Phil Anselmo

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Philip Anselmo
Background information
Birth name	Philip Hansen Anselmo
Also known as	Anton Crowley
Born	June 30, 1968 (1968-06-30) (age 41)
Origin	New Orleans, Louisiana
Genres	Heavy metal, southern metal, sludge metal, hardcore punk, black metal, death metal, groove metal, thrash metal
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, producer
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, bass, drums
Years active	1983-present
Labels	Housecore Records
Associated acts	Pantera Necrophagia Down Arson Anthem Viking Crown Southern Isolation Superjoint Ritual Christ Inversion Tapeworm Soilent Green
Website	www.philanselmo.com/

Philip Hansen "Phil" Anselmo (born June 30, 1968 in New Orleans, Louisiana) is an American musician who is best known as the frontman for the heavy metal band Pantera. He is currently the frontman for heavy metal band Down. He is also the owner of Housecore Records.

Childhood and early life

Anselmo grew up in the inner city of New Orleans. He attended Grace King High School located in Metairie. His father owns and operates a restaurant in Metairie, LA called Anselmo's. Anselmo has a younger brother, Jerry Anselmo and a half-sister, Mary Colclough who was credited as a backup singer on the Southern Isolation EP. Anselmo has a pet rottweiler named Dracula^[1]

Anselmo has said in various interviews that he was very quiet and secluded as a child. He spent some time working on fishing boats as a young man. During a 2002 Ozzfest interview with radio show Opie and Anthony, Anselmo shared a story that, at the age of 15, he started a fire in his home to scare his sister but accidentally burned the house down in the process.^[2]

While a teenager Anselmo joined the band Samhain, not to be confused with Glenn Danzig's band of the same name. From the early to mid 80s, Anselmo was a member of the band 'Razor White'. While they did have some original material, they mainly played Judas Priest covers.

Main focuses

Pantera

Pantera were an unsigned glam metal band, with three self-released albums to their name. In 1986 it was decided by the band to replace singer Terrence Lee who was primarily a 'glam metal' singer as they were heading in a different direction musically. Seeking a new frontman to continue on this heavier path, the band was led to 19 year old Anselmo. In 1987 after several meetings, Anselmo was added to the Pantera lineup. The band were so impressed with Anselmo that they re-recorded some of Terrence Lee's vocals for their latest release. Anselmo relocated to Texas to record Power Metal which was released in 1988 on the band's own record label 'Metal Magic Records'. After the release of this album, the band dropped the glam image and went on just as themselves. The band were signed to a record label when a scout was stranded due to a hurricane. The band saw him at the venue and were disheartened when he left mid-set. It turned out that he had left the venue to phone the record label and to tell them to sign Pantera as soon as possible. The album Cowboys from Hell was recorded by Pantera in 1990 and a long tour began. Some of this tour was documented on the band's first home-video, Cowboys from Hell: The Videos released in 1991.

In 1992 Pantera recorded Vulgar Display of Power. That same year Pantera released a promo titled Hostile Mixes which contained 4 songs, 3 of which were remixes. The first two were done by Justin K. Broadrick of Godflesh and the last was done by J. G. Thirlwell of Foetus. In 1994 Pantera released Far Beyond Driven, which debuted at #1. In late June, Anselmo was charged with assault following an altercation with a security guard when fans were prevented from getting on stage. Anselmo was released on $5,000 bail the next day.^[3][4][5] The trial was delayed three times.^[6] In May 1995, he apologized in court and pleaded guilty to attempted assault and was sentenced to 100 hours of community service.^[7][8]

