The 50 must-have New Orleans records
Down - "NOLA" - East/West Records - 1995
The Voice of the Wetlands isn't the only supergroup in New Orleans, and as long as Down is around, one thing is for sure: it will never be the loudest.
Pantera lead singer Phil Anselmo formed Down's heavy metal all-star lineup in 1995, recruiting Corrosion of Conformity guitarist Pepper Keenan and Crowbar members Kirk Windstein, Todd Strange and Jimmy Bower. At the time of the release the New Orleans heavy metal scene was in a budding stage, with little mainstream success despite an intense underground following.
"NOLA" changed that. Down took the best of early Black Sabbath and welded it together with the early '90s local sludge sound and Anselmo's inimitable voice. What emerges is a distorted dreamscape, an album that gave fans hope that metal's downfall -- at the time, a true threat considering the rise of grunge and alternative music -- wasn't coming anytime soon. It went on to sell 1 million records and earn platinum status, becoming the first bonafide metal hit to come from our area.
- Chad Bower
Down - "Stone the Crow"
