DOWN are coming down. The New Orleans heavy metal supergroup led by vocalist Philip H. Anselmo — featuring guitarists Pepper Keenan and Kirk Windstein, bassist Pat Bruders, and drummer Jimmy Bower — has confirmed that their long-awaited new studio album is recorded, with a release expected this autumn.
Windstein has been characteristically direct about the state of the record: "It's done. It's been recorded... We just need to find the right person to mix it properly." He has named October 2026 as the target release window, aligning neatly with the band's just-announced tour.
The new album will be DOWN's first studio release since 'Down IV – Part Two' in 2014 — a gap of more than twelve years. It features ten songs, roughly three of which were written primarily by Anselmo, whom Windstein describes simply as "such a great songwriter." Collaboration remains central to the process: "One guy's got a riff and then somebody's got something that works with that riff."
The record lands on Nuclear Blast Records, which DOWN signed to in April 2025.
To support the album, DOWN will embark on the 'Strap It Down' summer North American tour, kicking off August 15 in Atlanta, GA and closing September 4 in Shakopee, MN, with HELMET and SPIRIT IN THE ROOM as direct support.
The band delivered one of the most emotionally charged moments of this summer festival circuit at the 2026 Sweden Rock Festival on June 3, where Anselmo dedicated the song "Lifer" to the memories of PANTERA's Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul Abbott, as well as the late OZZY OSBOURNE. The dedication underscored the weight these performances carry — Anselmo performing music that stretches from DOWN's own catalog back toward the PANTERA legacy, all of it now marked permanently by absence.
With 'Down IV – Part Two' from 2014 as the last word, any new DOWN material arrives overdue. This autumn may finally end the wait.