After first speaking to Phil Anselmo a year ago it didn’t seem the opportunity to talk to the metal legend would come up not only so soon but even at all. But fast forward a year after the latest Illegals album “Choosing Mental Illness As A Virtue” came out where Phil and I spoke at lengths on the inspiration behind those songs, the band are set to tour Australia very shortly as part of the Thrash, Blast & Grind tour with King Parrot and a whole set of extreme heavy bands which also includes a trek to Perth for this year’s Slayfest. The vocalist, best known for his work with Pantera, Down and more seemed at ease and excited to be returning to Australia when we spoke recently for our latest podcast, a country that he has continuously professed a love for some of the underground music that has been exported through here. Here then is our complete interview in time for the tour which kicks off on March 21st right through to the end of the month.
Andrew: We are looking forward to seeing you back in Australia man, it is absolutely exciting stuff. How are you feeling about it?
Phil: I’m like a little nervous man but it’s a good nervous, good energy about it. Shit, the Austalian audience, the heavy metal audience, the rock audience, they bring the goods man so I’m looking forward to getting re-aquainted.
Andrew: Definitely and you are also touring with your good buddies in King Parrot, that should be a fun one. What are those guys like to tour with?
Phil: The greatest man, they’re the greatest. So helpful, so funny, so honest, so for real down to earth. They have every quality of gentlemen, as crazy as they may look and seem they’re sweethearts.
Andrew: Yeah definitely well as I said we are looking forward to it. I have been hearing rumours that in your setlist, you may be bringing out one or two Pantera songs. Is there any truth to that at all?
Phil: Yeah there’s a giant truth to it, we’re not hiding it! We just did a run in South America where we did a half and half set. Now feel me out on this, the Illegals, we really started as just an extreme metal band that touched on death metal, black metal, whatever. So at the same time because of the style and the way they execute things and the way everything happened, I was working with the Illegals when Vinnie Paul passed away and I got a lot of requests to do the Pantera songs. The Illegals I guess a few years back, we did a couple just messing around really but I gotta give big props to my guys, a bunch of extreme metal players for really sitting down and learning the Pantera songs as well as they do know them. Big props to them, to ask them to do that was gigantic but they’ve only improved and gotten better and better and really it sounds freakin’ good man! The energy in the room when those songs are cranking is undeniable.
Andrew: Yeah absolutely. It is funny after all these years, Pantera still has that sort of thing that really grabs people’s attention. It’s quite amazing isn’t it?
Phil: It really does have an energy. Really when we start the set and we play the Illegals songs, they are super fast and really just an all true form, a spastic form of music and then when we drop into the Pantera songs, I think it’s the groove of those songs that really yanks people out of the chairs.
Andrew: Yeah definitely. Well speaking of the Illegals, I know you dropped an album about a year ago to this day or close to this day, “Choosing Mental Illness As A Virtue”. Since that time how has it been going over with the fans and what kind of a response have you been getting from people in general?
Phil: Well I mean a lot has changed. The whole story I just got through telling you has really altered this bands I guess curiosity amongst fans and really, we knew that. I mean when we would tour in the last 5 years or whatever, we would play the smallest places possible and that’s for a reason man. It’s a feel, it’s a mood. So it’s pretty crazy when we started adding the Pantera stuff, let’s just say the rooms instead of half full, they’re full now [laughs]. That’s about the best I can give man!
Andrew: Now you got some great bands touring with you down under including Perth. Have you looked at the lineup by any chance and any that has grabbed your attention?
Phil: You just delivered some news to me! I didn’t know we had a bunch of other bands on the tour man, but that’s awesome, good! If someone could shoot me a list man, I’d like to check them out.
Andrew: I was going to say, do you still keep in touch with the underground scene? Like when bands are supporting you guys on tour, do you go and check them out at all?
Phil: It depends. Depends on the bands, it depends on time. There’s a whole bunch of times where I’m still doing press up to 2 hours before the show, so I get to miss a whole bunch if you feel me. I do keep in touch with the underground of Australia, I really do on a personal level. But for over the last I guess since early last year, I’ve been going through this…music, I need to take a break from definitely heavy metal, definitely rock. I don’t know, I needed to step away so really I’ve just been listening to a bunch of ambient stuff and old horror soundtracks and stuff like that lately and it’s just a mood I’m going through. So I might have missed some brand new bands or whatever man, but I’m all ears now.
Andrew: Yeah I guess sometimes you kind of listen to a type of music and I guess you just get burnt out on it after a while.
Phil: Yeah it happens, it happens.
Andrew: It’s funny you mentioned about getting away from the metal side of things because it’s weird that you’ve created this album that’s been out for a year, it seems like when people get older a little bit they kind of slow down and you seem to have gone the opposite direction and gone more for the craziest, heaviest album ever. What’s the motivation behind that? What’s driving you now these days in making the most all out, full on heavy record?
Phil: I’m just having a good time man, I’m just having fun. I’m playing any type of music I feel like playing at this point in my life and it’s an amazing thing. I really do feel like – and this is coming from an atheist point of view – I feel like there’s a God and he has blessed me with certain things in life and that’s really what it feels like, it’s overwhelming man.
Andrew: Yeah definitely music has got something in there that moves people in a way that nothing else I guess, does.
Phil: It’s maybe the first passion that I can even remember having as a person alive in 1969.
Andrew: Well let’s go back in time for a little bit. Do you remember the very first time you toured Australia?
Phil: Yes I do.
Andrew: Remember any stories from that? What were some of the highlights that you can remember?
Phil: I remember every gig being jam packed. I always hearken back to the first Australian tour as to one of the best tours as far as the type of tour where you get in and play the gig but also have a few days off to go see things and experience some of Australia and all the different places. But really the names of cities and all that stuff is a blur to me but I remember beautiful picturesque…I was on a side of a mountain and on this mountain there was this huge tree at the peak of this one little bump that we were walking up. These awesome people brought me up there man and they showed me this tree wrapped around, there was this trail and there was a private graveyard up there. It was one of the most beautiful things and the weather was beautiful, so that’s a wonderful memory man. But I could go on forever with memories like that really because I did get a chance to experience it the first time around and I’m really happy about that. So I can’t wait to come back man.
SOUNDWORKS DIRECT presents THRASH BLAST GRIND TOUR
PHIL H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS
KING PARROT
Palm, Potion
March 21st – The Basement, Canberra
March 22nd – Max Watts, Melbourne
March 23rd – Amplifier Capitol, Perth (Slayfest)
March 24th – The Governer, Adelaide
March 26th – San Fran, Wellington*
March 27th – Galatos, Auckland*
March 29th – The Back Room, Brisbane
March 30th – The Factory, Sydney
March 31st – The Cambridge, Newcastle
*No Palm & Potion
TICKETS ON SALE NOW
AUSTRALIA – http://soundworksdirect.eventbrite.com
NEW ZEALAND – www.utr.co.nz / https://valhallatouring.com
