NOLA sludge metal supergroup DOWN‘s long-awaited new album “Volume V” has been announced for a November 20th release date. This ten-song outing was co-produced by the band and Eddie Mapp (Black Label Society, Stone Temple Pilots). Mixing was overseen by Dave Fortman (Mudvayne, Slipknot), while mastering was done by Maor Appelbaum (Faith No More, Halford).
It will be arriving via Nuclear Blast, complete with a guest appearance from Mercyful Fate vocalist King Diamond on a new song titled “Merciful Fate“. That song also features the wife of the Danish heavy metal legend guesting.
It would appear that late heavy metal icon Ozzy Osbourne also gets a sendoff here, with a track titled “Ozz” appearing on the record. Frontman Phil Anselmo (also of Pantera, etc.) had the following to say of the song that directly follows that, the album-closing “Twice-Told Tales“.
“It’s a conglomerate of tight riffs and blues rock mixed with the diligence of classic metal. It’s an important song to us. I could feel Ozzy Osbourne’s influence on me in the strangest way.”
The song “Blood Oath” and its official music video have just been put up as the lead single from this record, which marks the band’s first new proper batch of new material since 2014. Anselmo said of it:
“Anybody who’s from New Orleans is going to get a kick out of the references to the city. Musically, it’s got a big hook. It’s a Down song, but it takes a turn.”
Keenan added, “You’ll know it’s Down right off the fucking bat. It’s heavy in its attack.” Speaking on this new chapter overall, Anselmo offered:
“We were all excited about this. There was a sense of lightness in the air. Everyone’s attitude was positive. There was more focus than ever. It just felt fresh again. Each one of us was individually striving for something, and I believe we achieved what we wanted to achieve. The record is a journey. It’s classic Down, but it’s also unique.”
Guitarist Kirk Windstein (also of Crowbar, etc.) added:
“Everybody played their asses off, wrote great riffs, and Philip is singing amazing. There’s so much electricity when we get together. To me, it’s the same vibe as our debut ‘NOLA‘, but we’ve got another 35 years of experience as songwriters.”
Guitarist Pepper Keenan went on to say:
“The five of us are from the same era, grew up together, and accomplished a lot on our own. We all sounded different, but we’re still from the same 20-block radius. As far as what makes Down special, we knew one another before any of us had done anything. There’s history.”
“Volume V” track listing:
01 – “The Myth“
02 – “Merciful Fate” (feat. King Diamond)
03 – “Turn Out the Light“
04 – “The Message“
05 – “Causeway Grief“
06 – “Blood Oath“
07 – “They Walk the Night“
08 – “They Came from Dust“
09 – “Ozz“
10 – “Twice-Told Tales“
Pre-orders can be found via down.bfan.link/volume-v. Down are currently out on the ‘Strap It Down Tour‘ with Helmet & Spirit In The Room:
08/19 Cleveland, OH – House Of Blues
08/20 Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE
08/22 Royal Oak, MI – Royal Oak Music Theatre
08/23 Toronto, ON – HISTORY
08/25 Montreal, QC – MTELUS
08/26 Worcester, MA – The Palladium
08/28 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, PA – Montage Mountain Amp (‘Berzerkus‘) (no Helmet)
08/29 New York, NY – Jones Beach Amp (‘Berzerkus‘) (no Helmet)
08/30 Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore
09/01 Cincinnati, OH – Bogarts
09/02 Chicago, IL – Ramova Theatre
09/04 Shakopee, MN – Mystic Lake Amphitheater (Down only) (with Slayer, etc.)
