Tonight marks Down’s Luxembourg debut, and unsurprisingly, it’s a sell-out. Then again, according to the modest tour shirts (whose dates are obscured by a giant red ‘SOLD OUT’ stamp), so is the whole tour. It came as a bit of a surprise that of UK dates they only seemed to play Birmingham and Manchester [and London Ed] , then again, this whole endeavour is billed as part one of their European tour in the year of XII. And not that such concerns bother anyone here, as great swathes of the Belgian, French, German and Luxembourgish populations descend upon ‘Den A’ for a Saturday night super-group extravaganza.

In contrast to the past practice of Down to employ a big screen cranking out classic Skynyrd, AC/DC, Thin Lizzy and the like, tonight it’s a case of an actual support band. In the run up to the gig I was slightly disappointed that this guaranteed showing of excellent music had been foregone, and perhaps even sceptical in the sense that Phil Anselmo was obviously plugging one of his label’s bands. Come show time, however, it’s fair to say that as well as gaining exposure for one of his own, Anselmo is justifiably giving a big break to a really decent band in Warbeast. Formerly the ‘Texas Metal Alliance’, this Lone Star quintet provide quite the contrast to what the majority of the audience has come to see tonight. Some ripping thrash in the vein of Slayer, Exodus, Dark Angel and Exhorder delivers one welcome blow after another. Behind the amps, Anselmo lurks throughout their set, which predictably whips some crowd members into an exaggerated state of excitement. Towards the end, he even comes out to bark a few lyrics though Warbeast’s quality speaks for itself with the blistering likes of ‘Krush the Enemy’ and ‘Guardian Angel’.

As far as I’m aware, the last time Down played a European headlining tour was in 2008. Four years on, and they are finally plugging some new material in the form of ‘Down IV – Part I – The Purple E.P.’ Having caught the band at their first London gig, and again, on that tour four years ago (travelling almost 1,000 miles in the process) I was happy that they were playing just twenty minutes down the road tonight. For the many audience members who evidently haven’t had the chance to see them, however, a tangible fervour spreads as the band emerges on stage. Proceeding with an opening  stab of ‘Eyes of the South’, we are subsequently treated to ‘Witch Tripper’ and ‘Open Coffins’ from the latest offering. Whilst both new tracks fit in effortlessly alongside the older material, the latter works particularly well, with some gloriously heavy, epic riffing complimented by Anselmo’s impassioned drawl. From the cursory listen I had to the new tracks on the internet, they seemed to come across as a mix of the band’s first two albums – combining the epic quality of ‘Nola’ with the looseness of ‘Down II’ – and live they do just that.

As the set unfolds, a clear leaning towards all things ‘Nola’ becomes apparent. Aside from one other new track (the doom soaked ‘Misfortune Teller’) and three from the second album, everything comes from the monolithic debut. Encompassing obvious crowd favourites like ‘Lifer’, ‘Losing All’ and ‘Stone the Crow’, an equal measure of time is given to ‘Pillars of Eternity’, ‘Underneath Everything’, and my favourite of the night, ‘Hail the Leaf’. Given my attachment to that record and  its proximity to perfection, this was obviously a more than pleasant surprise. Musically the band is entirely bang-on, though Kirk Windstein does stand out as the ‘Heavy Riff Master General’. New addition, Pat Bruders, also fits in to the dynamic perfectly. (From that last show in 2008 I got the distinct impression that Rex Brown was far more liable to bang heads with Anselmo than any one else in this band would.) Anyhow, Anselmo himself was on fine form, as he has been at every Down show I’ve seen. In contrast to the incoherence of the last Pantera tour, his performance was focused; his jokes and self deprecation amusing rather than rambling and journey disrupting.

Following a bit of Crowbar’s ‘High Rate Extinction’ and a rendition of ‘Paranoid’ with Anselmo on guitar and Windstein doing his best Ozzy impersonation at the end of the set, it was time for the inevitable juggernaut climax of ‘Bury Me in Smoke’. Incorporating a refrain from ‘Nothing in Return (Walk Away)’, the closing chugfest descended into smoggy confusion as guitars were taken over by members of the support act and Mr Anselmo’s Missus. Despite the unconventional end and an evening spent inhaling various degrees of suffocating human stench in this packed out venue, the gig was a bloody good one. According to the commanding vocalist, the band will return for part two of this European tour next year (at which point I presume they will play more of the UK). I just hope that, as promised, they hit this small part of Europe again too. Tonight, I think Luxembourg did more than enough to justify a second helping.

Down Setlist: 

Eyes of the South

Witch Tripper

Open Coffins

Lysergik Funeral Procession

Lifer

Pillars of Eternity

Losing All

Ghosts Along the Mississippi

New Orleans is a Dying Whore

Temptation’s Wings

Underneath Everything

–

Misfortune Teller

Hail the Leaf

Stone the Crow

Bury Me in Smoke

Jamie Wilson