Down, a "supergroup" made up of members of Pantera, Corrosion of Conformity and Crowbar, have dug down to their swamp roots (all but one are New Orleans natives) and unearthed a heavy metal monster on their second album, Down II: A Bustle in Your Hedgerow. Sounding like a southern-fried Sabbath, this is metal in the old-school sense, as played by sweaty men with beards: menacing and scary, with huge riffs, a killer bottom-end, driving drums and loads of religious and occult imagery in rocking songs like "The Man That Follows Hell", "The Seed" and "New Orleans is a Dying Whore". They may not be the future of metal, but Down II is a heavy, headbanging trip to the past that's well worth a visit. With non-threatening nu-metal whelps whipping up a frenzy in the charts, it's good to hear that there's still some life left in the old guard. --Robert Burrow

Track Listing:

1. Lysergik Funeral Procession
2. There's Something On My Side
3. The Man That Follows Hell
4. Stained Glass Cross
5. Ghosts Along The Mississippi
6. Learn From This Mistake
7. Beautifully Depressed
8. Where I'm Going
9. Doobinterlude
10. New Orleans Is A Dying Whore
11. The Seed
12. Lies, I Don't Know What They Say But..
13. Flambeaux
14. Dog Tired
15. Landing On The Mountains Of Megiddo