DOWN - Down IV: The Purple EP

Five years of waiting. Five years of hope. Five years of hoping that Down would release a record soon. Well, if we count the super DVD Diary of a Mad Band that came out in 2010, we can still say that we got something from Down in this time. Down are one of those bands that are really cool and cannot really fail. Perhaps the super-band with the best chemistry between its members. At least that’s what their songs say. OK, I’ll stop talking about how great Down are, so I’ll move to the matter at hand: Down IV: The Purple EP. The first of a series of materials to be released in the coming years. In an era of consumption and speed, when most people seem to have lost their patience and their interest for almost everything around them, in a musical industry where everything seems to decline into automated consumption, Down try to resist, adapt and keep ignorance at bay. So, the band decided that it would be best for their creative freedom but considering market trends too, to focus their attention on shorter but solid materials. At least this is what this EP looks like. If we look at the running length, it is 33-minute long, but what 33 minutes! Intense, dominated by doomy, heavy and dirty riffs, eerie and balanced groove passages, dominated by wholesome southern rock, Down can run for... EP of the year! It’s not a full-length, just an EP, but it’s done by the book.

The first track of this record is Levitation. Short riffs that’ll remind you of Pantera, drumming along the same lines we’ve become accustomed with for Down , eerie post apocalyptic melody and a Phil Anselmo at his best! A Phil Anselmo that will take you back to the 90s Pantera (I keep expecting him to say "We're taking over this town!"). Pepper Keenan and Kirk Windstein rise to the same level and bring the strings to levitate with. The second track is Witchtripper. Heavier than many songs from bands that claimed to be the greatest. As I have said before, you don’t need to be ultra brutal to be heavy. And Down do just that. They have their pace, their groove, and they are deservedly rock stars. If you didn’t get the part about weight and balance, take a listen to Open Coffins, the record’s third song. Pentagram on steroids! And since we couldn’t help opening the coffins, here comes the curse! The Curse Is A Lie, is song number four, but that is in no way the grade it would get. More smoke on the horizon, for the heart of a true stoner lover, and considering how this sounds I’d say let’s have all the curses we can get! The curse is as real as it gets! So, here we are at the fifth track of this record: This Work Is Timeless. Considering how this EP sounds, all I can do is agree and say yes, indeed it is. Let us worship the gods, get a quick prayer to Black Sabbath. And so we have reached the end, but don’t be sad, Misfortune Teller is a little over 9 minutes. If until now we had Pentagram on steroids and were praying to Tony Iommi, now is the time to play with witches. What witches? Those found by Witchfinder General. You must have listened to Friends of Hell (1983), or at least to Music. If not, there’s still time, get your ear down to it because it rocks. But what does the General and his witches have to do with this? The Misfortune Teller is seriously leaning in that direction, while keeping the aforementioned steroids. I will end by saying that if you liked Down until now, you’ll keep liking them, and if you didn’t, you’ll keep not liking them. Same as Motorhead.

H. Nota: 10