Down Brings New Music and Heavy Riffs to House of Blues Cleveland

Down / Helmet / Spirit In The Room – House of Blues, Cleveland, Ohio

***Down – House of Blues, Cleveland, Ohio***

The floor was already moving before Down took the stage, but a sold out House of Blues Cleveland found another gear once the headliners arrived. Spirit in the Room established a dark, raw mood, Helmet followed with a blistering 40 minute set, and Down kept the room moving with “Lifer,” “Rehab” and an extended “Bury Me in Smoke.” With “Blood Oath” making its live debut and the night ending with a full room singing along to “Stairway to Heaven,” Cleveland gave the Strap It Down tour a memorable stop.

The Strap It Down tour rolled into Cleveland with a lineup built for a night of heavy riffs and a thick atmosphere. New Orleans sludge masters Down headlined a sold out House of Blues, with Helmet and Spirit in the Room setting the stage for a crowd ready to get loud.

Opening the night, Spirit in the Room wasted little time establishing a darker mood. Frontman Dennis Sanders maintained a brooding presence beneath sparse red and blue backlighting with no front wash. In concert, the band replaced its studio refinement with a raw, punishing wall of sound. Their industrial take on Bauhaus’ “Stigmata Martyr” pushed the crowd’s energy to an early peak and set a fierce tone for the evening.

With younger fans often overpowering longtime attendees as they sang along to staples including “Milquetoast” and “In the Meantime.” The band tore through a blistering 40-minute set built on jagged, syncopated rhythms, while founder Page Hamilton supplied cutting guitar tones and sharply delivered vocals. His playing retained the precision and abrasive edge that defined Helmet’s early ’90s work.

***Spirit In The Room – House of Blues, Cleveland, Ohio***

Down’s swampy blend of stoner rock, Southern grit and hints of doom metal comes from a lineup filled with musicians who have made their mark well beyond the band. Vocalist Phil Anselmo of Pantera, guitarist and vocalist Pepper Keenan of Corrosion of Conformity, guitarist Kirk Windstein of Crowbar, bassist Patrick Bruders of Goatwhore and drummer Jimmy Bower of Eyehategod brought all of that experience together without making the performance feel like a showcase of individual resumes.

As the crowd surged forward, Down opened by debuting “Blood Oath,” a new song slated for the upcoming Volume V album in November. It marks the band’s first new music in more than a decade and gave the Cleveland crowd an early look at what comes next.

Anselmo spent the night moving across the stage barefoot, regularly offering thumbs up and tapping his heart toward the audience. His rugged, raspy voice carried the rough edge the songs required. Keenan handled guitar and vocals with an easy presence, while Windstein’s guitar work added plenty of weight to the songs. Bruders held down the low end and Bower provided a steady foundation behind the kit, particularly during the longer passages. Together, the five maintained a relaxed chemistry that made the performance feel natural.

“Lifer,” dedicated to the Abbott brothers as well as Ozzy, pushed the floor into another gear. Crowd surfers steadily made their way over the barrier, including a fan in a wheelchair, as a mosh pit opened near the center of the room. The energy continued throughout the room as the set progressed.

An extended, nearly 10 minute version of “Bury Me in Smoke” became one of the night’s heavier moments. A heavy dose of stage smoke surrounded the band as Keenan and Windstein settled into the song’s slow guitar progression, with Bruders and Bower maintaining its deliberate pace.

Near the end of the set, Down began handing off their instruments, eventually allowing members of Spirit in the Room to take over and rock out onstage. Down watched from the side and tossed mementos into the crowd, creating an unexpected ending to their set.

Anselmo had one final request before leaving the stage. “I didn’t know you were that loud, let’s make this completely official. Everybody, take a deep breath and sing with me,” he told the room before leading everyone into Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven.” He dropped the mic and walked away, leaving the sold out House of Blues Cleveland to finish the song together.

With Volume V on the horizon, Down showed that the chemistry behind their distinctive sound remains firmly intact, while giving Cleveland an early taste of what the band has been working toward for more than a decade.