Superjoint
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:More citations needed Template:Infobox musical artist
Superjoint, formerly known as Superjoint Ritual, was an American sludge metal/hardcore punk band formed in the 1990s and fronted by Pantera vocalist Phil Anselmo. They released three studio albums.
History
The band was formed by Phil Anselmo, Joe Fazzio, and Jimmy Bower in the early 1990s, later to be joined by Hank Williams III and Kevin Bond. They were founded by Anselmo parallel to his membership in Pantera, 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's Headbangers Ball and Fuse TV's Uranium.
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, in October 2014. For unspecified legal reasons, the band performed under the name "Superjoint".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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 2015.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Superjoint released their latest album to date, Caught Up in the Gears of Application, on November 11, 2016, through Housecore Records.
In January 2017, Superjoint played a tour with Battlecross and Child Bite.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In an interview in June 2019, Anselmo mentioned that he was no longer interested in playing with Superjoint.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In October 2020, bassist Stephen Taylor said he is unsure if the band is still active.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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 and Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Musical style and influences
Superjoint's style has been described as a mix of sludge metal and hardcore punk.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Bands like Venom, Slayer, Celtic Frost, Voivod, and Darkthrone 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Band members
- Final lineup
- Phil Anselmo – 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
- Joe Fazzio – drums (1993–2004)
- Michael Haaga – bass (1993–1994, 1995–2002)
- Marzi Montazeri – lead guitar (1993–1994)
- Hank Williams III – bass (2002–2004)
- Timeline
<timeline> ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:100 bottom:60 top:5 right:10 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:3 start:1993 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1993
Colors =
id:vocals value:red legend:Vocals,_additional_guitar 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 id:bars value:gray(0.95)
BackgroundColors = bars:bars
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
</timeline>
Discography
Studio albums
- Use Once and Destroy (2002, Sanctuary Records)
- A Lethal Dose of American Hatred (2003, Sanctuary Records)
- Caught Up in the Gears of Application (2016, Housecore Records)
Demos
- 1995 Demo
- 1997 Demo
Videography
DVDs
- Live in Dallas, TX 2002 (2002, Sanctuary Visual Entertainment)
- Live at CBGB's (2004, Sanctuary Visual Entertainment)