DOWN 'Over the Under' (ILG/Warner Music Group) RATING: 8.5/10

By GREG MAKI

Let’s get one thing out of the way: Over the Under (also known as Down III, depending on who you ask) is no NOLA. The 1995 debut album by the New Orleans-based band featuring vocalist Philip Anselmo (Pantera), guitarists Pepper Keenan (Corrosion of Conformity) and Kirk Windstein (Crowbar), bassist Todd Strange (Crowbar)—replaced by Pantera’s Rex Brown in 2002—and drummer Jimmy Bower (Eyehategod), fueled by unforgettable songs like “Lifer,” “Stone the Crow” and “Bury Me in Smoke,” was an instant classic. It’s unfair to hold any band to that standard.

Now, on to our regularly scheduled review.

Fast forward 12 years, five years after the release of Down II, and the band is back with album No. 3. The members endured much during their time apart—the murder of Dimebag Darrell, Hurricane Katrina’s decimation of New Orleans —and it shows in this latest batch of tunes. Anselmo, who is as responsible as any for the current wave of growling, screaming metal vocalists, is purely a singer here, and he has never sounded better or more comfortable. He gives an impassioned performance full of heart and soul. Nowhere is this more evident than on “On March the Saints,” a tribute to the resilience of his home city. The song also is a perfect example of the attitude the whole band seems have taken toward this record. It’s not a ballad, but I wouldn’t call it a metal song either. The classic rock vibe, the ‘70s-style grooves the band has always had are stronger than ever on this album. These guys don’t care about fitting in with a genre. We still get those big, sludgy riffs they’re known for on songs like “3 Suns and 1 Star,” “N.O.D.,” “Mourn” and “Pillamyd.” But they also give us soulful, reflective numbers like “Never Try” (featuring this great line: “Never try/You either do it or don’t waste my time”) and “Beneath the Tides.” And then there is the nearly nine-minute album closer, “Nothing in Return (Walk Away).” The word “epic” is overused in reviews, but it perfectly describes this song. This is Down at its very best.

The band members have achieved notoriety in the metal world and varying degrees of success on their own, but something special happens when they make music together. Refreshing doesn’t even begin to describe a band so completely unencumbered by trends and so firm in its belief in what it does. Over the Under is another timeless release from one of the greatest bands of the last two decades.