Anselmo has been rehabilitating his image quite a bit in the eyes of metalheads these days. Pantera was very popular with the more mainstream crowd, but significantly less so in the eyes of the underground. His feud with the Abbott brothers also raised some eyebrows, particularly after the death of Dimebag. But he has since been heavily involved with Down as well as a host of other extreme metal projects such as Arson Anthem, Christ Inversion, Necrophagia, Viking Crown, and more, many of which he takes a supporting role in. He also recently started Housecore Records which is responsible for Warbest and haarp among other bands.
This is Anselmo's first solo recording. There are only two tracks here so there is not a lot to go by to determine if the solo project will be worthwhile or not, but the two tracks present here are certainly interesting. They are growers definitely. I was not as impressed by them the first time I heard them. Anselmo utilizes his trademark hardcore shouted vocals throughout, often alternating tone within the same breath. That has always been Anselmo's strength. The songs are fairly typical sludgy groove/thrash metal with some seriously heavy riffs.
Warbeast created one of the best thrash metal albums of the last few years with Krush the Enemy. This is their first recorded output since their 2010 debut and it does everything that made that album so terrific. It flies by like a runaway truck, crushing everything. The blazing guitar solos and shouted vocals are the highlights on their tracks, as well as their take-no-prisoners approach to thrash metal.
I still prefer Warbeast to the Anselmo project and am much more likely to pick up their new album, but I will probably give Anselmo a shot.
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