Superjoint, formerly known as Superjoint Ritual, was an American heavy metal band.

History

The band was formed by

Phil Anselmo Philip Hansen Anselmo (born June 30, 1968) is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal vocalist best known as the lead singer for Pantera, Down (band), Down, and Superjoint, amongst other musical projects. He is the owner of Housecore Records ...

, Joe Fazzio, and Jimmy Bower in the early 1990s, later to be joined by

Hank Williams III Shelton Hank Williams (born December 12, 1972), known as Hank Williams III, is an American musician, singer and multi-instrumentalist, known for his unique fusion of traditional country music, rockabilly, heavy metal and punk rock. He was the ...

and Kevin Bond. They were founded by Anselmo parallel to his membership in

Pantera Pantera () is an American heavy metal music, heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas formed in 1981, and currently comprised of vocalist Phil Anselmo, bassist Rex Brown, and touring musicians Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante. The group's best-kn ...

, but became a full-time endeavor a few years later after Pantera's dissolution. Despite their early 1990s establishment, it was not 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 MTV2 (formerly M2) is an American pay television Cable television, channel owned by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. The channel launched initially as an all-music video service, once the original MTV had started to sh ...

's ''

Headbangers Ball ''Headbangers Ball'' is a music television program that consisted of heavy metal music videos airing on MTV and its global affiliates. The show began on MTV on April 18, 1987, playing heavy metal music videos from both well-known and more obs ...

'' and

Fuse TV Fuse is an American pay television channel launched in 1994 which was originally dedicated to music. After merging with the Hispanic and Latino Americans, Latino-oriented NuvoTV in 2015, Fuse shifted its focus to general entertainment and lifestyl ...

's ''

Uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...

''. 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. The band reunited at the Housecore Horror Film Festival in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

in October 2014. For legal reasons, the band performed under the name "Superjoint". Hank Williams III was initially supposed to take part in this first reunion show, but had to bow out due to personal issues. Although their appearance at Housecore Horror was supposed to be the only reunion show, the band would later perform at

Hellfest Hellfest (), also called Hellfest Summer Open Air, is a rock festival focusing on heavy metal music, held annually in June in Clisson, France. Its high attendance makes it the French music festival with the largest turnover. It is also one of ...

2015. Superjoint released their latest album to date, ''

Caught Up in the Gears of Application ''Caught Up in the Gears of Application'' is the third and final album by American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Superjoint Ritual, Superjoint. It was released on November 11, 2016, through Phil Anselmo's own record label Housecore Records. ...

'', on November 11, 2016, through

Housecore Records Philip Hansen Anselmo (born June 30, 1968) is an American heavy metal vocalist best known as the lead singer for Pantera, Down, and Superjoint, amongst other musical projects. He is the owner of Housecore Records. Anselmo is regarded as one ...

. In January 2017, Superjoint played a tour with

Battlecross Battlecross was an American heavy metal band from Canton, Michigan. The band has described their sound as "Blue Collar Thrash Metal". To date, they have released three albums through their label, Metal Blade Records. History The band was f ...

and

Child Bite Child Bite is an American punk/metal band formed in 2005 in Detroit, Michigan. The band's core members are founding vocalist Shawn Knight and longtime bassist Sean Clancy. Child Bite's sound has been described as "enormous and predatory, from th ...

. In an interview in June 2019, Anselmo mentioned that he was no longer interested in playing with Superjoint. In October 2020, bassist Stephen Taylor said he is unsure if the band is still active. Further interviews with guitarist Jimmy Bower in 2021 confirmed that the band is finished, with no plans to do any further work. Bower cited his and Anselmo's disinterest in working on material related to the band, as well as their existing commitments to

Eyehategod Eyehategod (also abbreviated and referred to as EHG) is an American sludge metal band from New Orleans, Louisiana who formed in 1988. They have become one of the better known bands to emerge from the NOLA metal scene. Their core lineup has re ...

and Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals.

Musical style and influences

Superjoint's style has been described as a mix of

sludge metal Sludge metal (also known as sludge or sludge doom) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that originated through combining elements of doom metal and hardcore punk. It is typically harsh and abrasive, often featuring shouted vocals, heavi ...

and

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...

. Bands like

Venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

Slayer Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style ...

Celtic Frost Celtic Frost () was a Swiss extreme metal band from Zürich. They are known for their strong influence on the development of extreme metalBukszpan, Daniel. ''The Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal''. Barnes & Noble Publishing, 2003. p.43 and avant-ga ...