In 1996 Pantera released their fourth studio album titled The Great Southern Trendkill. Anselmo recorded the vocal tracks for this album in New Orleans while the other members of Pantera recorded in Texas. In 1997 Pantera released their first and only official live album titled Official Live: 101 Proof. This album contained two new tracks, I Can't Hide and Where You Come From. In 2000 Pantera released their final studio album titled Reinventing The Steel. In 2003 Pantera released a best Album titled The Best of Pantera: Far Beyond the Great Southern Cowboys' Vulgar Hits! or Reinventing Hell: The Best of Pantera in Europe. The album featured songs from all 5 studio albums, also including three cover tracks, Planet Caravan and Hole In The Sky written by Black Sabbath and Cat Scratch Fever written by Ted Nugent. A bonus DVD was also made, containing all the bands music videos. After much speculation, later that year Pantera was disbanded as Dimebag and Vinnie Paul claimed that Anselmo had abandoned the band and failed to communicate with them about the issue.

Shortly after Pantera went into hiatus, Anselmo devoted much of his time to a long-time side project, Superjoint Ritual. Having heard this, the Abbott brothers (Dimebag & Vinnie) formed Damageplan with former Halford guitarist Pat Lachman on vocals and Bob Zilla on bass. Some fans blame Anselmo for the disbandment of Pantera, because of statements in the heavy metal press. Anselmo has stated that some journalists publish what they think sells magazines best. Also, the Abbotts publicly called Superjoint Ritual "Superarmdope Ritual." Pantera bassist Rex Brown, widely known as being the one neutral voice in the matter, has blamed both sides for the split.

After Vinnie Paul slammed 'Superjoint Ritual', saying Anselmo couldn't even keep his eyes open, Anselmo replied: "I just hear a big and sad yellowbelly crybaby fuckin' knowing that his meal ticket is in a different fuckin' band, and... [long pause] You would have to know those guys to really understand where I was coming from, they're scared of their own fuckin' shadows. And, all that said, I wish them the best of fuckin' luck, I still love 'em."^[9] Anselmo had engaged in a war of words with Abbott since the fall of Pantera, culminating in the statement "Dimebag deserves to be beaten severely " in the December 2004 edition of the UK's Metal Hammer magazine. Initially, he denied making the statement, but later changed his story in a VH1 Behind The Music special on Pantera, claiming that the comment had been light-hearted and made after the interview was finished. However, Vinnie Paul told the press that he had heard the audio files of the interview and that Anselmo had not been coerced by the Metal Hammer journalist into making the statement, nor had he been misquoted.^{[citation needed]}

In December 2004, ex-Pantera guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott was shot and killed while performing with Damageplan. Anselmo travelled to Texas to attend the funeral of his former band-mate but was turned away by the Abbott family.^[10].

In a lengthy, and emotional video posted to the website community YouTube, Anselmo describes his regret over previous behavior,^[11] and has written and recorded music dealing with the loss of Dimebag on the new Down record, Down III: Over the Under. On the new Down tour, the band has dedicated the song "Lifer" to Dime.

Down

Down has been Anselmos' main recording and touring band since 2006.

Down is an American heavy metal band formed in 1991 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The band is a supergroup, comprising members and former members of Pantera, Corrosion of Conformity, Crowbar, Eyehategod and Kingdom of Sorrow.

Since its inception, Down has released three studio albums and has gone on hiatus twice to focus on the members' respective bands.

Side Projects

Arson Anthem

Arson Anthem is a Southern hardcore punk project whose lineup is as follows: Mike Williams (vocals; Eyehategod), Phil Anselmo (guitar; Pantera, Down, Superjoint Ritual), Hank Williams III (drums; solo, Assjack, Superjoint Ritual), and Collin Yeo (bass guitar).

After losing everything in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Mike Williams moved into Anselmo's spare apartment. The two spent countless hours listening to Phil’s collection of early hardcore bands. They began jamming with III and Collin Yeo, who were united by their desire to have a hardcore/crust punk band of their very own.^[12]

Superjoint Ritual

Superjoint Ritual was a New Orleans metal band formed by Anselmo, Joe Fazzio, and Jimmy Bower in the early 1990s, later to be joined by Hank Williams III, and Kevin Bond. Their style can be considered a mix of Pantera's style of groove metal and hardcore punk. A small trace of black metal can be heard too. Bands like Venom, Slayer, Celtic Frost, Voivod, and Darkthrone have been noted as influences also. The name Superjoint Ritual comes from a lyric in the Darkthrone song, "The Pagan Winter." According to Bower, Anselmo wrote 70-80% of the group's music.

