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Weed is an awesome so-called “drug”, but it’s NOT for everyone. And throughout certain periods of my life, it’s been that way for me too. Growing up it was fun and my friends and i smoked a whole lot (!) whilst jamming…but somewhere in my mid-twenties, it would/could make me paranoid and uncomfortable in my own skin, so I didn’t/wouldn’t partake as often.
Today, it treats me juuuust fine though… and in truth, it helps my job.
We’ve written about the classes of Aaron O’Keefe before; the guy is an Ohio music school instructor who teaches his classes to perform songs by the various bands of Phil Anselmo — specifically, Down’s “Ghosts Along the Mississippi” and Pantera’s “Cowboys from Hell.”
The most logical next choice for one of Mr. O’Keefe’s classes would probably be a Superjoint Ritual song, but I guess someone decided that songs like “Fuck Your Enemy” and “The Knife Rises” were inappropriate for a bunch of kids, so we’re back to Pantera. In this instance, O’Keefe’s latest class has covered “Revolution is My Name.” It’s pretty great, even if you are guaranteed to crack up laughing when the singer begins “’68, and into the world born,” before starting to go on about the 70s and Vietnam. Some of these students are as young as twelve years old, which means they were born in ’98, not ’68.
Also kinda funny: The actual video for “Revolution is My Name” features kids impersonating the members of Pantera. I’ve always felt that the lil’ dude playing Dimebag did an especially dead-on impersonation. Here’s that clip, on the off chance that you’ve never seen it before:
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Welcome to “Question of the Week,” a (sometimes) weekly debate amongst the MetalSucks staff regarding a recent hot button issue.
There weren’t any real hot button topics this week, so we decided to just play a fun game that used to keep Vince and Axl occupied for many a lunch period when they were kids:
The MS staff’s answers after the jump.
With dollar signs in my eyes, I have seen the next great supergroup: Heaven & Hell with Phil Anselmo as their new singer. I mean, I don’t think that’s actually gonna happen, but I think it would sell a lotta tickets.
Anselmo did, however, join the band on-stage at the Dio tribute performance at the High Voltage Festival in London this past weekend. According to Metal Insider, even guest vocalist Glenn Hughes “was surprised by the Superjoint Ritual mastermind’s unscheduled appearance” during “Neon Knights.” I hope this very not-good fan-filmed footage isn’t the only record that exists of the performance — hopefully something pro-shot, or at least some photos, will appear online soon.
-AR
I know I’ve written this phrase a few times in the past, but rarely is it so true: Phil Anselmo needs no introduction. You know who he is. You wanna read this interview. Period.
I will give you a little taste of the topics Mr. Anselmo and myself recently discussed via phone: his label, Housecore Records, and his upcoming autobiography, which will be co-authored by MetalSucks’ own Corey Mitchell. I did not utter the words “Pantera”or “Dimebag” even once, even after Phil did, because, well, what’s the point? The guy gets asked about Pantera literally all the time. It’s not like I was gonna be the interview where he suddenly slipped-up and revealed some new piece of information.
Luckily for you guys, Anselmo still has a lot to say even when he’s not talking about one of the most famous metal bands of ever. And so without any further bullshit…
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
Just wanted to give you guys the first official heads-up that I just signed a contract with former Pantera lead singer Phil Anselmo to help him pen his autobiography. Be on the lookout for an official press release next week.
This one has the MetalSucks handprints all over it, as MS co-head cheese Vince Neilstein hooked me up with Anselmo through the most unlikely of sources — Vince’s dad’s girlfriend and Phil’s aunt and uncle.
Rest assured, MS Maniacs will be privy to many exclusives as I help Phil tackle his incredible story. I will do my best to take you behind the scenes of the making of the book, post advance chapters before the book hits the stores, and post deleted material that won’t make the final cut but will be worth reading nonetheless.
Stay tuned to MetalSucks for more details.
-CM
Corey Mitchell is a best-selling author of true crime books and founder of In Cold Blog. Join him on Facebook and Twitter. His next book, SAVAGE SON, can be pre-ordered now.
Boasting a resume that features members of Pantera more prominently than any Nashville session players, multi-instrumentalist Hank Williams III has defiantly cultivated a career and an image in stark contrast to the country roots evoked by his iconic namesake. Though hardly abandoning his heritage, the grandson of the honky tonk pioneer continues to mystify and enthrall with this, the first “official” release from this band.
This is Phil Anselmo performing Alice in Chains’ “Nutshell” in Tel Aviv.
And… that’s all I have to say about this.
-AR
[via Metal Injection]
Here’s the thing about Ray Mazzola, vocalist for New York’s own Full Blown Chaos: the guy has a natural born gift for storytelling. I learned this back in February, when I was lucky enough to be invited to dinner with the members of Soilent Green, music video auteur extraordinaire David Brodsky, and Allie Woest, Brodsky’s partner/producer/sometimes editor/general right hand. Full Blown Chaos were on a temporary hiatus from touring at the time (a hiatus which, their fans will be pleased to know, is now over), and so Ray joined us, and within seconds of sitting at the table, he was trading war stories from the road with Soilent Green/Crowbar drummer Tommy Buckley. And, as nice a guy as Buckley is and as many good stories as he had to tell, he just couldn’t keep up with Ray; I won’t repeat any of Ray’s stories second hand ’cause I could never do them justice, so I’ll just say that I can never again hear Napalm Death’s “The Code is Red” without bursting into hysterical laughter.
So after dinner I interviewed Soilent Green guitarist Brian Patton (and some of the dudes from Car Bomb, who also showed up at some point), and then Ray was cool enough to sit down and let me pick his brain for a little while – and to share one of his special stories with our readers. To say that the story is a doozy would be to put it mildly. Little wonder this dude is such a charismatic front man.
Above, watch the David Brodsky-directed video for Full Blown Chaos’ “Halos for Heroes,” from their album Heavy Lies the Crown; after the jump, read the full transcript of my conversation with Ray.
Phil Anselmo isn’t even the vocalist for his latest project – he’s the guitarist. He left the front man duties to Eyehategod’s fresh-from-prison Mike Williams, and it was a smart move: Arson Anthem – the band and the album – is a knuckle-scraping punch of aggression and hostility, and outside the warmth of Anselmo’s spotlight, I suspect it will only find its way into the hands of those that will really appreciate it.