, Voivod, and

Darkthrone Darkthrone is a Norwegian extreme metal band from Kolbotn, Akershus. Formed in 1986 as a death metal band named Black Death, in 1991 Darkthrone embraced a black metal style influenced by Bathory and Celtic Frost and became one of the leadin ...

have also been noted as influences. 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.

Members

;Final lineup *

– vocals (1993–2004, 2014–2019), additional guitars (1993–1998, 2002–2004, 2014–2019), lead guitar (1998–2002) * Jimmy Bower – rhythm guitar (1993–2004, 2014–2019) * Kevin Bond – lead guitar (2002–2004, 2014–2019), bass (1994–1995) * Stephen Taylor – bass (2014–2019) * Jose Gonzalez – drums (2014–2019) ;Former * Michael Haaga – bass (1993–1994, 1995–2002) *

– bass (2002–2004) * Joe Fazzio – drums (1993–2004) * Marzi Montazeri – lead guitar (1993–1994) ; Timeline ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:100 bottom:150 top:10 right:20 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1993 till:01/01/2019 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1993 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1993 Colors = id:vocals value:red legend:Vocals id:lguitar value:teal legend:Lead_guitar id:rguitar value:brightgreen legend:Rhythm_guitar id:bass value:blue legend:Bass id:drums value:orange legend:Drums id:studio value:black legend:Studio_album LineData = layer:back color:studio at:05/21/2002 at:07/23/2003 at:11/11/2016 BarData = bar:Anselmo text:"Phil Anselmo" bar:Marzi text:"Marzi Montazeri" bar:Bower text:"Jimmy Bower" bar:Haaga text:"Michael Haaga" bar:Bond text:"Kevin Bond" bar:Hank text:"Hank Williams III" bar:Taylor text:"Stephen Taylor" bar:Fazzio text:"Joe Fazzio" bar:Gonzalez text:"Joey Gonzalez" PlotData= width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(11,-4) bar:Anselmo from:01/01/1993 till:01/01/2004 color:vocals bar:Anselmo from:01/01/1994 till:01/01/2002 color:lguitar width:3 bar:Anselmo from:01/01/2014 till:end color:vocals bar:Marzi from:01/01/1993 till:01/01/1994 color:lguitar bar:Bower from:01/01/1993 till:01/01/2004 color:rguitar bar:Bower from:01/01/2014 till:end color:rguitar bar:Haaga from:01/01/1993 till:01/01/1995 color:bass bar:Bond from:01/01/1995 till:01/01/1996 color:bass bar:Haaga from:01/01/1996 till:01/01/2002 color:bass bar:Bond from:01/01/2002 till:01/01/2004 color:lguitar bar:Bond from:01/01/2014 till:end color:lguitar bar:Hank from:01/01/2002 till:01/01/2004 color:bass bar:Fazzio from:01/01/1993 till:01/01/2004 color:drums bar:Taylor from:01/01/2014 till:end color:bass bar:Gonzalez from:01/01/2014 till:end color:drums

Discography

Studio albums

*''

Use Once and Destroy ''Use Once and Destroy'' is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Superjoint Ritual. The guitar and bass work was done by Phil Anselmo and Eyehategod's Jimmy Bower. Drumming was performed by Joe Fazzio. For touring bass duties, ...

'' (2002,

Sanctuary Records Sanctuary Records Group Limited was a record label based in the United Kingdom and is as of 2013 a subsidiary of BMG Rights Management solely for reissues. Until June 2007, it was the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest m ...

) *''

A Lethal Dose of American Hatred ''A Lethal Dose of American Hatred'' is the second studio album by American heavy metal band Superjoint Ritual. Former "touring-only" bassist Hank Williams III is featured on this album. Nearly every song begins with a count-in by vocalist Phi ...

'' (2003, Sanctuary Records) *''

'' (2016,

)

Demos

*1995 Demo *1997 Demo

Videography

DVDs

*''Live in Dallas, TX 2002'' (2002, Sanctuary Visual Entertainment) *''Live at CBGB's'' (2004, Sanctuary Visual Entertainment)

References

External links

AllMusic page

NOLA Underground (New Orleans underground music scene)

Superjoint page on Philip Anselmo's official site
{{Authority control Heavy metal musical groups from Louisiana American sludge metal musical groups Crossover thrash groups American heavy metal musical groups American thrash metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1993 Musical groups disestablished in 2004 Musical groups reestablished in 2014 Musical groups disestablished in 2019