Down III: Over the Under - Review

Over the Under is one sludgy soulful trip, and considering their lives were undoubtedly affected by Hurricane Katrina, they take that energy and spread it throughout. It finds that happy medium between the crunching sounds of NOLA and the boggy atmosphere of A Bustle in Your Hedgerow, and Phil returns to the melodic side after lingering in the rough, scream laden avenues of singing.

“3 Suns and 1 Star,” “The Path,” and “N.O.D.” tread familiar waters, and while it is comforting, does not prepare you for the whole album. One might start saying, here we go again when “I Scream” starts but Phil’s vocals comes to full fruition on this one. Phil sings, really sings, and it is a great thing to hear.

“On March the Saints” is a bit more upbeat than typical Down, but the head-wagging, bottom-shaking groove is still prevalent while Rex proves again why he is a quintessential bassist, and probably the much-appreciated, overlooked member of Pantera {He’s just a laid back fella.). “Never Try” brings the blues to the forefront. “Mourn” is Phil’s venting on what happened, losing Dime and the rest of his Texas family. “Beneath the Tides” is something vintage Alice in Chains could have conjured at some point in both bedeviling music and lyrics.

“In the Thrall of it All” and “Nothing in Return” are great finishers. Even as the album begins its venture toward closure the band only grows tighter. Keenan and Windstein do an excellent job of playing off one another’s solos, then, “Nothing in Return” does a good job of beginning on a space-trip, and slowly building towards powerful, haunting chorus taking us out of our heads, and closing the album.

Over the Under is the furthest thing from a bad album. There are riffs that would do Black Sabbath fans proud and some that could make a grown man shed a tear. Phil provides one of his best performances in years, and whatever hardship followed these men came through loud and clear. Down III: Over the Under is a musical journey through the kingdom of sludge. Some folks will pass this up; I was about to myself. It isn’t something so amazing that one should put a rush on getting it, but for those that do choose to get it now or in the future, hopefully they’ll be as pleasantly surprised as I was. This album will stick with me for a while.