Viking Crown

Viking Crown was a side project started by Anselmo in the mid 90's. The members of the band are Anton Crowley (Anselmo) on Guitars, Bass and Drums, Killjoy on vocals and Opal Enthroned (Stephanie Opal Weinstein) on keyboards.

Christ Inversion

Christ Inversion was formed in 1994, the group was a short lived blackened death metal project formed by Anselmo. Most of their lyrics were based upon horror films and Satanism. The band recorded two demos and then disbanded without ever recording a full-length album. The first demo was renamed and re-released in 2004 by Funeral in Hell Records, the second demo is set for re-release on Anselmo's own Housecore Records in October 2008. On the band's MySpace profile the band describes their sound as "the venomous vomit of Satan!" and cites their influences as Venom, Celtic Frost, and Satan.

Eibon

The idea for Eibon was conceived in the summer of 1998, when Maniac (Of Mayhem) and Killjoy (Of Necrophagia) decided they wanted to work together. Soon after Fenriz (Of Darkthrone), Satyr (Of Satyricon), and Philip joined and the nucleus of the band was formed. Their MySpace page lists their influences as Venom, Celtic Frost, Bathory, Mercyful Fate, Slayer, and Possessed. Maniac soon left to focus on Mayhem but the others continued to record on and off for a while. The band have since disbanded due to tour schedules of their Primary bands. Their unfinished album has been dubbed by fans as "Eibon - The greatest black metal album never released". In 2000 one complete track titled 'Mirror Soul Jesus' was released on the 'Moonfog 2000: A different perspective' compilation album. Another track simply called 'Rough Mix' can be heard on their MySpace page.

Necrophagia

Necrophagia was a death metal band formed in 1983 that went in to hiatus in 1987. In 1997 frontman Killjoy reformed the band with then Pantera frontman Phil Anselmo (under the pseudonym Anton Crowley) on guitars, Wayne Fabra on drums and Dustin Havnen on bass. This lineup released the album Holocausto de la Morte and the EP Black Blood Vomitorium. Havnen was then replaced by Jared Faulk, with Gorelord mainman Frediablo also joining as a second guitarist and Opal Enthroned (then Anselmo's wife) joining the band on keyboards. This line up released the Cannibal Holocaust EP in 2001 before splitting up leaving Killjoy & Frediablo as the only members for a short time.

Southern Isolation

The band released one E.P. called Southern Isolation. It contained four songs to start with but was later re-released with a fifth bonus track. The band consisted of Stephanie Opal Weinstein on vocals and guitars, Philip on vocals, backing vocals and guitars, "Big" Ross Karpelman (Of Clearlight) on keyboards and Sid Montz (Of Crowbar) on drums.

One rare track called 'Faded' has been credited to Southern Isolation on the Manson Family Soundtrack which is due to be released on Anselmo's Housecore label.

Amicuss

In 2001 a side project named Amicuss was listed on the website www.philanselmo.com. This band never came to fruition.

The information listed on the website read:

Amicuss, a black metal side project featuring Pantera front man Phil Anselmo, Amen vocalist Casey Chaos and Killjoy of Necrophagia, are rumored to be planning to hit the studio sometime this year with producer Ross Robinson (Korn, Slipknot) to record a full length album. Casey Chaos recently commented on the band stating that it may feature some members of Slipknot as well. Although unconfirmed at present, it seems that the member of Slipknot whom they may have in mind is band drummer Joey Jordison/#1. Meanwhile, Casey recently commented on what to expect from the album stating: "This is going to be a real violent release, just take all of the elements from black metal music and take it to the fullest extreme."

