DOWN, Orange Goblin, Warbeast @Institute, Birmingham 20/10/12

It is difficult to quantify the influence that Philip H Anselmo has managed to exert on modern metal music. In the late 80s he joined a struggling hard rock called Pantera as vocalist. In 1990 they band put out the seminal “Cowboys From Hell” and gave those of us that never really got grunge a band to like.

History has documented over the years just exactly what Pantera did before they imploded in acrimony, but Anselmo has always liked plenty of strings to his bow. Amongst many, many side projects, he formed Down in the early 90s with a bunch of New Orleans contemporaries. Guitarists Pepper Keenan, and Kirk Windstein from Corrosion of Conformity and Crowbar respectively and drummer Jimmy Bower of Eyehategod were amongst the ranks. In 1995 the “supergroup” (as we apparently have to call these things) released an album called “NOLA” that the teenage RTM played to death. The group has reconvened plenty of times over the years and have just released their new cd to the world, the rather marvelous, “Down IV – The Purple EP.”

Throughout his controversies and problems Anselmo has always remained metal to the core, you suspect, and so it is that he spends his time while Warbeast are onstage just drinking beer and watching the band from behind the drums as avidly as any fan would.

As well as having the most metal name in the history of the world, Warbeast are signed to Anselmo’s Housecore Records label. It is easy to see what got them that deal. A mix of twin guitar metal and thrash, they headbang their way through songs like ”Scorched Earth Policy,” “Trust The Enemy” and “It” with relish. Their sound is never going to change anyone’s life,  but they keep the crowd – which is large given the ridiculously early start time – enthralled.

Orange Goblin have morphed from being a cult stoner band from the South Coast into one of the finest heavy metal bands in Britain right now. Their “Eulogy For The Damned” album will be somewhere very high in the RTM end-of-year round up, and they have the confidence in their material to pull off a simply stunning 45 minutes tonight.

Beginning with “…Damned” opener “Red Tide Rising” and following it with perhaps it’s stand out moment in “The Filthy And The Few” their set is mostly culled from the newer end of their catalogue. Man mountain singer Ben Ward – clad in a Status Quo t-shirt – conducts things from the front, dedicating “Acid Trial” to the still watching Anselmo. By the time the mighty riffs of “Scorpionica” bring things to a close, you realise that you have just witnessed one of the greatest sets of 2012. After more than 15 years, the Goblin have arrived.

Half an hour after Ward’s men finish, the house lights go dark to usher on Down. Things might begin in rather sedate fashion, with Anselmo waving and chatting to the sold out crowd, but any notion that this will be a relaxed affair is eschewed the second the words “this one is called ‘Eyes of the South’” leaves his lips. There is – and it is no mere hyperbole to say this – absolute chaos from the first chord. If the vibe in the crowd and the quality of the bands on show, always gave rise to a suspicion that tonight could be very special indeed, the first five minutes confirm the thought.

A double whammy from the new EP follows in lead single “Witchtripper” and “Open Coffins” before “Lifer” is dedicated to Dimebag Darrell to rapturous cheers. An injury to a crowd surfer during “Ghosts of the Mississippi” brings a lull while fitness of said fan is ascertained, but it is only a brief one, as we are straight back in with “Temptation’s Wings.”

Incredibly the encore manages to up the intensity, after a crushing “Misfortune Teller” comes the anthemic “Stone The Crows,” during which Anselmo play the pantomime and refuse to play the song until the audience is on its feet.

“Hail The Leaf” follows before “Bury Me In Smoke” sees the support acts join the headliners for a jam session to being things to a close, but not before Windstein takes the mic, the effortlessly cool Keenan throws his plectrums into the gathered throng, and  Anselmo dances, grins from ear-to-ear and gives us the last line of “Stairway to Heaven.”

We file out of the venue reflecting on just how a side-project, and one that most probably formed after the members got drunk and started jamming nearly two decades ago, got be this good. But, as any music fan knows, sometimes things don’t need analysing, things just need to be enjoyed, and although it might only be October, what we saw here was most probably the gig of the year.

Tonight Down – and Orange Goblin too – were remarkable.