DOWN III: OVER THE UNDER IS AN HONEST SNAPSHOT OF BATTLE-WORN BAND AT THEIR BEST
Tuesday, October 23rd, 2007 at 12:33pm by Vince Neilstein
It’s hard not to like Down. Aside from having members who played in one of the best metal bands of all time and a slew of other seminal, if not lesser-known ’90s metal bands, Down’s distinctly unique southern-fried version of original stoner/doom/sludge metal is delicious in all regards. The story is familiar already because you’ve all been beat over the head with it for the past two months — tragedy at the hands of Hurricane Katrina decimated the band members’ lives only to make them stronger upon regrouping — but it’s one that unquestionably, along with the brutal murder of Phil Anslemo and Rex Brown’s former bandmate Dimebag Darrell, has influenced the band’s latest release Down III: Over the Under in every aspect. The songwriting is refined, though the music maintains the raw, loose element that has defined Down over time. Above all, this record feels honest; honest songs, honest playing, honest lyrics. Nothing comes across as forced; you get the picture this is precisely the album Down wanted to make at this moment in time. Over the Under doesn’t reinvent the metal wheel but it definitely keeps it rolling, and I can’t see any reason that fans of Down would be disappointed.
