When a band gets their name from lyrics of a Darkthrone song, it's easy to come to the conclusion that they're not going for a radio-ready sound. Case in point: Superjoint Ritual, a New Orleans-based metal band fronted by legendary ex-Pantera frontman Phil Anselmo, provides for about as jarring of a listening experience as you can imagine.

Imagine stuffing elements of thrash, punk, hardcore, black metal, and straight-up Pantera-esque "groove" metal into a blender. Now imagine twenty spoonfuls of any random sugary substance being injected into that mixture to speed it up. That's Superjoint's sound in a nutshell. Needless to say, this ain't a band for the faint at heart, nor is it a band for those who require tons of peace, melody and harmony in their music of choice.

A Lethal Dose Of American Hatred was released in 2003. While its impact wasn't enormous, it's refreshingly heavy and energizing. Those who enjoy what Anselmo usually does will most likely enjoy Superjoint Ritual. While the band's sound is far from identical to Pantera or to Anselmo's other side project Down, Anselmo's unmistakably coarse, gritty yells are an essential part in all Superjoint Ritual songs. "Sickness," the opening track that will hit you like a ton of bricks, allows sludgy guitars to gradually build up to Anselmo's furious, punkish barks. With one listen to "Sickness," listeners will be able to tell if they're ready for the rest of A Lethal Dose Of American Hatred or not, because the album continues on a very similar path.

"Waiting For The Turning Point" is quite brutal despite its extremely short length (1:27). As Joe Fazzio pounds away on the drums, Anselmo serves up a flurry of roaring vocals, alternating from a menacingly low grumble to high-pitched, throat-splitting screeches reminiscent of the Norwegian black metal bands Anselmo loves so much. The lyrics consist mainly of Anselmo repeating the song title over and over, to the point where many listeners might become annoyed -- but I love it. Incidentally, this song was released as a single and just a couple short years ago, its video clip received a lot of airtime on Headbangers' Ball.

There are songs on A Lethal Dose Of American Hatred that bear a startling resemblance to Anselmo's work with Pantera. For instance, "Dress Like A Target," is not too far of a stretch from a lot of material on The Great Southern Trendkill. Anselmo's voice is on top form here. His versatility always has impressed me, and this song is a prime example of that. And if you ask me, "Never To Sit Or Stand Again" would have fit right in on Far Beyond Driven; it impacts hard with its thickly layered guitars that are punishingly heavy, yet they still manage to flow along with a groove, and downright chilling vocals from Anselmo.

The bone-crushing, hammering guitars and fiery double-bass drumming leads me to believe that "Permanently" may be A Lethal Dose Of American Hatred's heaviest track. This is mosh-pit-inducing music at its finest. It's as aggressive as can be, but there's a complexity here that can lead listeners to an appreciation of Superjoint Ritual's talent. They're not just banging away here; they're crafting intelligent metal. Then there's Anselmo, who gives an amazing performance as usual, screaming in the way that only he is capable of. Yet another highlight comes in the form of "The Knife Rises," which makes excellent use of atypically slow-grinding, dark guitar riffs to highlight Anselmo's haunting screams.

A Lethal Dose Of American Hatred is an underappreciated metal album. I say with utmost certainty that those who truly appreciate Phil Anselmo and his numerous contributions to the metal world will get at least some form of enjoyment by looking into Superjoint Ritual. However, if you're looking for Anselmo's more toned-down experiments, you'd be better off investigating Down (but be warned that Down's music is no cheery walk in the park either, and it occasionally dabbles in a much darker, heavier sound as well). Superjoint Ritual is fast, furious, and uncompromisingly rough. If what you seek is music to headbang to, or music to roar along to and release your anger, Superjoint Ritual will be right up your alley. A Lethal Dose Of American Hatred embodies all that so many modern metal bands are missing: passion, rawness, and authentic fury.


Great Music to Play While: Jumping up and down on a pogo-stick as frantically as possible.




Recommended: Yes