Down recently announced 25th anniversary shows celebrating their 1995 album NOLA, specifically at the 2020 editions of the Graspop Metal Meeting festival in Dessel, Belgium, and at the Copenhell festival in Copenhagen, Denmark.
This raised questions of if Crowbar guitarist and vocalist Kirk Windstein would be joining them or not. Windstein joined Down shortly after its formation in 1992 and left the band in 2013.
Now Windstein has revealed to Revolver he'll be joining the band for the reunion shows, as well as probably permanently. If the latter is confirmed, it seems likely guitarist Bobby Landgraf is out.
"I'm in, 100 percent., The quote from Pepper was, 'If you ain't doing it, I ain't doing it.' Phil, Pepper and Jimmy are my three of my oldest, closest friends, so this is a no-brainer for me."
"As far as I know, I'm back in the band. Bobby Landgraf did a fantastic job, and he's a very good friend of mine. But once again, Down is back to what it started out as, which is a 100 percent complete side project. Everyone's other bands are the priority and that's that. But it's been six and a half years since I jammed with those guys, so I'm excited. It's gonna be fun."
Down is Windstein, guitarist Pepper Keenan (Corrosion of Conformity), vocalist Phil Anselmo (Philip H. Anselmo & the Illegals, Scour), bassist Patrick Bruders (Saint Vitus, ex-Crowbar), drummer Jimmy Bower (Eyehategod), and keyboardist Big Ross (The Mystick Krewe of Clearlight).
