Unitron Out of all the members's of Pantera's work after the band broke up, vocalist Phil Anselmo has probably been the most overall solid and creative in making himself stand out without being known as "that guy from Pantera" that the others have become. While Vinnie Paul is just drumming in the generic groove metal band of HellYeah, Anselmo has recently came back full swing onto the scene delivering not only the first Superjoint Ritual album in a long while, but also a new black metal project.

Caught Up in the Gears of Application, the third studio album from Superjoint Ritual (Now known as simply Superjoint, due to copyright issues), is the first studio album from the band in thirteen years! Despite having a long wait, Caught Up in the Gears of Application starts right where the previous offering left off. As in, a delicious mix of sludge metal, thrash, hardcore punk, and some groovy riffing thrown in. This is an album that never lets up, constantly pummeling the listener with crushing riff after crushing riff.

Phil Anselmo's vocals are absolutely monstrous, sounding as pissed off as ever with perhaps his best vocal performance since Far Beyond Driven. In today's internet culture there's a lot to be pissed off about, and this album speaks in volumes on that front. One listen to the masterpiece, "Burning the Blanket", and the sludgy and groovy dirge will blast in your ears with lyrics that are all too true. "Clickbait" is self-explanatory, being another crushing sludge hammer with lyricism that you can probably guess from the title.

This is a real solid album, with ever song packing just about the same punch as the last. If I had to choose highlights, I'd probably say "Burning the Blanket", "Mutts Bite Too", and the title track are among the stand outs. If you're looking for some chaotic and brutal sludge, look no further. Superjoint's got you covered. Hope you found this review helpful, feel free to comment!

Coffin Joe This is the second Superjoint Ritual album. SR was one of Phil Anselmo's many side-projects and the lineup was Phil Anselmo (vocals), Jim Bower (guitar), Kevin Bond (guitar), Hank Williams III (bas) & Joe Fazzio (drums). "A Lethal Dose of American Hatred" was released in 2003, and a year later the band would disband due mainly to a dispute between Anselmo & Fazzio.

The first album showed promise, but was too fragmented. It seemed like the band wanted it to go in too many directions, and it really suffered from some mediocre drumming from Fazzio.

Luckily the second effort from SR is far better than the first. SR offers an agressive experience, and even-though roots of groove-metal can be heard, SR is heavily influenced by punk & hardcore. The band manages to tie those different genres together in a brutal adrenalin rush, that should appeal to sludgehead and hardcore-fans alike. Overall the songwriting is more focused, and while the album still throws a lot of styles into the mix, this time round it doesn't seem so fragmented as on the first record.

SR mixes the groove-metal with, hardcore, punk, some thrash and a little bit of black metal (although not very significant). Creating an expression that, even-though it doesn't bring anything new to the table, results in an all-out blitz-assault on your ears. The superjoint of various styles works best in the shorter tracks - SR is build for speed! They throw so much aggression your way, it's hard not to go-about thrashing stuff - one of the reasons my GF banned this album from our house!

Oh... and Phils voice is fucking amazing! He runs total amok. It's like the Great Southern Trendkill on steroids!!

So if you're looking for some pure adrenaline infused sludge-metal - look no further - and remember to keep a sandbag within range for getting that build-up rage out!

Coffin Joe ..Disclaimer: If the following doesn't appeal to you, then you should skip this review: getting hammered on cheap bourbon, driving a pick-up truck, shotguns, killing deers, puking, wearing flannel, living in a trailer and lap dances!..

If you are still here -let's get on with it!

Superjoint Ritual is both very underated and overlooked, and I'm hoping this review can change that picture a bit.

The band consisted of Phil Anselmo (vocals), Jim Bower (Guitar), Kevin Bond (guitar), Hank Willams III (bas) & Joe Fazzio (drums). They released two studioalbums before disbanding in 2004. Use once and destroy was their debut album released in 2002.

Use once and destroy is a good southern stew that mixes pantera with Corrosion of conformity & EyeHateGod. Expect groove-metal mixed with a heavy thrash influence resulting in an "in your face" agressive sound. Phil delivers some really intense vocals, and his range is just downright incredible! He yells growls, sing and scream like there's no tomorrow, and I'm constantly thinking of the cover from "A vulgar display of power", where the fist hits the face, because this is how this album feels - like a giant fist in your face! The raw and pure energi present here, was a big giant middle finger to the nu-metal acts that came around in 2002. This is a pure metal record, and if you place it besides your Korn or whatever cd's, they are sure to catch on fire.

That album is generally good, but the production sounds a bit raw, and it can be hard to distingues one track from another. But if you are a fan of one of the aforementioned bands, this is a no-brainer - get the album! This should be in every big 4x4 or pick-up truck!