Phil Anselmo's sludge metal band Down is currently working on new music. The group hasn't released anything since their 2014 EP Down IV – Part II.
The news came in a Facebook post from guitarist Kirk Windstein on Dec. 28. It included a picture of him and Down's other guitarist Pepper Keenan at a studio in the New Orleans suburb of River Ridge.
"So...we kinda wrote 2 Down songs today!!!" Windstein wrote.
'So...we kinda wrote 2 Down songs today!!!' guitarist Kirk Windstein said in a Facebook post on Dec. 28.
The guitarist discussed the possibility of new Down music in an interview with Loaded Radio's Scott Penfold last October.
"To be honest, we talked about doing like a cover-song EP," Windstein said in the conversation transcribed by Blabbermouth. "But we threw around like a hundred songs and we can't pick and choose any of them. So, to me, it's easier to just go, 'Hey, guys, let's get in the f**king room and just write some s**t.' Come out with six songs and do an EP. So I hope that that's what happens."
The news came just months after Anselmo reformed Pantera as a touring act alongside the group's original bassist Rex Brown. The move was controversial since founding members Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul are both dead. They were replaced by Ozzy Osbourne and Black label society guitarist Zakk Wylde and Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante.
Windstein also discussed this new iteration of Pantera with Penfold.
"Phil's attitude is kind of just like, 'Look, fellas, I'm doing what I'm doing [with Pantera]. I love it. We're killing it.' And boy, are they," the guitarist said. "They can do [the Pantera thing] forever. Like as far as festivals in South America, Europe and whatnot, they can — they can always go do a weekend or two in the summer here and there… I mean, I don't blame them. Who would? You do what you've gotta do."
The supergroup was formed in 1991.
Fans in the comment section below Windstein's Facebook post were thrilled.
"Best news to end 2023 on. LETS GOOOOOOO," one said. "Good stuff! We all could use some new Down in our lives," said another. "Love to see this!!!" a different commenter said. "You guys are honestly one of my alltime favorite guitar combos. Such different playing styles but you guys compliment each other perfectly."
Frontman Phil Anselmo recently revived his band Pantera as a live act.
Down formed in 1991. The supergroup's lineup included members of top-tier Southern metal acts like Corrosion of Conformity, Crowbar and Eyehategod. So far, the group has put out three full-length studio albums and two EPs. Down IV – Part II, the group's highest-charting release, made it to No. 26 on the Billboard 200.
The band doesn't play live often, but made a series of appearances in 2022. That included sets at the Welcome To Rockville event in Daytona Beach and the Blue Ridge Rock Festival in Alton, Virginia.
Anselmo is a controversial figure. The singer received significant backlash in 2016 after a video him doing a Nazi salute and screaming "white power" went viral. Some listeners have also reevaluated Pantera's legacy on race in recent years. Confederate flags were always an important part of the band's imagery and Dimebag Darrell made disparaging comments about Black people on several occasions.
