Saturday, April 24, 2004
The heavy metal band will be on the Ozzfest bill this summer.
By JOHN PATRICK GATTA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
It took nearly a decade for Superjoint Ritual to release its debut album. While the band members' friendship remained as steady as their desire to create music together, their involvement in some of heavy metal's hardest and most uncompromising acts -- Pantera, Corrosion of Conformity, Down and EyeHateGod -- put their own agenda on a backburner.
After 2002's "Use Once and Destroy" came out and the quintet realized that its fierce and, at times, brutally melodic fare successfully worked as an antidote to the clich & eacute;-ridden mannerisms of rap metal and nu metal, they made a commitment solely to Superjoint Ritual.
"Superjoint is important right now because heavy metal is going down the crapper. We're not trying to save heavy music but let people know that this kind of music exists," said guitarist Jimmy Bower.
"We don't wear masks. We don't try any thrills and blow things up. We just go out and play music," he said in reference to acts such as Slipknot, whose image is ultra-violent horror show gear and antics.
Superjoint Ritual has been on the road since last fall and will be one of the main stage acts at Ozzfest this summer.
History
What started out as jam sessions grew into an undeniable train traveling down a mountainside without a set of brakes to hold it back. The songs on SJR's first release, "Use Once and Destroy" took the pace of hardcore and meshed it with monstrous heavy metal riffs.
On its sophomore effort, "A Lethal Dose of American Hatred," the intensity level got turned up several notches by Bower, vocalist-guitarist Phil Anselmo, drummer Joe Fazzio, guitarist Kevin Bond and bassist Hank Williams III.
The music complements vocalist Anselmo's rage-fueled lyrics that reflect his post-9/11 view of the United States as a vulnerable victim. Recorded around the beginning of the Iraq War, he verbally attacks any and all enemies thousands of miles away as well as expelling the personal demons nearby.
At times, the viewpoints can be contradictory, but that becomes an honest representation of SJR. While its name and the album's artwork refer to marijuana, Bower explains that the group isn't promoting drugs, in particular the type of hard drugs that nearly killed Anselmo.
The subject is broached on "The Destruction of a Person," where he bluntly relates his experience using needles along with friends and his ability to stop and lead a clean existence.
"You live and learn, and I think that's what that song says. You play with your body, you're going to get burned," said Bower.
Material
He admits that much of the first album was based on riffs and demos that were worked on many years earlier. Much of "American Hatred" consists of new material, although a portion remained from the band's early stages.
"The true test for this band is going to be the third record. In a sense the band is ready to move on and write new material. But we've played these songs for 11 years now, but no one's heard them. We want to move on but we have to let people hear these songs as well."
The intensity has been amped up on the current album, but several instrumental interludes give an indication that SJR can travel new artistic paths and still pack a major league wallop. That's the intention of its live performances; an unending explosion of sound to unite band and audience in a whirlwind of energy and finale of exhaustion.
"Everybody puts 100 percent into it. When we get offstage, we're pretty whooped. Back to the bus, take off our wet clothes and just sit there. Personally, I'm not 15 anymore, but I'm pretty proud of myself, being 35, going out there, giving an hour-and-a-half jumping around."
"It's all the whole band knows how to do, all it's ever done."