I’m gonna tell you right now – I don’t usually get all “fan-girl” and nervous talking to people, even those I greatly admire on an artistic level. When I was told I was going to be interviewing Rex Brown, the fact that I was going to be talking to someone who helped mold my musical tastes as a kid didn’t hit me until probably an hour or so beforehand, and that’s when, admittedly, I started to get a bit weak in the knees. I started to remember so vividly hearing Pantera’s “Floods” for the first time on a family road trip to the Midwest, how it chilled me like nothing else ever had, and those days speeding down 95 in my first car blasting Cowboys from Hell. As one of the founding members of Pantera – up until their unfortunate end – he helped open the gates for a great deal of us to the world of metal. With his involvement in Down, as well as Crowbar, that love for many of us was kept alive.

Of course, with his recent departure from Down, some may have been wondering what else, if anything, Rex had next up his sleeves. Thankfully, there’s plenty.

As soon as I answered the phone, one of the first things Rex said to me (with a laugh) was that he’d been “giving interviews all day.” That in itself I thought was a true testament to someone who, even after over two decades working at it, is not looking to give up anytime soon – a fact that’s emphasized by his enthusiastic involvement with his new band Kill Devil Hill. The new project, featuring Vinny Appice (Heaven and Hell, Dio, Black Sabbath) on drums, Mark Zavon (Ratt, 40 Cycle Hum) on guitar and Jason “Dewey” Bragg (Pissing Razors) on vocals, is currently on tour and looking forward to releasing their yet-to-be-named debut album early next year on SPV/Steamhammer Records.

Talking with Rex was not only an experience in that he’s someone I have long admired; it was something getting to speak with someone so excited and hopeful about his current conquest. After over two decades playing music – through the triumphs as well as the hardships – to be as enthusiastic and passionate is not an incredibly common thing. I think that’s something that all of us can not only appreciate, but hopefully aspire to.

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While Arms of the Sun are probably best known in metal circles because their low end is provided by Down / ex-Pantera bassist Rex Brown, Rex’s participation is actually somewhat peripheral — the band is the brainchild of guitarist/singer Lance Harvill. But no matter; Arms of the Sun just write great rock songs, and folks really shouldn’t fixate on the fact that Rex is in the band as Arms of the Sun stand up on their own just fine. (And no, the irony that I just spent a paragraph fixating on Rex Brown’s membership in this band is not lost on me.)

Arms of the Sun have a new video for the track “March of The Dolls”; it’s a clip of stitched together live footage and as such it’s not an especially interesting video, but it does provide me with an excuse to plug this excellent band and hopefully turn a few more folks onto their music. So in that regard, mission accomplished. Enjoy the song below.

-VN

May 8, 2010 – Ridglea Theater – Fort Worth, Texas

The fact that former Pantera frontman Philip H. Anselmo staged his first return to the Dallas/Fort Worth area since the early ’90s to support his latest Housecore signing Warbeast, speaks volumes about the band.

The Old Fart-approved Warbeast is comprised of three former Texas late, great ‘80s thrashers: singer Bruce Corbitt of Rigor Mortis and lead guitarists Scott Shelby and Rick Perry of Arlington-based Gammacide; joined by 2006 Gammacide reunion bassist Alan Bovee, and 19-year-old drumming wizard Joe “Blue” Gonzalez of Demonseed.

Anselmo signed the Dallas-based Warbeast to his own Housecore Records imprint and also produced the band’s debut album, Krush the Enemy, at his home studio in Louisiana. The occasion for Anselmo’s return to his former stomping grounds was the official CD release party for Warbeast.

It was an event for the metal ages.

*(Author’s note: I am currently working with Philip H. Anselmo on his autobiography. Beyond that, I have been a Rigor Mortis and Gammacide fan since the late ‘80s, long before I ever knew Anselmo, when I played both bands repeatedly on my University of Texas college radio metal program, and also booked Rigor Mortis at shows in the Ritz and the Backroom in Austin. So, considered this a completely biased article.)

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It’s worth questioning how much influence ex-Pantera/Down bassist Rex Brown has in his new band Arms of the Sun; to my knowledge he wasn’t a big songwriting contributor to either of his other main squeezes, and not for nothin’ Arms of the Sun sound like neither of them. But it really doesn’t matter because Arms of the Sun sound fucking sweet and are perfectly worthy of being judged independently of their very famous bassist.

The mid-paced, bluesy, guitar-driven rock that Arms of the Sun play kind of reminds me of latter day King’s X combined with the songwriting sensibility of the DeLeo brothers. Either you’ll like it or you won’t, and anyone expecting something even close to as heavy as Down (let alone Pantera) probably won’t. It’s rock, not metal. But Rex probably doesn’t care whether you like it or not. You don’t make music like this during your downtime from your main band unless it’s something you’re really into. It’s always cool to see what musicians do with their downtime when their main bands are still together — dudes from broken-up bands are a whole different story — because commercial success isn’t a concern meaning it’s all from the heart. And for the other dudes in this band it represents a chance to get a whole lot more exposure from sites like this one.

If any of this sounds interesting to you check out the songs that Arms of the Sun have posted on their MySpace page. Every single one of them is really good, but the first song “Falling to Pieces” which is also the heaviest is actually my least favorite one. If you live in Dallas you can catch Arms of the Sun live at the Lakewood Theater on April 17th.

-VN

Of course not every band can be a Pantera or Down, but I’d argue that out of any member of Pantera, one Mr. Rex Brown has the best track record for non-Panteric projects. He wasn’t in Damageplan, a mediocre band we all pretend didn’t exist in the name of not doing any harm to Dime’s legacy; he’s obviously not in Hellyeah, who I still can’t quite believe are a real band and not some elaborate prank; Pantera and Down are only ones of Phil Anselmo’s 1,384 bands that Brown was in. Yeah, Rebel Meets Rebel was way too redneck for this Noo Yawk Jew, but at least they didn’t have a song called “Alcohaulin’ Ass.” So three cheers of Rex.

Of course, now Rex has another new band, Arms of the Sun, so I guess it’s possible he’s about to fuck-up his batting average. The three songs on AOTS’ MySpace page really generic bar-band stuff that sounds like it might have been cat nip for the guy who signed Candlebox fifteen years ago, but again. “Alcohaulin’ fucking Ass.” So Rex gets to keep his title belt… for now.

Check out Arms of the Sun here, then tell me why I’m being too hard on Damageplan/RMR/Hellyeah/Superjoint Ritual/whatever in the comments section.

-AR