Down
Egyptian Room at The Murat Centre
Saturday, Feb. 2, 9:30 p.m., $22.50 advance, $25 day of, all-ages

When writing and recording their recently released third CD, Down III: Over the Under, Down tried to forget about the past and focus on the music, and for good reason.

First off, Down hails from New Orleans, and initial work on the third album began in the weeks that preceded Hurricane Katrina.

Additionally, for singer Phil Anselmo (as well as bassist Rex Brown), this was also the first attempt at a musical project since their former bandmate in Pantera, guitarist “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott, was murdered.

Because of Katrina, progress on the Down reunion was delayed for several months.

Finally, in late spring of 2006 the group — which includes Keenan (of Corrosion of Conformity), Anselmo (formerly of Pantera and Superjoint Ritual), drummer Jimmy Bower (also of Corrosion and Eyehategod), guitarist Kirk Windstein (of Crowbar) and bassist Brown — decided to test where they stood by booking a June tour of Europe.

“We decided after the hurricane shit, and after Darrell and all the terrible things we’d been going through, it was time to, let’s just go play some music,” Keenan said.

The new CD, while still plenty heavy and thick, amps up the bluesier and swampy side of the Down sound on tunes like “I Scream” and “The Path,” while crafting a better balance than ever between melody and voltage on tracks like “N.O.D.” and “On March the Saints.”

Fans can expect a generous sampling of music from all three Down albums in the live shows — plus some surprises.

“We’re doing some of the mellow stuff, and also we do some of the off-the-wall stuff, and some of the bombastic stuff,” Keenan said. “We try to pace the set out so it’s a cool, flowing thing.”