PHILIP ANSELMO 'Couldn't Give A F**k' About Internet Haters

Mike Bax of Lithium Magazine recently conducted an interview with former PANTERA and current DOWN singer Philip Anselmo. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Lithium Magazine: Would you ever record somewhere else? Would you step out of your comfort zone of your home studio and record elsewhere, do you think?

Philip: I don't see why I should. At this point in the game, I think that we've got everything we need here. I'm not real interested in "big studio sounds" anymore. You know, I say this from my perspective only. When I turn around and have to work with DOWN again, if those guys have a different idea about where they want to record, then sure, I'll listen to it. Honestly, I think that we are all on the same page in that we don't really need to go to some gigantic room or some highfalutin fucking studio anymore. I think that we're into the raw sounds and, honestly, the realness of the room that we have now at Nodferatu's Lair. It's comfortable for everybody. My house is like a second home for everybody else. They all know where the fucking refrigerator is and the bathrooms are and the showers are. Me casa, their casa. I think everybody is very comfortable recording here.

Lithium Magazine: "Walk Through Exits Only" was recorded in 2011 and mastered and released in 2013. Is that accurate?

Philip: It's pretty accurate. Now, I'll tell you why. When I first started writing this thing, I was in the middle of producing two other records for Housecore Records. Also, I was in the middle of writing and performing on the last DOWN EP. Between writing and teaching and then recording and mixing, everything was kind of done in different sections and different points of time, and that's because of time allotted.

Lithium Magazine: I was in the room for Metal Masters 2 and 4 in New York, Phil. I used to be of the opinion that I'd never get to hear any PANTERA music live again. It was so fucking awesome to hear those two tunes at Metal Masters 2. And last year's Metal Masters 4 was like a full-on concert of music, and it was primarily PANTERA material. I know that live footage is online, but being in the room and watching it all actually happen was mind-blowing. It was so awesome.

Philip: I love it. You know, honestly, I miss the PANTERA days. I miss playing those songs. And really, what I miss the most about all of that is the feeling that you get from an audience when you play those songs. It's very unique and very once in a lifetime. To re-visit a once-in-a-lifetime type of thing, it's tough to call it a twice in a lifetime thing [chuckles] because the circumstance is different — the musicians up there playing and whatnot. Still, it's absolutely mind-blowing and it makes my heart really pump in a different palpitating level, you know? It's like it makes my heart swell, so to speak. Really, I miss the PANTERA days. I miss the audience. The mere fact that I can get up there and jam with a lot of my brothers that I grew up with, it's amazing and I love it.

Lithium Magazine: In this day and age, it's not even the go-to journalists of yesteryear. Now, if you put something online, any fucking goon with a computer will post what they think about it, and it's usually negative.

Philip: You know, it sure is. And today, in this day of the "comment section," it's amazing how many web sites out there thrive on the negative comment and the asinine comment. They love it. And they realize the more hits they get, the more recognized their shitty web site is. And I see this in sports web sites. Every kind of web site you can possibly imagine, and that just shows that we are in a world that everyone, EVERYONE has different ideas about how things should tick, how things should work and how things should not work. So everybody is pulling in different directions as fucking usual, so it's just another day in the life, you know? As for the web sites that really cater to this fucking format of negative commentary in the comment section that is sooo important to keyboard warriors, I think it's honestly a bit cowardly. I think its fucking chickenshit. And I think that most of these people who actually take the time of day to go out of their way and comment negatively on something are really just lonely, envious, sad suck fucks that have nothing else to do with their fucking time. And people like that mean about as much to me as the dirt on the ground. I couldn't give a fuck.

Read the entire interview at Lithium Magazine.