Rocking Down in Belfast
HEAVY metal supergroup Down are making an unlikely return to Belfast's Mandela Hall.
The band's previous visit featured an expletive-ridden rant by frontman Phil Anselmo about the size of the venue.
Laughing off suggestions that Phil might react badly when he arrives back at the hall tonight, drummer Jimmy Bower said: "He won't remember!
"I think he just meant that fans should spread the word about Down."
Anselmo and Bower formed the sludge-rock five-piece in New Orleans in 1991 as a side project from their main acts.
Bower has drummed for Eyehategod and Crowbar, while Anselmo was the frontman of million-selling thrashers Pantera.
Completing the line-up are guitarists Pepper Keenan from Corrosion of Conformity and Kirk Windstein from Crowbar, with Pantera's Rex Brown on bass.
In 1995, the band's studio flooded during the making of their debut album, NOLA.
Jimmy said: "We were recording the last track, Bury Me in Smoke, and we were jamming hard.
"All of a sudden, the electricity went out and 30 minutes later the whole studio was underwater.
"We had to wait for everything to dry out then we finished the record."
NOLA went platinum, and Down toured with Metallica and Megadeth.
This autumn, they begin work on their fourth album.
Despite having been on hiatus since November 2008, Jimmy believes they will slip into the groove with ease.
He said: "Down's the kind of band where the chemistry is so good that we'll get in the studio and we'll pump out a couple of songs a day."
Describing his uncompromising drumming style, he added: "Being in a jam room with Phil Anselmo and Pepper Keenan and Kirk Windstein and Rex Brown, if I don't hit hard I'm a pussy!"
Down perform at the Mandela Hall, Belfast, June 15. Doors 7pm. Tickets 23.50. For more information, or to book, phone the ticket hotline on 0870 243 4455 or log on to www.geturticket.com.
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Thursday 24 May 2012
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