IN REVIEW: Down - "Down IV (Part Two)"

A little before the release of the previous Down EP, I talked a bit about rationed albums, and discussed the potential reasoning behind it. What it almost always boils down to is money, and what it amounted to for fans of the bands I talked about in that article was paying up to triple value for a band's artistic vision because they chose to release it in staggered intervals rather than combining into one package. I mentioned Down in that article because they were employing an ambitious release strategy for their fourth album. Planned as a four part project, I couldn't help but wonder about the motivation; with so many bands (and their respective labels) looking to squeeze every last drop of milk from the udder before the industry goes tits up, shady practices were becoming increasingly common by the time part one of Down IV was released.

Given time to absorb it all, the prospect doesn't frighten me as much anymore; it hasn't become commonplace (although Pixies gave it their best shot) and, in Down's case particularly, the elapsed time between the release of the first two parts tells me it's more a service to their fans than a cash grab. Given their first album celebrates its twentieth anniversary next year, and the five years that separated Down III from Down IV Part One, think about how long we would have potentially had to wait if Down had decided to hold out until their double album was complete? If the final two parts are released at the same clip, we'd achieve completion in September 2017, or an entire decade after Down III's release. Certainly not our idea of fun, is it Tool fans?

So yes, we'll end up paying in the neighbourhood of $40 for a complete CD version of Down's fourth album, but I can live with that if it means not spending too much time waiting around for it. It also helps that what amounts to the first half of the double album has been worthy of waiting for; as Sabbathy sludge bands go, not many do it as well as Down, and Part Two sees them continue much down the same road as the first part, but a little meaner and more visceral. Take opener Steeple, which starts slow but explodes with a metallic burst and breaks into full gallop; think less N.I.B., more Children Of The Grave. This EP's single We Knew Him Well finds the grooves a little more guttural, Phil Anselmo seething, and it's a trend that carries on throughout.

The first trio of tracks concludes with Hogsheaddogshead, which is played well and sounds good but doesn't really go anywhere and made me a little concerned about filler. Thankfully, the latter half of the EP is where the best stuff is; the last three tracks bring it home in fine style, from the slow, menacing groove of Conjure through the thick and meaty Sufferer's Years to the sinister and squealing finale Bacchanalia (and its Zeppelin-esque, perhaps Part Three foreshadowing outro).

It's well worth it runtime-wise too; falling just shy of 37 minutes, it's longer than many artists' full albums, and sets Down IV up for a possible total time of over two hours. It should easily make for the most epic chapter in the band's discography and, if the quality of the first half is maintained, it could very well be their most enjoyable.

May 13, 2014 • Down Records/Warner Music

Highlights We Knew Him Well • Sufferer's Years • Bacchanalia