Philip Hansen Anselmo is a popular singer, musician, producer. He gained his first popularity as a member of the Pantera group. Today he is promoting a solo project. The brainchild of the artist was named Phil H. Anselmo & The Illegals. Without modesty in my head, we can say that Phil is a cult figure among the true "fans" of heavy metal. At one time, he stood at the center of major events of the heavy scene.
Childhood and adolescence Philip Hansen Anselmo
He was born in New Orleans. The date of birth of the idol of millions is June 30, 1968. It is known that the guy grew up in an incomplete family. The father abandoned the family when Phil was still a child.
Anselmo lived in one of the most unfavorable areas of his city. In later interviews, he will talk about the fact that he was sexually abused by women and men. Of course, such an atmosphere left its mark on the perception of the world. By the way, in childhood, a nanny was attached to him, who was a transgender.
Throughout his childhood, he changed several educational institutions. He cannot be called a rude and angry child, but somehow it did not work out with the school from the very beginning. Teachers and schoolchildren did not understand the boy's humor. Many people took Philip's jokes as an insult.
As a teenager, he almost deprived his mother and sister of a roof over their heads. Philip decided to play a trick on his relatives and made a "comic" fire, which cost his mother a pretty penny. Most of the furniture and valuables were damaged by the fire.
The teenager held his head in time. Rather, the mother directed her son's talent in the right direction. Philip began to listen to the tracks of Jimi Hendrix. The metalist's music sounded in Anselmo's house also for the reason that the guy's mother adored heavy metal tracks.
During his school years, he joins the young Samhain team. He was also a member of the band Razor White. The guys did cool covers of Judas Priest songs.
Later, the singer will repeatedly say that music has changed his fate. According to Philip, if it were not for his creative work, he would have ended up in prison a long time ago or simply died.
The creative path of Philip Hansen Anselmo
Philip's career took off after he became part of the Pantera team. In 1987, Terry Gleizes left the team. The guys were looking for a replacement, and in the end they chose a then little-known artist.
When Phil joined the lineup, the guys rarely went beyond the glam rock genre. However, the arrival of a new artist changed the band's sound. The next step is participation in the creation of a gorgeous Power Metal LP.
The musician managed to convince the band members not only to change the sound, but also the style. Rockers cut their hair and noticeably changed. In addition, they grew beards and some of them got some cool tattoos.
In the early 90s of the last century, one of the group's most popular collections premiered. It's about the Cowboys From Hell record. The new Texas sound, powerful groove and perfect guitar accompaniment - hit the hearts of music lovers.
A year later, they appeared at the prestigious Monsters of Rock festival, which took place in the capital of Russia. The artists performed in front of an audience of thousands and, in addition, significantly expanded the audience of fans.
Vulgar Display of Power is another record that definitely entered the history of heavy music. After that, the band began to be called one of the greatest metal bands in the world. Far Beyond Driven, which was presented in 1994, topped the Billboard chart. The musicians, led by Philip, were at the top of the musical Olympus.
Drug addiction artist Philip Hansen Anselmo
Everything would be fine, but in the mid-90s, not very bright times came in Philip's life. The artist injured his back and was forced to leave the stage for a while. He took strong drugs to reduce pain. Then he switched to alcohol and drugs.
He soon went into cardiac arrest due to a heroin overdose. He was miraculously lucky to survive, but after that, relations with the rest of the team deteriorated noticeably. Philip lost authority in the face of his colleagues.
While working on a new LP, he never joined the musicians. The band members sent the lyrics to New Orleans, where the singer overdubbed them with vocals.
The collapse of the team, which occurred in 2001, was hung up on Philip. He was accused of disturbing the microclimate in the team. Journalists added fuel to the fire. Thus, the musicians were in conflict with each other for a long time.
Founding of the Down team
In 2006, the musician presented a new musical project to fans of his work. His brainchild was called Down. The band's music is a perfect mix of black metal Venom and thrash Slayer.
It is important to note that the presented team first became known back in the early 90s. Then the groups were positioned as a side project of the members who led Down.
In the mid-90s, the discography of the newly minted group was replenished with the NOLA LP. The record earned high marks not only from fans, but also from music critics. In support of the collection, the guys skated a small tour that took place in the United States of America.
Only seven years later the premiere of the second studio album took place. We are talking about the disc Down II: A Bustle In A Hedgegrow. The guys also traveled around America with small concerts, and then dispersed and took up solo work.
In 2006, it became known that Down now belongs only to Philip. In 2007, another LP appeared in the band's discography. A year later, the guys went on a world tour.
In the future, the musicians published exclusively EP. The first part of the Down IV release came out in 2012, and the second part a couple of years later.
Other projects of the artist Philip Hansen Anselmo
Superjoint Ritual is a band founded by Filip in the early 90s along with like-minded people. The musicians composed decent music in the style of groove and hardcore punk. During the existence of the team, the guys released two studio albums. In 2004, due to creative differences that reigned within the team, the team broke up.
10 years later, Philip and Jimmy Bauer revived the group. From that moment on, the musicians performed under a new creative pseudonym - Superjoint.
In 2011, he presented another solo project. We are talking about the band Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals. The guys presented the first few tracks on the split with the Warbeast band. Split was named War of the Gargantuas. It was released in 2013 on Phil's label. Almost immediately after the presentation of the work, Bennett Bartley left the group. Stephen Taylor soon took over.
In the same year, the premiere of the full-length LP Walk Through Exits Only took place. In support of the album, the musicians went on a tour of America.
Health problems
In 2005, he underwent surgery, which was carried out to cure a degenerative disease of the vertebrae. Before the start of the operation, the doctor set him a condition - he demanded that the artist completely get rid of drug addiction.
Operation was successfully completed. It was followed by a long period of rehabilitation. The musician says that even today he sometimes feels pain in his back. Medicines and recreational gymnastics help him get rid of discomfort.
Details of the artist's personal life
The performer has long been on the list of the most desirable American rockers. For a long time he could not establish a personal life. At first, he was hampered by a busy tour schedule, and then health problems.
At the beginning of the XNUMXs, he married the charming Stephanie Opal Weinstein. She supported her husband in everything, and even took part in several projects of the musician. They looked like a harmonious couple, but the marriage did not last long.
The union collapsed due to the rocker's constant betrayals. In 2004, the wife found her husband in the arms of Kate Richardson. Interestingly, Kate and Philip's relationship continues to this day. A woman helps an artist run his own label, Housecore Records. For more than 15 years of marriage, the couple did not have common children.
Interesting facts about the artist
- He collects horror films.
- The height of the artist is 182 cm.
- He loves the work of The Cure.
- Journalists called the musician a metal icon.
- One of his interests is boxing.
Philip Anselmo: our days
In 2018, the musicians Phil H. Anselmo & The Illegals pleased their fans with the release of a full-length compilation called Choosing Mental Illness as a Virtue.
The record was mixed on the artist's own label. It was topped by 10 worthy tracks. Critics and fans have awarded the work a lot of positive feedback.
In 2019, Phil's concerts with The Illegals in New Zealand were noted. The move comes amid the brutal killing of more than five dozen Muslims in the city of Crichester.
The artist, along with the musicians of the Down band, could not perform in 2020 either. It’s all to blame for the coronavirus pandemic, which disrupted the plans of most American singers.
In 2021, as the touring activity begins to unfold, Phil is choosing not to sit in the recording studio. Today the musicians perform with the show A Vulgar Display Of Pantera. It should be noted that at concert venues the artist performs with his own project Phil H. Anselmo & The Illegals.
