing we get with Superjoint Ritual and Pantera. Pepper tosses in a backup vocal here and there as well. The metallic numbers are still rockin'. "Dog Tired" and "New Orleans" are two good examples.

My fave cut would have to be "Ghosts Along The Mississippi," just for the title, and the song happens to be amazing as a plus, with a sick tempo change at the end and great solo. There's plenty on here to like, mind you. It's over an hour of tripped out music, and I love it. Most fans were let down, but I find it much superior to NOLA, and reckon folks should get this one first to partake in the glory before moving on to NOLA.

Shout it with me now: "Perfection of the Seed!"


Early canidate for album of the year   April 13, 2002
 15 out of 16 found this review helpful

Down's debut album, 1995's "NOLA" was a true masterpiece that took seven years to follow up. Now Phil Anselmo (Pantera), Pepper Keenan (C.O.C.), Jimmy Bower (C.O.C. and Eyehategod), Kirk Windstein (Crowbar), and Rex Brown (Pantera, replacing Todd Strange) return with Down's highly anticipated sophmore effort. First off, if you've listened to "NOLA" countless times like I have, you'll realize that the new album isn't as good but has a different vibe to it, and that is a rather good thing. I love "A Bustle in Your Hedgerow", everything about it is so great. As on the first album, Phil sounds a lot different, you hear that he can actually sing instead of the screaming he's famous for in Pantera, and Rex is one of the best bassists around today, and he shines on "Lies, I Don't Know What They Say But..." as does Jimmy Bower on "Lysergik Funeral Procession", and Pepper Keenan and Kirk Windstein are a great guitar combination. Phil's wife Stephanie Opal lends some her vocal talents to album closer "Landing on the Mountains of Meggido" which sends the album off with a bang (check out her band Southern Isolation which even has Phil on guitar). Other standout tracks include the southern fried "Stained Glass Cross", "Ghosts Along the Mississippi", "Learn From This Mistake", "Beautifully Depressed", and "The Seed". If you are a fan of Pantera or Corrosion of Conformity and have never had the chance to listen to the first Down album, I suggest picking up both Down albums for a fine real hard rock/heavy metal experience. I can't wait to see them on OzzFest, they're the only reason I'm going in the first place.


GREAT HEAVY METAL BAND TURNS INTO DECENT HARD ROCK BAND   March 27, 2002
 10 out of 12 found this review helpful

I'll just start out this review by saying that n.o.l.a. is probably my favorite album of all time, along with koRn's 1st album and bloody kisses. I had a feeling DOWN's new record would be a bit dissapointing and for the most part, I was right. Of course it would be nearly impossible to make a record that sounded as good as nola did. For the most part DOWN II is a shadow of what nola was. There's only a few songs on this album that could hold their own against nola. The high points of the album are "Theres Something One My Side", "Ghost Along the Mississippi", "Where I'm Going", "New Orleans is a Dying Whore", "The Seed", and "Landing on the Mountains of Meggido". As for the rest of the album, its best described as southern blues rock, which is decent to chill to, but i think DOWN could do a hellava lot better. Real DOWN is "Bury Me in Smoke", "Rebab", "Jail", etc. You won't find anything like that on this record. Overall the album isn't very heavy at all, and Phil rarely screams. On a positive note however, this is an important record to remind us of what "real rock" is, when bands like Linkin Park are dominating the charts, which is very sad. Give DOWN credit for putting out an original piece of work. But overall, after listening to nola over 50,000 times, DOWN II pales in comparison.


Finally a Breath of Fresh Air in the World of Rock!   April 3, 2002
 6 out of 7 found this review helpful

I've honestly been praying to hear from Down again since the first time I heard "NOLA." When I found out "II" was finally coming out I was exstatic. When I first popped the new album in I was shocked. I had heard nothing in the media as far as the content on this cd, so I was expecting it to be similar to NOLA. Was I ever wrong! This cd has less of the Pantera style Metal feel to it and more of a Led Zep/Skynyrd rock feel. It has its heavy points (The Man That Follows Hell, Stained Glass Cross, New Orleans is a Dying Whore), but it also reveals a melodic side (Learn From This Mistake, Landing on the Mountains of Meggido). It is nearly impossible to pick a favorite song on this cd, personally I would give the nod to either Stained Glass Cross, Beautifully Depressed or New Orleans is a Dying Whore. This could possbly be a ground breaking album, because it is true to form you don't hear any hip hop elements like most metal acts you hear today. Phil catches you off guard with his singing ability, and Pepper and Kirk pound out riff after riff of amazing guitar play. Rex and Jimmy deliver the low end swampy feeling needed to make this cd what it is. I haven't been able to stop listening to this cd for a week now and that doesn't bother me a bit. A+ job from an A+ band.


Total downer!   May 14, 2002
 6 out of 14 found this review helpful

I was so excited for this album to come out, having totally loved the debut, "Nola". I was looking forward to hearing great tunes like "Underneath Everything" and "Jail". I was looking forward to those great riffs that just simply rocked!..... then I actually listened to it.

If I had to name one big disappointment of the year it'd almost certainly be this cd (well, the new Rasputina could certainly tie). I gave this cd about 4 listens on the first day and a few more in the days following, and I couldn't find one noteworthy song. The entire album is bad! I guess that should be expected when it's being advertised that the album was written AND recorded in just 28 days. Come on guys, that would be worth mentioning if the cd was any good.

I couldn't believe this cd came from the same guys who did "Nola". I'd love to go down the track list one by one and describe how each song is bad, but I can't. Because all the songs were so bland, I can't remember anything about them. To be sure I will be selling this cd off very soon.