PHILIP ANSELMO Realizes That His Solo Albums Have Limited Appeal

Former PANTERA and current SUPERJOINT and DOWN singer Philip Anselmo was interviewed on a recent edition of "The Classic Metal Show", which is heard live on Saturdays from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. EST at TheClassicMetalShow.com. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below.

Asked why he hasn't caved in to pressure from fans of his former band and made a PANTERA-style album since the group's split, Anselmo said: "I've done it. I've done it, man. It's so well covered. How many records did PANTERA do? Five or six? So, yeah, man, that's five full records of that particular style. And I'm glad that it is a documented thing, as all music is, as music is history, and people can enjoy it still. I really am. Believe me, I am."

According to Anselmo, his various projects are as diverse as his musical taste, explaining that he has dabbled in other types of rock music as far back to the late '80s and early '90s. "Even when I was in PANTERA — hey, look, DOWN started in 1992. I was in side bands when I first moved to Texas with my circle of friends, before PANTERA was signed," he said. "So it's kind of something I've always done, man, it's something that I've always indulged in. Case in point, before PANTERA got signed and I had a circle of friends, we would throw house parties and make them into these events, man. So it was fun, man."

Anselmo added that his heart has always been in underground metal and extreme music, which is evident on the two albums he has made thus far with his solo project, PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS. "It appeals to me," he said. "That's what appeals to me. I guess depending on the era, whoever is selling the most records or whatever the new flavor of the day is, or anything like that, nah — eight [or] nine times out of 10, it doesn't interest me, and the sound of it is… I guess, it just doesn't click with me.

"Like I always say, there are no musical experts," he continued. "Music is like food — you love it, you hate it or you're indifferent to it. And every mouth and every taste bud is different. To each his own, so to speak. And I'm very, very, very clear on that. And as a matter of fact, it appeals to me even more, because I realize THE ILLEGALS' [sophomore album] 'Choosing Mental Illness As A Virtue' record, in particular, I realize it's only going to appeal to X amount of people, and that's going to be a small amount of people. But that's awesome, because it keeps me in the smaller places that I love, and that's just another personal preference. And I know that with that smaller audience, at least the people that came out want to be there, and that, my friend, for me… as a dude who has played the biggest shows in the world and all kinds of shows in between, to me, that's real."

"Choosing Mental Illness As A Virtue" was released last month via Anselmo's Housecore Records in the U.S. and Season Of Mist in other parts of the world. The disc is the follow-up to PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS' debut, "Walk Through Exits Only", which came out in 2013 to mostly positive reviews.