Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals
Walk Through Exits Only
Housecore Records
2013
Every rock fan out there must by now know who Philip Anselmo is. The lead singer of such legendary bands like Pantera and Down decided to release a second solo project album. In case you are a Pantera and/or Down fan and you were planning to buy “Walk Through Exits Only”... Well... Don’t. At least not before you listen enough to get a taste of what it’s about.
I guess the music of Sepultura and Soulfly really rubbed off on Anselmo after all that time he spend hanging out with them. “Walk Through Exits Only” has a much more black and speed metal sound than anything the singer had ever been a part of. But when you have been playing music for as long as he has, it’s only natural that you will at some point get sick and tired of playing one particular genre and its counterparts. It appears like it was Anselmo’s turn to test his strength in something a little “black-er”.
It seems to me that either Anselmo had a few ideas for some black metal tracks and called some of his friends to come and work on them, or he and those friends found themselves inside a studio and started jamming. The result was the 8 tracks that make up “Walk Through Exits Only”. Since Anselmo has his own record company (Housecore Records) he decided to release them. That’s all there is, I think.
Now, this doesn’t mean that the record is bad. I don’t think these guys could make a really bad album even if they tried. In fact, what we’ve got here is a bouquet of interesting and complicated songs written by a great front-man and performed by A-class musicians with the utmost respect, or shall I say “RE - SPECT!” (see what I did there?). Just pay close attention to : “Betrayed”, “Walk Through Exits Only” and “Irrelevant Walls and Computer Screens” which happen to be the tracks that I singled out from the album.
Nevertheless, I don’t think that “Walk Through Exits Only” should be judged the same way as any other album, because it’s not. Personally, I would consider myself cheated if “Walk Through Exits Only” was a Pantera or a Down sounding album. This is a side project by a great artist and (let’s face it) a living legend, who felt like making a statement by releasing these songs at this particular time in his life. I mean the first song is called “Music Media is My Whore”; are you trying to tell me he is not making a statement? I for one, will accept this title and, according to what I said at the beginning of this paragraph, I won’t rate this record with a 1 to 10 scale. I mean, I choose to treat this “Cowboy From Hell” with “RE - SPECT!” even though he is being “Fucking Hostile” (I’m on a roll!). Afer all, I imagine, there must be worst things to be than Philip Anselmo’s whore…
I guess the music of Sepultura and Soulfly really rubbed off on Anselmo after all that time he spend hanging out with them. “Walk Through Exits Only” has a much more black and speed metal sound than anything the singer had ever been a part of. But when you have been playing music for as long as he has, it’s only natural that you will at some point get sick and tired of playing one particular genre and its counterparts. It appears like it was Anselmo’s turn to test his strength in something a little “black-er”.
It seems to me that either Anselmo had a few ideas for some black metal tracks and called some of his friends to come and work on them, or he and those friends found themselves inside a studio and started jamming. The result was the 8 tracks that make up “Walk Through Exits Only”. Since Anselmo has his own record company (Housecore Records) he decided to release them. That’s all there is, I think.
Now, this doesn’t mean that the record is bad. I don’t think these guys could make a really bad album even if they tried. In fact, what we’ve got here is a bouquet of interesting and complicated songs written by a great front-man and performed by A-class musicians with the utmost respect, or shall I say “RE - SPECT!” (see what I did there?). Just pay close attention to : “Betrayed”, “Walk Through Exits Only” and “Irrelevant Walls and Computer Screens” which happen to be the tracks that I singled out from the album.
Nevertheless, I don’t think that “Walk Through Exits Only” should be judged the same way as any other album, because it’s not. Personally, I would consider myself cheated if “Walk Through Exits Only” was a Pantera or a Down sounding album. This is a side project by a great artist and (let’s face it) a living legend, who felt like making a statement by releasing these songs at this particular time in his life. I mean the first song is called “Music Media is My Whore”; are you trying to tell me he is not making a statement? I for one, will accept this title and, according to what I said at the beginning of this paragraph, I won’t rate this record with a 1 to 10 scale. I mean, I choose to treat this “Cowboy From Hell” with “RE - SPECT!” even though he is being “Fucking Hostile” (I’m on a roll!). Afer all, I imagine, there must be worst things to be than Philip Anselmo’s whore…