Crowbar: Medieval Swamp Tones For Manic Depressives? Page 2

Lyrically, Kirk, as usual, stabs right to the heart of emotional trauma, although it is fortunately trauma that can be quashed through positive, affirming self-direction. "A lot of songs of the album have a spiritual overtone, not necessarily with God or anything, just your own struggle within your mind and body. And a lot of it touches on drugs and alcohol, not just necessarily from or about me, but friends and stuff, how they've coped with it and moved on, which is the subject of Glass Full Of Liquid Pain. Plus there's failed relationship stuff and a track called Command Of Myself which is really about persevering, saying that I have a fire to still do this and that I want it to continue."

Swamp-dwelling Sammy, he of Acid Bath notoriety, is now feeling much more a part of the band, having been the fresh recruit on Odd Fellows Rest. "This one was a little bit more relaxed than the last one. Because when Odd Fellows Rest was being recorded, I was like the new guy, had never really done too many shows with them. I was kind of nervous. I didn't actually get to know the serious personal side of everyone. Whereas with this one, we had gone through a year of touring and getting to know each other really good, so it was much more relaxed. It's an interesting group. Everyone is different from each other. Personality-wise, Big T's kind of quiet, just chills out, kind of watches everything that goes on around him. And Kirk just likes party, have a good time most of the time. Sid, the new drummer, let me see how I can put this, he's definitely his own entity, just a very different person, the most unique person I've ever met in my life. He's just out there, I guess you could say."

Sammy's Acid Bath influence can definitely be heard on Equilibrium, again, having to do with a slight elevation of complication, coupled with a foreboding sense of misfortune built into his reclusive riffery. This is a Crowbar that sounds dead serious.

Except when it comes to the band's piss-take cover of Gary Wright's Dream Weaver, rendered in a mindless lurch that sounds like an extended Type O smear. "It was just a drunken mess-around," offers Sammy with a chuckle. "A really laid-back situation at the studio. Everybody was just burned-out and a bit drunk, and we just said 'screw it, let's just do something crazy.' It was just one of those moments, you know?"

Watch for Crowbar to tour, as always, their wide loads off this record, the road being home for countless years behind the band, and likely countless years ahead. And just when you're not paying attention, look for another Down record to drop. "Right before we left for this past tour with SOD, we had talked about that quite a bit," reveals Kirk. "Phil (Anselmo) was kind of negotiating everything. We had done a one-off deal with Elektra for the last record, and we wanted to do the same thing again this time. We have about ten songs worth of riffs, kind of on tape, very, very rough. It definitely needs work, but we have a decent amount of stuff written. It's really similar to the last one. It's got a kind of '70s overtone to it. It's a lot more rock 'n' roll, if you want to call it that, compared to Pantera or Crowbar. If anything, Down was always closer in my eyes to what Corrosion Of Conformity was doing on the last few records. But it's still the same direction, although we'll try to beef it up a little."