PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS are announcing the release of their sophomore full-length, ‘Choosing Mental Illness As A Virtue’ through the singer’s label Housecore in the Americas and in licence via Season of Mist in other parts of the world on January 26th, 2018.
The band is now releasing the title-track “Choosing Mental Illness” outside of the Americas at the link below.
PHILIP H. ANSELMO comments: “Our new album, ‘Choosing Mental Illness As A Virtue’ is going to get hated. It’s going to get loved. Like every record, I’ve ever done, I put zero expectations upon my peers, critics, or the general fucking public. If you take one thing away from it, let it be this: Do not bog yourself down to one brand, character, or whatever. Have the guts to spread your wings and fucking flourish. I can promise you this is a beginning. As my music trickles out over the next two years, it’s going to be quite the roller coaster ride. This new ILLEGALS is just the tip of the whole fucking avalanche.”
The line-up of the THE ILLEGALS has changed on several position since album one. This is what Phil has to say about his new crew: “Their creative input is fucking fantastic. This is something that was very different from the first record where I was very staunch. I wanted it to be ugly. I was very firm that I was writing every fucking note. The thought was, ‘This is my contribution to ugly music right this second in a heavy metal vein.’ That was great at the time. ‘Walk Through Exits Only’ made its own little statement that I am a free agent and I belong to no single band. This time, I worked closely with everyone. We tried different ideas together. It made the spirit of this thing come alive even more because of the enthusiasm these guys bring. It enhanced the integrity of the project.”
On further news, PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS are also releasing artwork and album details of ‘Choosing Mental Illness As A Virtue’, which can be viewed below.
Track-list
1. Little Fucking Heroes
2. Utopian
3. Choosing Mental Illness
4. The Ignorant Point
5. Individual
6. Delinquent
7. Photographic Taunts
8. Finger Me
9. Invalid Colubrine Frauds
10. Mixed Lunatic Results
PHILIP H. ANSELMO is an iconic artist – maybe a little bruised, scarred, singed, and somewhat battered by time, himself, and others. But the Texan remains proudly standing, unbent, and still angry. Loved and hated, attacked and praised, Phil is not ready to go down into the archives of musical history without a fight.
His new cooperation with the band that Phil himself created, THE ILLEGALS, is as brutal, kicking, lashing, and fury-filled as one could expect from this artist and PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS‘ debut ‘Walk Through Exits Only’ (2013). Their sophomore album, ‘Choosing Mental Illness As A Virtue’ is a much the metaphorical fist in the face and display of force as his adherents could wish for.
‘Choosing Mental Illness As A Virtue’ is not a simple repeat of the past – as tempting as that might sound, considering that no other artist left a deeper mark on metal in the 90’s than PANTERA. Raging, roaring, and bulldozing their way through the metal scene, the Texans have left a lasting legacy. At their front stood anger and hostility personified, PHILIP H. ANSELMO. What followed for example with DOWN and SUPERJOINT RITUAL has further cemented the singer’s reputation as a living legend. As an artist in his own right, Phil finally emancipated onto a solo-path with ‘Walk Through Exits Only’, which enabled him to do exactly as he pleased – with no need to compromise on anything.
Now, ‘Choosing Mental Illness As A Virtue’ follows along the path that PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS‘ debut has carved, but takes the mega-heavy, angry monster born out of mating the visceral aggression and power of PANTERA with the devastating thrash and Southern sludge that Phil and the New Orleans scene pioneered.
PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS are back and about to mercilessly install ‘Choosing Mental Illness As A Virtue’ as a new benchmark for extreme heaviness.
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