Superjoint Ritual was a New Orleans metal band formed by Phil Anselmo, Joe Fazzio, and Jimmy Bower in the early 1990s, later to be joined by Hank Williams III, and Kevin Bond. Their style can be considered a mix of Pantera's style of groove metal and hardcore punk. A small trace of black metal can be heard too. Bands like Venom, Slayer, Celtic Frost, Voivod, and Darkthrone have been noted as influences also. The name Superjoint Ritual comes from a lyric in the Darkthrone song, "The Pagan Winter." According to Bower, Anselmo wrote 70-80% of the group's music.Despite their early '90s establishment, it wasn't until a decade later, after the folding of Pantera, that the group recorded any albums. It was then that Superjoint Ritual garnered significant TV exposure on programs such as MTV2's Headbangers Ball and Fuse TV's Uranium.However, the group's time in the spotlight would prove short lived. A dispute between Anselmo and Fazzio led to the band's eventual split in late 2004, which was confirmed by both Hank Williams III and Jimmy Bower.Final line upPhil Anselmo - vocals, guitar (1993-2004) Jimmy Bower - guitar (1993-2004) Kevin Bond - guitar (1993-2004) Hank Williams III - bass (2002-2004) Joe Fazzio - drums (1993-2004) Previous membersMichael Haaga - bass (1993-2002)
Superjoint Ritual was a metal band from New Orleans, Louisiana notably featuring Phil Anselmo of Pantera, Jimmy Bower of Eyehategod (both of whom later played in Down), and country-music star Hank Williams III. Their music has elements of hardcore, punk and thrash.
"Use Once And Destroy", their debut album, is a frenzied mix of hardcore, punk, and thrash metal. The guitar work, shared by Phil Anselmo and fellow Down cohort Jimmy Bower (normally a drummer) is simplistic yet effective. It was followed by "A Lethal Dose of American Hatred" just one year later.
Sadly, shortly after a tour in support of the album, disagreements between Anselmo and one of the other band members regarding the band's direction brought the project to a halt just before a third album was going to be released in 2005. Jimmy Bower has since confirmed that the band will not be reuniting. .
From Wikipedia:Superjoint Ritual was an American heavy metal band formed by Phil Anselmo, Joe Fazzio, and Jimmy Bower in the early 1990s, later to be joined by Hank Williams III, and Kevin Bond. Their style can be considered a mix of Pantera's style of groove metal and hardcore punk. A small trace of black metal can be heard too. Bands like Venom, Slayer, Celtic Frost, Voivod, and Darkthrone have been noted as influences also. The name Superjoint Ritual comes from a lyric in the Darkthrone song, "The Pagan Winter." According to Bower, Anselmo wrote 70-80% of the group's music.
Despite their early '90s establishment, it wasn't until a decade later, after the folding of Pantera, that the group recorded any albums. It was then that Superjoint Ritual garnered significant TV exposure on programs such as MTV2's Headbangers Ball and Fuse TV's Uranium.
However, the group's time in the spotlight would prove short lived. A dispute between Anselmo and Fazzio led to the band's eventual split in late 2004, which was confirmed by both Hank Williams III and Jimmy Bower.