New Orleans heavyweights DOWN have shared a video for "The Myth," the second single from Volume V, their first full-length in well over a decade. The album is out November 20 via Nuclear Blast Records, and "The Myth" is the song that opens it.
Directed by MetalDave Media, the clip follows August's "Blood Oath," which came out alongside the album announcement. Where that one crawled, "The Myth" hits hard from the first bar: big vocals, a pounding rhythm section and tight down-picked riffs before it drifts into a '70s-style jam.
Philip H. Anselmo calls it "a jammer" with "a big nod to TROUBLE," adding that vocally he had singers like James Dewar, Ronnie James Dio, Ozzy Osbourne and Glenn Hughes in mind. "The track and video are both straightforward and hammering," he says. Pepper Keenan describes it as "classic DOWN in all its hammer fisted glory," while Pat Bruders says it "almost wrote itself" once the five of them were in one room.
That room was Anselmo's home studio, Nodferatu's Lair, where the band has written since Down II. Two writing sessions through 2025 produced most of the record, with Keenan and Kirk Windstein tracking their guitars together. Volume V was produced by Eddie Mapp and DOWN, mixed by Dave Fortman and mastered by Maor Appelbaum.
Volume V tracklist:
- The Myth
- Merciful Fate
- Turn Out The Light
- The Message
- Causeway Grief
- Blood Oath
- They Walk The Night
- They Came From Dust
- Ozz
- Twice-Told Tales
The album comes on CD, digital and 2xLP in several color variants, a number of which have already sold out.
The official release show is part of The Great NOLA Trendkill at New Orleans' Lakefront Arena on November 20–21, the two-day event headlined by PANTERA's first hometown show in 30 years. Before that, DOWN play Sick New World in Fort Worth, and in December they headline the second day of Decibel's Metal & Beer Fest in Denver — their first show in the city in more than twelve years.
Upcoming DOWN dates:
- October 24 — Sick New World Texas, Fort Worth, TX
- November 20–21 — The Great NOLA Trendkill, New Orleans, LA
- December 5 — Decibel Metal & Beer Fest, Denver, CO
The lineup is Philip H. Anselmo (vocals), Pepper Keenan and Kirk Windstein (guitars), Pat Bruders (bass) and Jimmy Bower (drums).
Pre-order "Volume V": down.bfan.link/volume-v