Tapeworm

Tapeworm is a defunct side project of Nine Inch Nails which existed in various forms from 1995 to roughly 2004. Tapeworm never released any recordings, but was frequently referenced in interviews. The band started as a side-project between Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor and live-band members Danny Lohner and Charlie Clouser. Through the years the group expanded and evolved numerous times to include artists such as Maynard James Keenan, Atticus Ross, Alan Moulder and Phil Anselmo.

In 1999 Lohner reported that three tracks had been completed, and described the various materials featuring Anselmo as "heavy NIN-meets-Pantera" and "mellow Pink Floyd The Wall-type songs".

Guest appearances

In 1993, Anselmo produced Crowbar's self titled album and recorded backing vocals on some of the tracks.

In 1996 Anselmo recorded guitars on 2 songs ("Van Full Of Retards" and Manowar's cover "Gloves Of Metal") and contributed vocals/backing vocals on 18 songs for Anal Cunt's 40 More Reasons to Hate Us album.

In 1996 Anselmo recorded backing vocals for tracks on Crowbar's Broken Glass album.

Also in 1996, Anselmo provided vocals on Soilent Green's album Sewn Mouth Secrets. Although not credited he is given thanks in the liner notes.

In 1998 Anthrax released the album Volume 8: The Threat Is Real. Anselmo provided backing vocals on track 8 'Killing Box'. Also his Pantera bandmate Dimebag Darrell played guitar solo's on tracks 3 (Inside Out) and 7 (Born Again Idiot).

In 1998 Anselmo sang a duet (By The River) on Vision of Disorder's Imprint album.

In 2000 Tony Iommi released an album of collaborations with various well known vocalists. Initially Anselmo was going to co-create an entire album with Iommi but due to tour schedules it never happened. Philip did however manage to lay down some tracks for this album. Iommi and Philip wrote and recorded 3 tracks together, 'Time Is Mine', 'The Bastard' and a third unknown track. Iommi picked 'Time Is Mine' for the album. 'The Bastard' was never officially released but can be found online.^[13] The third unknown track is now highly sought after by fans of both artists.^[14]

In 2001 Anselmo provided vocals for "HFFK" on Biohazard's Uncivilization album.

On March 6, 2006 Phil Anselmo made an appearance along with Guns N' Roses and Velvet Revolver bassist Duff McKagan and the surviving members of Alice in Chains at a VH1's Decades Rock Live concert, honoring fellow Seattle musicians Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart as well as Dimebag Darrell.

In 2008, Philip Anselmo recorded vocals for the Mahakali album by Jarboe. The track is sparse musically and features a raw, honest vocal delivery by Anselmo, as well as a short spoken word segment that Philip contributed of his own accord.

Further reading

Back surgery

On November 21 2005 Anselmo underwent surgery to repair damage to several disks in his lower back. The surgery was successful and after several months of recuperation and rehabilitation Anselmo returned to recording and touring.

According to Anselmo he had been suffering constant pain due to this injury dating back to the mid 1990's and has claimed that the medication taken to lessen the pain over these years caused his slurred speech.

Anselmo has stated that on occasion he still has pain due to the back injury but is in much less pain than he was prior to the surgery.

Knee Surgery

In early 2009, Anselmo underwent knee surgery. He made the following statement in regards to the injury:

"It was a semi-torn ACL [anterior cruciate ligament, one of the four major ligaments of the knee] and a semi-torn meniscus [a common knee injury]." Anselmo also stated: "With plans to do some jamming during the healing process, trust me, Down will return."^[15]

Housecore Records and Anton Crowley persona

Anselmo started his own record label called 'Housecore Records' to release his many side projects and material from other bands he supported.^[16] Anselmo used the name Anton Crowley for many of these projects, it comes from 'Aleister Crowley' (British occultist) and 'Anton LaVey' (Founder and High Priest of the Church of Satan). For a time Housecore was merged with Baphomet Records owned by Philip's friend and ex bandmate Killjoy of Necrophagia forming Baphomet/Housecore Records. They have since split.^[17]

Heroin overdose

On July 13, 1996, at the 'Coca-Cola Starplex' in Dallas Texas, Anselmo went into cardiac arrest due to a heroin overdose after a show.

