Anselmo: I've got soul

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By ( Metal Hammer ) published

Phil insists he can still carry a tune – as long as it's not Cemetery Gates

Phil Anselmo insists he can still sing most vocal styles – but admits there’s some songs he’d struggle to pull off.

The Down and Superjoint singer doesn’t think he’d be able to carry songs such as Pantera’s Cemetery Gates the way he used to, but says he purposefully moved away from that vocal style.

He tells MusicFrenzy: “I know there is a contingency of people out there that say, ‘Ah, Phil can’t do this and that anymore.’ And you’re damn right — there’s no way I’d be able to sing Cemetery Gates or something like that again. Not that I’d want to.

“I purposely moved on from that style of vocal, because I felt that style had been beaten to death. And I know there’s a contingency of people who prefer the singing voice over extreme vocals — because I can do both.

“It’s all about the mood I’m in. I can fucking sing — I’ve got soul, Jack. I’ve got a little ‘brother’ in me, if you know what I’m saying. I’m from New Orleans. So, anybody who doesn’t think the kid can still sing, or I’m copping out, I’ve just gotta say – you’re wrong.”

Anselmo’s work with Down and Superjoint allows him to flex his vocal muscles in different ways, he says. “Singing is a different animal than, say, the death metal or hardcore singing. Superjoint, that’s hardcore singing, heavy metal singing.

“But actually carrying a note and singing song after song… Down is a band where I have to be in key. That requires a lot more early nights. A lot of sleep, a lot of rest, warming up.”

The singer said recently that he’d love to work with former Pantera bandmate Vinnie Paul again. Superjoint have three dates left on their current US tour.

Stef Lach

Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.