“Fear not old friends of eclectic and strange music, it’s there for you!”
Phil Anselmo is a rad dude who has been a prolific and iconic vocalist for decades with no signs of slowing down as evidenced by the abundance of new music just released and the ones still in the works just waiting for a day to properly shine. We chatted with Anselmo via phone recently (Part 1 is right here!) as he talked about his collaboration with horror legend Bill Moselely, his upcoming En Minor project, and his role within Housecore Records and what he looks for while seeking out new talent to work with:
“I look for bands that are ready to go. Bands that are ready to hit the road. Bands that are ready to make that sacrifice, put in the time, get out there, and do gigs. That’s how bands that reside in the ‘underground’ get out there and make your nickel now. A band like Child Bite is a GREAT example of a hard working band that possess, addressing the second half of your question, what I look for in a band and that would be innovation! And originality. It’s very tough to be an absolutely original band in today’s age but to be innovative within a genre is a wonderful thing and I think that they’re fantastic at that.”
Anselmo then goes into some of his favorite artists of the here and now with some even being on Housecore:
“We just put out a record that really went under the radar last year by this Italian band called SYK (Some would say “sick” but it’s “Ess Why Kay”). By the second song your knee jerk reaction will be to crumble to bits. The more you listen the more you realize: ‘Wait a second, there’s a lot going on here!’ In my opinion, SYK has hands down one of the best lead vocalists of the modern day and that would be one Dalila Kayros. SHE IS AWESOME! People have heard me talk about this band for a long time. Their new record is a pummeling that only they could deliver. It is a blizzard of butcher knives and you’ll find yourself in the middle of a field trying not to bleed to death. It is a statement.
The new Portal is insane! It’s fucking insane and they’re out of their fucking minds. They made me want to break all of my instruments and quit! [And] There’s Donovan Punch (Former Soylent Green). That there’s a musician’s musician. An amazing musician, an incredible guitar player. There’s this world he creates, this atmosphere he creates that hearkens back but you’re not quite sure where. Zeppelin, Beatles but no…there’s more there to it.”
Getting back into his own musical output, Anselmo sheds some insight into the recent Superjoint revival and how/why they decided to reform:
“I thought it was dead. Really, the second we got back into the jam room it was fun! It was fun again. Fuck it, let’s do a new record, see how it goes, see how we feel about that. And that’s all we did. Nothing more complex or strange about it. Just why fucking not?”
When pressed on if any of his former or current outfits are considered his ‘main gig’, Anselmo offers up what he has in the works and explains why choosing any one band he’s involved with would generally be a disservice to the art of it all:
“Well, I got two new Illegals EP’s done (One of which was just announced to have a December release date). I’ve got three records of this other band (En Minor) that’s completely not heavy metal almost done. I’ve got a whole new Scour EP that’s finished on my end (Red, due for release on November 3rd). Gosh, I’ve got a death metal thing that I did which probably won’t get out there for a good two years which is all par for the course. The Superjoint that’s out now was like two years old for me. I’d been sitting on that as well.”
“I constantly make music and it depends on the mood but that’s the beauty of it. Music is vast. If I was to pin myself down to one band it’d be unfair to the living experience, y’know? I’ve only got X amount of years left in life! I’m on the wrong end of that ship (laughs) so I might as well play the fucking music I feel like playing. To be influenced by The Beatles or Queen or Stevie Wonder or David Bowie (RIP) and on and on and on…or Nick Cave! Or Antonius Rex…you know, old Italian Horror. I’m influenced by a lot of this stuff so why not delve into music that’s influenced you over the years and touch upon different genres. They’re there! So fuck it! Why not do it? I shall do it and I have done it and eventually I’ll put it out there for you guys to consume and discard. Or digest! Ya never know, you might love it!”
Be sure to check out Part 1 of our interview where you’ll find links for recently released albums from Superjoint and his Bill & Phil project. Speaking of Superjoint, Anselmo is currently on tour with that outfit. For dates and more, head on over here. You can also pre-order the upcoming EP from Scour by clicking here.
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