DOWN Makes #1 on the 12 Greatest Heavy Metal and Hard Rock Supergroups Of The Modern Era
February 20, 2015
I have a soft spot for supergroups. It gives me the same feeling as when Ghost Rider and the Punisher would crossover into The Amazing Spiderman for a few issues. It’s the same reason why I love the NBA All-Star game, and why I like ice cream with a bunch of stuff in it; Oreos, Reese’s peanut butter cups, cookie dough, and literally everything else. I am a glutton for the things I like, and I fantasize about what they would be like all mashed up. Heavy supergroups are like fantasy football for metal nerds.
I have an eerie feeling that many metalheads subtly despise the cash grabbing cynicism in the formation of supergroups, and secretly wish them to fail. We demand a lot of our rock heroes. We expect them to be artistically impervious without ever being too heavy-handed with capitalistic intent. This is a delicate balancing act: Musicians pretending to be earnest with their intentions in putting together an all-star act, while internally salivating over the marketing opportunities. Perhaps, I’m the cynic here.
Here are some disclaimers and factors that went into making the list: I factored the number and stature of rockers involved, quality of material produced, and how it influenced the music culture since it’s release. Reverse supergroups don’t count. I.E., Alter Bridge can’t be considered a supergroup, since Miles Kennedy wasn’t famous at the time of the band’s formation. Please keep in mind that this is just one man’s opinion, and although I think my opinion is way more awesome than yours, I’ll understand if you think I’m a dumbass. So, please no hate mail from the nerds who are butthurt that I didn’t include Liquid Tension Experiment. Also, for future reference, I spend a lot of time making fun of nerds. I’m a lot like Ogre from the Revenge of the Nerds, so I apologize in advance.
1. Down
“Stone The Crow” (Live)
Members: Phil Anselmo and Rex Brown(Pantera), Pepper Keenan (Corrosion of Conformity), Kirk Windstein and Todd Strange (Crowbar), Jimmy Bower (Eyehategod, Crowbar), Pat Bruders (Crowbar, Goatwhore)
Although the numerical order of this list is mostly inconsequential, I would undoubtedly site Down as the greatest heavy supergroup of the modern era. There have been several member changes in the past few years, but I am speaking to the core line-up that wrote and recorded the bulk of the material released. The amazing thing is that in Phil, Pepper, Kirk, and Jimmy, you had 4 guys who were essentially the band leaders of their respective original bands, yet somehow found a way to not let egos interrupt the chemistry and flow. Kirk and Pepper are great singers in their own right, but let Phil own his lane. It’s the New Orleans best of the best in one band, and had no stench of cash grabbing opportunism. Down produced one all-time great album in the history of hard rock and metal, Nola, and several other very good releases. Perhaps with the loss of Dimebag and Pantera, some of the novelty and sheen of Down has worn off since we never thought they would be the active band they are currently. Down is as good a consolation prize we are going to get in Pantera’s absence, so let’s do our best to appreciate them while they still exist.
