DOWN — Down II: A Bustle in Your Hedgerow... (review)

DOWN — Down II: A Bustle in Your Hedgerow... album cover Album · 2002 · Stoner Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
UMUR
"Down II: A Bustle in Your Hedgerow..." is the 2nd full-length studio album by US metal act Down. The album was released through Elektra Records in March 2002. It´s the successor to "NOLA" from 1995 and features one lineup change since the predecessor as bassist Rex Brown has been added to the lineup (he also plays some organ and keyboards on the album). Guitarist Kirk Winstein had played the bass parts on "NOLA (1995)".

Although "NOLA (1995)" was a big success when it was released, the band members only played a 13-date tour, as they all had commitments they had to return to in their at the time main band´s Pantera, Corrosion of Conformity, Crowbar, and Eyehategod. In the autumn of 2001 they finally had time to gather again and to record the material for "Down II: A Bustle in Your Hedgerow...".

7 years between album releases is a long time, and "NOLA (1995)" and "Down II: A Bustle in Your Hedgerow..." are ultimately also very different sounding releases. "NOLA (1995)" was a very rough edged and immediate release, which at times sounded like just the next step from a demo recording, but "Down II: A Bustle in Your Hedgerow..." is a completely different beast, as it is very well produced and the band also seem to have had more time to write and develop the material, which is generally stronger, more memorable, and more varied, than the material on "NOLA (1995)".

The listener is treated to heavy southern stoner riffs and grooves, but "Down II: A Bustle in Your Hedgerow..." is a very dynamic release, and it also features several more mellow moments/tracks. Lead vocalist Phil Anselmo puts on a strong and varied performance. After increasingly more brutal and extreme vocal performances on the last couple of Pantera albums preceding the release of "Down II: A Bustle in Your Hedgerow...", it´s nice to hear him sing a little more melodic again. He still has a raw and powerful voice, but he is also a great "clean" singer and some of the more mellow material on the album gains a lot from his personal and unique voice and vocal style.

Some tracks take a few listens to get into and remember, while others are infectiously catchy (once I heard the chorus to "Stained Glass Cross", it stuck for days), but all tracks on the 15 track, 66:04 minutes long album are high quality material. Many albums with playing times that long overstay their welcome by at least a few tracks and typically 10-20 minutes of playing time, but that´s not the case with "Down II: A Bustle in Your Hedgerow...", which features a varied and well flowing tracklist. It´s interesting and entertaining from start to finish wether it hits you with crushingly heavy southern riffs and grooves or takes you on a psychadelic mellow journey. This is a high class album release through and through. A 4 - 4.5 star (85%) rating is deserved.
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