House of Shock

Anselmo and several associates decided to create something that little bit better than an average Halloween party. Together with Steve Joseph, Ross Karpelman and Jay Gracianette he started the House of Shock. Initially it began in Jay Gracianette's back yard but over time it has evolved and is now a world famous attraction. Around 5 minutes away from New Orleans, it consists of a very large warehouse that has been converted into an interactive haunted house with a 300+ member strong volunteer workforce. Anselmos plays the role of part time actor when his schedule permits.^[18]

John Kaplan photo essay

Anselmo was featured in the John Kaplan photo essay, 21, which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography. The photographer documented the lifestyles of 21 year old Americans. Two pictures of Anselmo were included, one with a snake draped over his shoulders and the second as his head is being shaved to reveal a tattoo.

The Manson Family movie

Anselmo can be heard in the Jim Van Bebber movie The Manson Family as the voice of Satan. The soundtrack for this movie also contains pieces from several of Anselmos bands.

Marriage to Stephanie Weinstein

On the 31st of October (Halloween) 2001, Philip married his long time girlfriend Stephanie Opal Weinstein. That same year they created an acoustic band called Southern Isolation. Anselmo and Weinstein divorced in 2004. Later that year Weinstein auctioned off some items she was given by Philip over the years they were together.^[19] The comment on Ebay for the items said, "To all of you who question my motives for putting items on eBay — RELAX — these are things that will mean more to you than me. I simply am keeping those possessions and memories that I wanted. There's nothing more to it. Thanks & enjoy!".

Accusations of Racism

Since the mid 1990's Anselmo has on occasion been accused of being racist, an accusation that he has denied on numerous occasions.

During a Pantera concert in 1995 at the Montreal Verdun Auditorium Anselmo gave a speech during a break in the performance.^[20] During this speech, Anselmo stated that Pantera are not a racist band, some people who attended the performance and security personnel found parts of what Anselmo said to be racist. Following this Anselmo released an open letter apologising for any offence that he may have caused during this speech.^[21]

During an interview in August 2003, Anselmo stated in regards to the racist accusations "I’m anything fucking but, I know there’s shitty people and beautiful people on both sides of the spectrum – black and white. And I know for an absolute fucking fact there’s good Middle Eastern people who live here. And I know there’s good Oriental people. But if I’m writing a song and it has to touch on the negatives of certain issues, I’m not gonna beat around the fucking bush and fence-ride – especially with Superjoint. Before, with Pantera, I had to be slightly careful. Now I don’t. And I can see from the enthusiasm in the audiences that we’re on our way to something extremely relevant – something on top of anywhere anybody thinks we might go."^[22]

Influences

Anselmo is a hardcore punk and metal fan citing Black Sabbath, Venom, Judas Priest, Black Flag, Agnostic Front, Slayer, Discharge, Celtic Frost, Eyehategod, Morbid Angel, Darkthrone, Soilent Green, and Crowbar as major influences.^{[citation needed]} Anselmo also pays tribute to two of his favorite bands in the lyrics of the Pantera song "Goddamn Electric", singing "your trust is in whiskey and weed and Black Sabbath"; in the second verse, the lyric is tweaked to "whiskey and weed and Slayer". He is also a fan of The Smiths, who's song of the same name inspired the title for the Pantera song Cemetery Gates. He stated in Rolling Stone magazine "I adore them: the honesty and great songwriting, and everybody in the band is just a badass."

Discography and filmography

References

External links

• Phil Anselmo's official webpage
• Phil Anselmo's official MySpace page
• Underground Music scene in NOLA (New Orleans)