Superjoint Ritual Use Once And Destroy
By
Rachel Miller,
Contributor
Monday, May 20, 2002 @ 10:00 AM
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Welcome to yet another metal realm created by Phil Anselmo. His newest force of nature is Superjoint Ritual and their debut release; Use Once and Destroy is a brutal onslaught of hardcore metal, with punk and thrash metal undertones.
You’ll only find bits and pieces of the Pantera sound, which to some might be a disappointment. Phil screams and growls his way through this album with such ferocity it almost puts newer Pantera to shame. If you found Reinventing the Steel to be a shoddy version of the old Pantera, and Down II down right pansy ass, Superjoint serves up a straightforward scorching sound.
For the past decade, Superjoint has been a “basement band,” and the raw sound can be heard throughout. Anselmo not only sings, but also plays guitar on the album and is joined by guitarists Jimmy Bower (Eyehategod and Down drummer) and Kevin Bond, drummer Joe Fazzio and bassist “III.” The “III,” interestingly enough, refers to Hank Williams III, the grandson of country music legend Hank Williams. Bond initially joined the band as the bassist, but will handle Anselmo’s guitar parts for live shows, allowing Anselmo vocal freedom on stage.
Use Once and Destroy launches you into a barrage of metal and doesn’t stop for a breather until the bitter end. It’s a raging journey that deserves to be played at volume 10. Lyrics are equally as raw as the music. “You never looked better, dead and gone/I never felt better, you’re dead and gone and/I wish I would have done, what nature finished first/I’d done it with my hands, then left and shot myself,” Phil screams on “4 Songs.” It’s the proverbial “kick in the ass”-metal intensity sorely needed in a time of nu-metal sound alikes.
The culmination of this debut release, as well as Anselmo’s other side projects, is an attempt to expand the dynamics and definitions of what is considered “metal.” Superjoint and Anselmo is proof hardcore/thrash is a brutal ritual that metal needs in 2002.
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