Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Different but brilliant, September 24, 2007
Down III is in stores, at long last! My first impression after about 4 or 5 spins is that, again, their sound has changed quite a lot while maintaining their classical trademarks. Some observations:
- The songs have become more complex, the production more sophisticated (reminds me a bit of C.O.C.'s In the Arms of God). The album features few potential hit singles (Down I had lots of those, remember the video to "Stone the Crow"? Down II had for example "Ghosts along the Mississippi").
- Phil screams less, sings cleanly most of the time, sings background to his own lead voice a lot.
- Kill me if you like, but I some passages remind me of Alice in Chains! Maybe a more mature touch? I guess "less outright aggression but still the same intensity" describes what I mean.
- Very often, a simply melody is repeated endlessly, like an incantation. They already did that on Down I, but here it's almost in every song. The first couple of times I listened to the album I thought this way of composing wasn't really dynamic enough, but now I can't help but nod my head during every one of those passages.
In a nutshell: the album is less "user-friendly" but not less brilliant than its predecessors. It's a new dimension to Down. It takes a couple of spins to get into the new way of nodding but once you're there you know once more that Down is one of the greatest outfits of misfits out there!
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Phil? Weak? No such thing, September 25, 2007
Ok, i'm not sure what this first shmuck is talkin' about...but i'll be a s.o.b if this isn't one of the greatest things to grace the shelves of the record store this year. that guy from *gasp* crowbar and of course pepper are 2 of the baddest guitar lickin' dudes out there today besides *another gasp* jimmy bower of eyehategod who...fathom this, is also in the band but playin' drums. i don't know what it takes to please some ppl but if you like drinkin' whiskey and bangin' your flippin' head buy this. if you think, oh, maybe they missed a quarter note there then take your arse to bestbuy and pick up the latest AFI album or whatever these wretched emo-kids are cutting themselves to nowadays.
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Back in the saddle, September 28, 2007
A lot has happened in the five years since the release of Down's previous album. Phil Anselmo and Rex Brown's former Pantera bandmate Dimebag Darrell was senselessly murdered not long after the band disbanded, and New Orleans, the hometown to most of Down's members, was devestated by Hurricane Katrina. All the tragedy and sadness that has been experienced has been laced into "Over the Under", which re-unites Phil, Rex, Corrosion of Conformity frontman Pepper Keenan, Crowbar's Kirk Windstein, and Eyehategod's Jimmy Bower; and all five pour their emotion into their music. They also manage to concoct the best brand of southern-fueled hard rock, which shouldn't really be a surprise to anyone really. Phil does much less screaming here and really puts his heart and soul into his lyrics, while the rest of the band is what you would expect to hear if you're a fan of Down or any of the member's other outfits. Opening track "Three Suns and One Star", "The Path", "On March the Saints", the aptly titled "Mourn", and the "Jail"-flavored "His Majesty the Desert" are spectacular and uncompromising in their delivery. There's no real instantly listenable tracks here like "Stone the Crows", but make no mistake that that is not a bad thing. It should be also noted that "Over the Under" is a different animal than what was heard on "NOLA" and even "A Bustle in Your Hedgerow"; but don't let that put you off of this. All in all, "Over the Under" is a triumphant return for the beloved Down, and here's hoping that there will be more to come with less tragedy to fuel it.
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~ Down
~ High On Fire
~ Corrosion of Conformity
~ Superjoint Ritual
~ Superjoint Ritual
by Down 
