Choosing Mental Illness as a Virtue

Philip H. Anselmo hasn't just paved his own path. he's bulldozed it with his bare hands. His primal, powerful presence led Pantera to Grammy Award nominations, sales of 20 million albums worldwide, legions of diehard fans, and an indisputable heavy metal legacy. Simultaneously, Down carved out a distinct niche with a gold-selling debut and three more critically acclaimed releases, most recently, 2012's Down IV Part I The Purple EP. Instead of treading the same ground, Anselmo and his band mates ''The Illegals'' Jose Manuel ''Blue'' Gonzalez [drums], Stephen Taylor (moved from bass to guitar), & new extreme additions ''Metal'' Mike DeLeon (guitar), & Walter Howard (bass) open up another doorway altogether with their 2018 Sophmore release, Choosing Mental Illness as Virtue, available through the vocalist's very own Housecore Records. It's extreme, abrasive, aggressive, and anthemic. In other words, it's purely Anselmo.