“Housecore.” There was no mistaking the gravelly voice on the other end of phone line. Philip Anselmo, heavy metal’s last remaining juggernaut, operates his own Housecore record label in addition to fronting Down, promoting horror film festivals, producing music for a half dozen metal bands, and apparently even answers his own business phone line.
Today Philip was taking time out of his busy schedule to talk to me about his new solo record Walk Through Exits Only, and as is inevitable when talking with the brash frontman of Pantera, Down, Superjoint Ritual, and now Philip Anselmo & The Illegals, we also covered the music media, Slayer & Black Sabbath, Pantera history, and even animated internet cooking videos:
Examiner: Hey Philip, Elliot from Examiner.com in New York City. How are you today?
Philip: I’m doing fine, how you doing buddy, how you doing?
Examiner: I’m alright, recovering from Mayhem Festival over the weekend. You and I last met in January in Las Vegas, where you were cool enough to talk with me at the Hard Rock Cafe before a Down show (read that interview here).
Philip: Sh*t, that’s how I am man. Laid back and love meeting new people.
Examiner: So in Vegas we talked about your solo album and potential tour dates, and now it’s six months later and Walk Through Exits Only is out, the tour dates are booked, and you’re playing New York next month. Are you excited to bring this new music live to us?
Philip: Of course I’m excited to play it live.
Examiner: The whole record is really a kick in the face. There’s some cool effects on it too, production tricks, how are you planning on reproducing those live?
Philip: Well honestly I've got a very talented guitar player. There aren't that many effects, and if there are they’re used very creatively. All I can say is, rehearsals have been going very smooth. I think it sounds true to the f*cking record, if not heavier. When you play it live it always creates its own legs and life and attitude of its own. So I think that’s no problem at all.
Examiner: The first track is called Music Media Is My Whore. That makes you a pretty busy John, no?
Philip: (laughs). Well, honestly man, with this record there’s a lot of sarcasm, there’s a lot of tongue in cheek and whatnot, and over the years, music media... well the media in general. I’m a sports fan and whatnot so I get to see how f*cking athletes get slammed all the time, but writers get to write objective pieces and opinionated pieces and whatever, they have free reign. Bloggers and writers and sh*t, they can write whatever they want. So in my own way, this is my way of ripping motherf*ckers back just a tad. Because if you really look at the lyrical content of Music Media Is My Whore, there’s really nothing to do with media at all. It’s more of a proclamation of the record. I ain’t backtracking one f*cking step, but then again I’m not giving too much credit either.
Examiner: For all your well documented antagonism and issues with the media, you’re still one of the friendliest guys I interview.
Philip: Oh you’re damn right man. Once again, like I say, I don’t have any f*cking problem with the press at all. That was more pointed at people that damn well know that particular song title falls right on their f*cking head. As for the rest of everybody, well sorry about that. It was not meant for absolutely everybody, but then again, there is a f*cking truth to all of this. And if that be the case then, the way I see it, it takes both sides. It takes me and it takes you, so maybe we’re both kind of whores in our own way. You dirty whore you.
Examiner: Can’t deny it. Another track that really jumps out at me is the title track, Walk Through Exits Only. You say "everyone ruins music not just me." Can you elaborate on that, because I don’t know anyone who thinks Philip Anselmo ruins music.
Philip: To me that’s more of me saying that everyone has their own taste in music, you can’t please everybody all the f*cking time. Everyone’s gonna have their opinion, everyone’s gonna have their favorite bands. The best way I can describe it is music is like food, either you love it, hate it, or are indifferent about it. Or you grow up and acquire a taste for it. It’s one of those tongue-in-cheeks lines that can be taken one way or another. But at least it caught your attention and made you think.
Examiner: You've done just about everything there is to do in the metal world. You fronted a multi-platinum band, you've played in underground bands, every style of metal music, from the clubs to the stadiums. Do you feel like there’s anything left to cross off the list?
Philip: Well man, I think that music is a vast land. I think that exploration in music is a limitless f*cking thing, so there’s always something you can do with music. Honestly, playing by the rules in music, f*ck yeah I've done it. And with bands like Down it makes complete sense to have the verse, chorus, verse chorus type thing. But if you want to make a difference, than honestly in my opinion you gotta f*ck up the formula a little bit and throw curveballs at people and make them think again. And that’s something I definitely wanted to do.
Examiner: Without naming names, there’s a long list of metal frontmen who release a few rage-filled albums, and by the 4th or 5th record they’re millionaires and celebrities and fathers and husbands and when they try to sound angry, it comes off as insincere, because, probably, it’s hard to be really angry when you’re that successful and happy. But this is the angriest record I've heard all year, how do you do it?
