I can remember pretty clearly in 1995 reading of a new side band called Down, formed from members of Pantera, COC, Crowbar, and Eyehategod. Their debut album Nola was released in September of that year, and I loved every song. Down’s impressive pedigree put its name on the map, but the songwriting has cemented its place in metal history. No one had done quite what they had: meld influences like Black Sabbath, Saint Vitus, Melvins, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Led Zeppelin into a blend of bluesy metal and southern rock.
Three decades later, they are still going strong. They have three full length albums and two EPs, with a fourth album on the way. They’ve headlined tours and festivals all over the world and you’d find it nigh impossible to encounter a metal fan who hasn’t heard of them. They spent mid-August through early September of 2026 on the Strap it Down tour of the U.S. Chicago’s Ramova Theater was home to the final tour stop on September 2nd.
Down hit the stage and kicked things off with a new song, the percussive and doomy Blood Oath, off of their forthcoming album Volume V. It’s got a pleasingly dark vibe and catchy riff perfect for a Down song; a good sign of things to come. That got the crowd moving instantly. The Ramova was nearly full, and it holds around 1800 people. It was a hot and muggy evening outside with little respite inside, but that didn’t seem to matter to anybody. Blood Oath was followed up by Lysergik Funeral Procession and Lifer, the latter dedicated to Pantera’s Abbott brothers and Ozzy Osbourne. Every song had people moshing and crowd surfing. And they drew a crowd of all ages. The rest of the set consisted of almost all of Nola, and Ghosts Along the Mississippi from Down II. It’s been noted that a band’s environment creeps into their sound, and that’s readily apparent with Down. They sound very organic, and absolutely like music written and recorded in the Louisiana swamps. Jimmy Bower’s lively drumming moves the songs along with Pat Bruders’s adept bass playing; guitarists Kirk Windstein and Pepper Keenan are total riff machines, and Phil Anselmo’s soulful vocals often harmonize with the guitars and really distinguish the band’s sound. The night closed with Bury Me in Smoke and a theater full of sweaty people emerged back out into the night air. Doubtless there were many sore necks the next morning.
I hadn’t seen Down live since 2002, so I was long overdue. Down’s members have occasionally stepped away from it to focus on their main bands, but they’ve always come back to it. And despite everyone being older by several decades since its inception, they really sound phenomenal. Their live show hearkens back to the band’s origin: five friends with a shared appreciation for heavy, bluesy, metal. They’ve stepped up the number of live shows in the last several years, so let’s hope that continues. They’ve rightly been referred to as a supergroup, and we’re lucky to be around to see them on stage.
