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War Pygmalion - Downs 'Nola'

    •  mikemike
    • Add your comments here!
    •  MazzMazz
    • OH MY GOD
    •  PodgePodge
    • I've never seen what all the fuss was either.

      I also blame Down for encouraging a whole load of substandard metal bands tag themselves as "sludge" instead of "devoid of talent"
    •  MazzMazz
    • OH MY GOD II
    •  basstardbasstard
    • Excellent work Gareth, 10/10.
      Never could stand Pantera or see what the fuss was about Down.
    •  mikemike
    • See I can't stand Pantera, but this album is one of my faves. Don't like much in the way of Anselmometal, but hey, not for everyone,
    •  PetePete
    • As I said to Gareth when he received it off Mike in the pub a couple of weeks ago for this review purpose (and which I think Mike agreed with), I think Nola is an excellent album. Some bad music may have been made in it's name as influence, and it has obvious Pantera connections which sticks in the throat of some - but I think it's a great stoner record.
      [Edited by Pete at 17:12 on 19/06/12]
    •  GarethGareth
    • Imagining it had no Anselmo and was from an up and coming band, I'd have struggled to come up with much good to say about it in any case. The fact that it's from some big names makes it inexcusable.
    •  mikemike
    • Have you heard Crowbar? That might be a good one to do next.
    •  pull-my-plonkerpull-my-plonker
    • Sorry guys but I'm ging to weigh in with a big fat dose of I DON'T AGREE WITH ANYTHING HERE.

      It's a cool point-of-view and everyone has their tastes, and I support reviews that go against the grain, but to me all bands mentioned above have a feel, a moment and a groove that's for the large part unrivalled. There's a reason for the success of this oustanding record and as much as it's down to the personnel involve, it's down to the tunes. Sure, Anselmo looks like a meathead and has spouted a fair amount of over-agressive shite in his time, but by Jesus can he sing. 'Temptations Wings', 'Bury Me In Smoke', 'Losing All', 'Stone The Crows'...come on man, these are modern classics that can be sung dunk, hungover or even (dare I say it) sober. They've got riffs, grooves, amazing feel and grit to the vocals and just sum up for me that deep south feel. A great record.
    •  MazzMazz
    • Bury Me In Smoke..so sweet.
    •  MazzMazz
    • ..i'm going to play it now.
    •  OllieOllie
    • I'm not a huge Pantera fan...don't mind them and they did some good tunes. Not a big Crowbar fan, good band, some good tunes but I am a huge COC fan and I have to say I think Down and this album especially stick closer to the COC blueprint than any of the other player's bands. The fact that Anselmo is on it and was in Pantera is neither here nor there as the guy is an awesome vocalist when he wants to be and isn't just screaming his tits off. I freaked for this album when it came out (I had the demo first that whetted my appetite) and it still stands up to this day...better than what they've done since.

      The fact is this album has been out now for 17 years so if you haven't heard it until now chances are you're not a fan of this style of music...so why bother reviewing it?
    •  alanalan
    • I like it too, but to be honest I always preferred their second album. I've always thought it was a waste having Pepper and Kirk in a band that they never sing in though.

      Gareth, if you don't like Anselmo on record you should give them a try live. Personally I think they perform really well live, but no frontman makes me cringe between songs quite like him.
    •  PodgePodge
    • Ollie, its not a review.

      Live they are as dull as they are on record only you have more people round you telling you how "fucking sweet" they are and exclaiming "how can you NOT like Down?"

      I'm sticking with Gareth on this. It's every pub rock and teenage metal band rolled into one
    •  JackJack
    • I'd disagree, I'm not even a huge fan of the records but I've seen them 3 or 4 times while working festivals and they put on a good show, big old groove
    •  bosskeloidbosskeloid
    • This is a poorly researched piece of writing and he even admits it!! Should not have been published if he can't be arsed... and he shares my name, Gutted!
    •  PetePete
    • I think we need to clear some things up here, to try and remove some of the aggro.

      This is part of a series where Gareth is given metal CDs, considered classics, which he hasn't heard much or at all, and is asked to review them. It is supposed to spark debate, as this has, and gets us all reliving old albums and our opinions of them, in a better way than list threads can, again as this obviously has.

      I think it's a great idea and series so far, and I look forward to the next one. The point is for us all to reply with our thoughts, and argue and disagree, but let's not start name calling because of differences in opinion.
    •  bosskeloidbosskeloid
    • fair enough, did not realise that was the idea... what you given him so far? if you have not done it yet give him some Weedeater...
    •  GarethGareth
    • bosskeloid says:
      This is a poorly researched piece of writing and he even admits it!! Should not have been published if he can't be arsed... and he shares my name, Gutted!


      I apologise and will go away right now and listen to all 33 odd of the bands combined 'day job' output albums before I express an opinion on this one.

      And by "poorly researched" I assume you're exempt from this label for not even reading the article intro paragraph?
      [Edited by Gareth at 18:06 on 20/06/12]

Forums - Reviews and Articles - War Pygmalion - Downs 'Nola'