It’s been ages since I wanted to pay some written tribute to the band, so when a friend of mine asked me if I could write something about DOWN, I jumped at this chance. I know and I hope it’ll also touch some other peeps around here, oh you guys know who you are. Cuz yeah, DOWN lovers know who they are, they’re what we call LIFERS.
Good music is something you can breathe deeply and fill your lungs with, you can smell it and your heart just beats in unison with it. Good music tends to make you close your eyes, it allows you to let everything out, good and bad, all kinds of energies. And that is how DOWN makes us feel. This article is clearly a eulogy of DOWN. Good drug fo’ yo’ kidz.
I don’t even remember when was the first time I listened to DOWN, but hell I remember the first time I saw them LIVE. Experience it and you’ll never ever forget it, it’ll stay engraved on your memory and once in a while you’ll remember it as one of the best live times you’ve had in your life. This happened to me only once, in Barcelona’s Sonisphere Festival in July of 2009, and till now no gig has felt more meaningful to me than this one. Well, I wasn’t that much into the band at that time, people around me knew much more about the band than I did, starting with their names. But even if I didn’t know their names and history, when I got that pick from Pepper Keenan, I knew it was something that’d become important to me sooner or later.
This experience changed my vision of Live Shows with a capital L. No matter how big and important you are, no matter how many effects you put on stage, no matter how powerful and speed you music is, if you don’t have THE FEELING, then you can go back from where you came. These guys clearly have the feeling. Phil Anselmo means every fucking word he’s singing, deep down from his heart and guts, and I’m not talking as a fan here, I’m talking as a true music lover. This guy, sincerely, could be considered as a SOUL singer for metal. DOWN is soul music, vibrant and inviting, thrilling and genuine. I’m not even Christian but I’d say “Hallelujah !” to these motherfuckers !
What I like with this band, aside from music itself, is the combination of personalities. When you see the five dudes hanging around with each other and with whom you could easily hang around with, there’s no fucking rockstar in here, but only five average guys from the South acting like average long-time brothers. Drinking, smoking, barbecues, good jammin’, haha yeah a lotta people do that, you’d say, but do you know a lot of rockstars (take it more like “famous musicians of the rock world” than “spoiled old kids with zillion of dollars in their bank account”) who don’t give much shit about the business around while their only concern is fam’, music, and having a good time ? That’s why you will see them jamming with tons of side bands, and you won’t see a LP coming for years (which seems pretty normal actually, but you have no idea how long it really is for a DOWN fan), and touring…Well, touring worldwide seems secondary when they can play at home in their fave venues. They don’t fucking care but they play good music and it’s all that matters. LIFERS. Oh and for the record, DOWN was basically supposed to be a “side project” too !…
From blues to metal, DOWN’s music will reach every aspect of the more melodic and heartfelt color of these genres. Transporting you right into their world, in New Orleans, where sunshine and darkness meet in quite the same places. Bower brings his damn incredible swing into the mixture, Keenan puts his stunning blues-metal vibe, Windstein adds his roughness to the riffs, Brown goes with the flow and deepen every second of each song with his sleight, and finally Anselmo is the wave of magic wand that makes it all happen and become palpable. And everything tastes like the best-tasting Bourbon on rocks ever cause it’s rough, rich, and sweet at the same time. Feeling your throat burning never felt that good. Cheers…
“The power of the riff compels us”. We don’t worship blindly, we just feel the vibe deep in our hearts.
Last modified: 11 February 2015
