Since the 2002 release of Down II - A Bustle In Your Hedgegrow, a lot has happened to the supergroup of metal heavyweights known as Down. Frontman Phil Anselmo battled and overcame hard drug use, he and bassist Rex Brown experienced the death of ex-Pantera band mate Dimebag Darrel and collectively the whole band suffered and were displaced through the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina.
Overcoming these tragedies, guitarist Pepper Keenan (Corrosion of Conformity), vocalist Phil Anselmo, bassist Rex Brown, guitarist Kirk Windstein (Crowbar) and drummer Jimmy Bower (Eyehategod) reunited and embarked on a sold-out 21 date tour of Europe in the summer of last year. Shortly after the band demoed 18 new songs in New Orleans and then recorded 15 tracks in Los Angeles in early 2007. Twelve of them made the cut.
On Down III: Over The Under, their third album in twelve years, the band finds themselves creating their usual heavy riff-based Southern metal of old but with more depth both… more »

Since the 2002 release of Down II - A Bustle In Your Hedgegrow, a lot has happened to the supergroup of metal heavyweights known as Down. Frontman Phil Anselmo battled and overcame hard drug use, he and bassist Rex Brown experienced the death of ex-Pantera band mate Dimebag Darrel and collectively the whole band suffered and were displaced through the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina.
Overcoming these tragedies, guitarist Pepper Keenan (Corrosion of Conformity), vocalist Phil Anselmo, bassist Rex Brown, guitarist Kirk Windstein (Crowbar) and drummer Jimmy Bower (Eyehategod) reunited and embarked on a sold-out 21 date tour of Europe in the summer of last year. Shortly after the band demoed 18 new songs in New Orleans and then recorded 15 tracks in Los Angeles in early 2007. Twelve of them made the cut.
On Down III: Over The Under, their third album in twelve years, the band finds themselves creating their usual heavy riff-based Southern metal of old but with more depth both musically and vocally than seen previous. Although this release may not have have any clear cut hits unlike Nola's Lifer and Down II's There's Something On My Side, it has a far deeper lyrical meanings within profound musical structures.
Opener Three Suns and One Star starts with an optimistic blast not too far off the general sound of Nola. In The Thrall Of It All and Nothing In Return (Walk Away) each find Anselmo singing with the complete conviction that he has been truly touched by the events of the past 5 years with the chorus of - You want nothing in return - echoing the best Anselmo has vocally ever been. With the use of the Dropped-B tuning, N.O.D. offers the classic Down sound however with a major contrast in lyrics - Lost on a trip, no acid can supply, cause LSD aint what it used to be (for me) - contrasting what previously fuelled the early 90's Down sound.
Keeping in theme of their previous two offerings, the album does include an instrumental; His Majesty The Desert. In comparison to Doob Interlude from Down II or Pray For The Locust on Nola, it sadly doesn't really stand as a worthy or valid track but its easily forgotten taking up only a mere two and a half minutes of the albums sixty five minute total.
What is quite prominent on this album is an input from Keenan and Windstein regarding they're own bands sounds with the slow grooves of Mourn and Pillamyd consisting of some C.O.C. styled licks and I Scream getting some Crowbar treatment. Never Try, is like a relaxing trip down on the bayou, with the bluesy southern rock sound complimented by a similar mentality in Anselmo's lyrics - You either do it or don't waste your life. On March the Saints, my favourite song of the album has an opening riff that really is, for me the best moment of the album but the real heart of the song lies in the Hurricane Katrina-related lyrics. Anselmo sings - We have been through change, by the season of the storms, its irony, the cleansing. The same themes are also tackled on Beneath The Tides with a personal experiences described in - Setting Sail, from crushed rooftops, fathoms deep, shallow as a raindrop.
Overall the band has a flawless style that revolves around a classic stoner rock sound with no boundaries, allowing a pure metal solo or hard rock bridge to be introduced without it feeling out of place, ultimately appealing to both Sabbath as well as a Slipknot fans with no shame in admitting it.
Ironically Down will never let you Down, they're a band to be proud off, the best supergroup out there and will offer you more than a free therapy session in every listen, so buy Under The Over and drown yourself in the monster that is Down.