Down--Down II

Down--Down II (2002/Elektra) Rating--7.4

After a seven-year recording hiatus the supergroup known as Down returns with its followup. Pantera's Phil Anselmo and COC's Pepper Keenan are at the group's heart, with members of Crowbar lending a hand as well. While most of the original ingredients are still intact, this one unfortunately does not pack the same punch. There are very few of the bone-deep grooves and rhythms that make 1995's release such a classic, and it's hard to view this as anything but a bit of a disappointment. Some tracks are hectic and disjointed, some are lighter and meandering. I suppose it's not really a bad musical release... it's just not the Down from seven years ago.
"Stained Glass Cross" has a funky rhythm and sway, and "Ghosts Along the Mississippi" and "New Orleans Is a Dying Whore" are two tracks which have some trademark nasty riffing.
There are good parts in each of "There's Something On My Side," "The Man Who Follows Hell," "Beautifully Depressed," "The Seed," and "Dog Tired".
TRACK LIST: Lysergik Funeral Procession/There's Something On My Side/The Man Who Follows Hell/Stained Glass Cross/Ghosts Along the Mississippi/Learn From This Mistake/Beautifully Depressed/Where I'm Going/Doobieinterlude/New Orleans Is a Dying Whore/The Seed/Lies, I Don't Know What They Say But.../Flambeaux/ Dog Tired/Landing on the Mountains of Meggido

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