Philip: Well when you say angry, it’s more about attitude really. And knowing your genre really well. It’s not like I've ever had a top 40 hit in my life, even back in the day with Pantera and Cemetary Gates, and with Down, Stone The Crow, songs like that. We never got accolades for that, the exact time when they came out. They just became fan favorites because of their more accessible approach. But if you look also, at the history of Pantera, I remember reading terrible reviews for Far Beyond Driven when it first came out, in a couple of well-known metal magazines, by people that were expecting us to take that more commercial dive, and go ahead and drown in the f*cking mainstream. But I was adamant that we should go in the absolute opposite direction. I was a young man at the time and honestly I feel the same values today. If you’re going to make an extreme heavy metal record these days, you have to be educated in what’s out there. Because there are f*cking insane bands out there right now that play insane music that is extremely extreme. So you have to know what you’re up against, first and foremost. And then you have to create something like I tried to do, that can sit next to it. But I definitely, most definitely did not copy my favorite bands at all. I wanted to rival them as far as extremities go, but I wanted this thing to drip of my f*cking personality, and my influences that I've had in the heavy metal game for twenty five plus years. So whether I've done that or not is up for debate, but at least that was my intention.
Examiner: Have you read reviews of the record, and are you happy with them?
Philip: I read a couple, and once again, it’s supposed to be good and bad and misunderstood and kneejerk and all that sh*t. I know what’s going to happen already so I’m not surprised at all.
Examiner: I've only seen positive reviews.
Philip: Well I agree with you to a certain extent, except for one of the better known magazines out there, heavy metal magazines, gave me a pretty sh*tty f*cking review... I think what happened with this f*cking magazine is they read Music Media Is My Whore, and decided oh well we’ll show this guy. Whatever man, f*ck ‘em. It comes with the f*cking territory, I’m a veteran, and this sh*t don’t phase me.
Examiner: Have you seen the animated short that went around the internet, 5 Minutes on Low, cooking with Phil Anselmo?
Philip: Yes! Genius. F*cking hilarious, f*cking genius, whoever did that I’m gonna give them two thumbs up because that’s just hilarious. I loved it. They did a great job with the song too.
Examiner: We talked about Slayer earlier, and Slayer is down to just two core members at this point. How do you feel about them touring like that?
Philip: Well first of all, they’re one of the biggest influences in my life. The Hell Awaits record still ranks as my favorite Slayer record of all time, but also they were one of the first bands to take us under their wing. And I remember meeting Jeff, Kerry and Tom face-to-face for the first time in 1988 when they came out to a Pantera show, when they had a night off. Right at the beginning of the South Of Heaven tour. And really, since that night, they've really kept us in tight communication. And Kerry King would come and jam with us. So either way we have a long rich history, and I think the Hanneman thing is just terrible. As far as who’s in the band playing drums and all that sh*t, I don’t like to get into anyone else’s business, because I guess the same thing could be said about Black Sabbath. Am I wild about the fact that Bill Ward’s not on the new record? F*ck no I’m not wild about it. It’s kind of lame if you ask me. But still, I love Black Sabbath and I love Ozzy Osbourne and Geezer and f*ckin Tony.
Examiner: Have you heard the Black Sabbath new record yet?
Philip: Actually no I have not heard the full record at all yet. I’ve been so f*cking crazy busy man, I gotta sit down and buy that motherf*cker and listen to it. It definitely intrigues me.
Examiner: Let me knock out a couple of quick questions before I let you go. My colleague Jason Bodak at Examiner (read Jason’s rave review of Phil’s new album here) wanted to know if the Pantera song Hollow was based on a real person?
Philip: I’d had several losses due to suicide among friends in the New Orleans area at the time. And I didn’t want to get too direct with just one of them, so I kind of encapsulated the record for a few of them. It was terrible. It was three in a row, that really just rocked our music community in New Orleans and it was written for them.
Examiner: And finally, you’re playing Best Buy Theater here in New York next month. Down’s been playing there for years so I know you’ll be at home. Do you expect the usual Down audience or some new people too?
Philip: I don’t know. Once again, when I wrote this record I realized that this music might not be for a Down fan, and that’s just fine because Down has a hardcore fanbase of its own and there’s more Down music to be made. It’s an interesting question, but honestly I expect it to appeal to the more extreme fans of more extreme music. So we’ll see man. I know it’s summertime, everybody’s low on cash. There’s festivals to go to, rock concerts to go to and whatnot, but I think my fans are the type who are walk up people.
Examiner: Okay, thanks again for talking with me today, looking forward to the Best Buy show!
Philip: Great talking to you again brother. Much love.
Philip Anselmo & The Illegals play Best Buy Theater on Friday, August 16th. Tickets are still available here. As always, get monthly previews of New York concerts delivered right to your inbox by subscribing to the New York Hard Rock Examiner at the top of this page, or follow me at twitter.com/NYROCKEXAMINER.
