Superjoint Ritual – A Lethal Dose Of American Hatred Review

Originally written by Tim Pigeon

1, 2, 3, 4 . . . and here we go. Superjoint Ritual is the umpteenth metal project of Phil Anselmo, but it’s his primary focus right now. Neither groove-laden metal like Pantera, nor sludgy rock like Down, this is some throwback punk/thrash metal.

A Lethal Dose of American Hatred is a stripped-down, intense album that bridges the gap between the hardcore of yesterday and today. Phil is accompanied by Jimmy Bower (Down/Corrosion of Conformity/Eyehategod) and Kevin Bond (who plays Phil’s parts live) on the guitar, Hank Williams III on bass, and Joe Fazzio behind the kit.

Superjoint pay homage to the hardcore days of yore with a couple of songs that fall short of the 90-second mark. “Waiting for the Turning Point” is one of these and it sounds particularly old-school, Agnostic Front-style. “Personal Insult” is a strong song that rises and falls like a wave, starting slow, and then getting primal and crazy before riding out the rest of the song on a steady groove. “The Destruction of a Person” brings back memories of Pantera’s more doomy moments, with Phil doing some ominous spoken-word vocals, then ending with some upbeat Southern sludge. “The Knife Rises” just sounds evil as it closes out with haunting leads and tortured screams.

The production is fitting for this particular band, although it’s too muted and muddy for my usual likings. Musically, these guys are skilled, but underplaying a little on this album, probably intentionally. There are plenty of fast and chunky riffs, but nothing over the top or anything that makes you say “wow”. Instead, you get simple, headbanging grooves. Phil gives an aggressive, inspired vocal performance the way he sounded on Pantera’s The Great Southern Trendkill.

Overall, this album strikes me as better than their debut, Use Once and Destroy, with a little more variety in the songwriting and tempo, which was more than I expected, and kind of makes me wish I had stuck around for the second day of the New England Metalfest (which they headlined). Oh well – since Phil has made it clear that Superjoint is his priority, they’ll be back. If you like dirty hardcore, and you like Phil, then you’ll probably like A Lethal Dose of American Hatred.

Posted by Old Guard

The retired elite of LastRites/MetalReview.

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