Down began their North American run at The Eastern in Atlanta on Saturday, ahead of their first album since 2007.
Down started their North American tour on Saturday night at The Eastern in Atlanta, with Helmet and Spirit In The Room supporting. Fan-shot footage from the show has since gone up online.
The run takes its name from a combination of the headliner and Helmet‘s 1990 debut Strap It On. Down headline every date on the main stretch, which finishes on September 2 at the Ramova Theatre in Chicago.
Two festival appearances break up the routing. The band play the 2026 edition of Zakk Wylde‘s Berzerkus, alongside Lamb Of God and Black Label Society, on August 28 in Scranton and August 29 in Wantagh. They then close the trip on September 4 at Mystic Lake Amphitheater in Shakopee, Minnesota, as direct support to Slayer on a bill also featuring Suicidal Tendencies and Hatebreed.
Down 2026 North American tour dates:
- Aug 16 – Piedmont Hall, Greensboro, NC
- Aug 19 – House Of Blues, Cleveland, OH
- Aug 20 – Stage AE, Pittsburgh, PA
- Aug 22 – Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak, MI
- Aug 23 – HISTORY, Toronto, ON
- Aug 25 – MTELUS, Montreal, QC
- Aug 26 – The Palladium, Worcester, MA
- Aug 28 – The Pavilion at Montage Mountain, Scranton, PA (Berzerkus Fest)
- Aug 29 – Northwell at Jones Beach Theater, Wantagh, NY (Berzerkus Fest)
- Aug 30 – The Fillmore Silver Spring, Silver Spring, MD
- Sep 01 – Bogart’s, Cincinnati, OH
- Sep 02 – Ramova Theatre, Chicago, IL
- Sep 04 – Mystic Lake Amphitheater, Shakopee, MN (with Slayer)
Three more festival slots follow later in the year: Aftershock in Sacramento on October 3, Sick New World Texas in Fort Worth on October 24 and the Decibel Metal And Beer Fest in Denver on December 5.
The tour arrives with a record waiting behind it. Down signed to Nuclear Blast in April last year and have said the album is finished, though no release date has been given.
Speaking about the upcoming project, Jimmy Bower said at the time:
“ It’s bada**. It’s really, really good. Phil sang his a** off. Everybody played great, and we’re really excited about it because we’re just proud of it, man. Kirk‘s back. That’s f**king important… We’re just really excited to hear what the fans are gonna say.”
Kirk Windstein, who officially rejoined the legendary New Orleans sludge metal act six years ago, emphasized just how impactful this specific release is for him personally.
“I’ve been back six years now. But this [this is the] first [Down] record [I’ve recorded with the band since I returned],” he added. “A lot of people will be — I won’t say surprised, but I really, really think all the true Down fans are gonna absolutely love it, and hopefully we pick up some new fans as well. It’s a great record, great songwriting, great riffs. Like Jim said, everybody played their a** off. Phil sang… People are not gonna believe how well he sings on this. And there’s zero AutoTune or any of that bulls**t. That’s just him killing it. It sounds amazing.”
Earlier this year in April, Windstein revealed to “Metal Nation“ that the album was entirely “done” and “recorded,” noting that the band was simply searching for “the right person to mix it properly.”
“It’s done. It’s been recorded. The process of trying to find… ‘Cause we kind of self-produced it, so it’s not that we’re looking for a producer. The work is done. We just need to find the right person to mix it properly. So that’s what we’re looking at right now. But we’re hoping to have a release by October or something, I would think,” Windstein explained at the time.
He continued: “It’s been amazing. It really clicked — when we started writing for this new record, it was like we were back in the ’90s or something, writing the NOLA record. It’s, like, everybody’s got ideas. One guy’s got a riff and then somebody’s got something that works with that riff. We also have a situation where Jimmy Bower, who plays guitar in Eyehategod, he really started out as a drummer. I always joke with him — it’s not even a joke; it’s true — I’m, like, ‘Dude, you’re a way better drummer than you are a guitar player. But you’re perfect for Eyehategod,’ which is the only band he plays [guitar] in. But Jimmy can write killer riffs. Our bass player Pat does. And the thing a lot of people don’t know is how much Phil Anselmo is such a great songwriter and arranger, really, but he’s a great riff writer. And I think three of the 10 songs on the record are pretty much his songs; every part is his. And we’re, like, ‘This is great.’ We add a little something to it here and there.”
It will be their first full-length since Down III: Over The Under in 2007, with the Down IV EPs arriving in 2012 and 2014 in between. Nuclear Blast reissued Over The Under this year in a remastered edition prepared by Eric Koondel, the first time the album has had an official vinyl release in the United States.
The band’s cover of Dr. John‘s “Right Place, Wrong Time“, first put out as a video for Mardi Gras earlier this year, is now on streaming services.
Down are vocalist Philip H. Anselmo of Pantera, guitarists Pepper Keenan of Corrosion Of Conformity and Kirk Windstein of Crowbar, drummer Jimmy Bower of Eyehategod and bassist Pat Bruders.
