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Change is inevitable: a damning prospect for many as no thing and no one remains constant. Change objectively augments with a hand of uncertainty dealt by a force outside of our comprehension and control…frightening.

Some of us resist change fearing the loss of familiarity with the people and things to which we are attached. I have noticed this phenomenon prevalent among metal fans, as there are some of us who profoundly resist change in this music: we cling to a sound or epoch in a band’s recording history with which we are emotionally familiar. I imagine it is because historically, as they matured, some bands also softened; they grew fat around their middles, padding choruses with clean vocals, softening their sharp edges with melodious interludes in sentimentality…
…this is not Downspell.

Though they have matured, Downspell lives up to its name, and has spiraled into deeper, darker terrain on “The Violent Majority.” In essence, they have changed.
“There is definitely a shift in intensity on […] “The Violent Majority,” says bass player Ronald “Woogie” Maggard.

While some bands trade heaviness for something lighter when they mature, as if to appeal to a softer palate, for the San Diego by-way-of Alaska outfit, Downspell, there is an astonishing contrast between “Afterbirth,” their first release, and their newest release, “The Violent Majority.”

In years past, the band pioneered a respectable and unique sound, some would describe as a mélange of nu-metal groove and death and grind’s ferocious assaults. “The Violent Majority,” however, is none of this—it is Downspell’s proving ground; with depth and complexity, rarified by the obvious grimness of its soundscape, “The Violent Majority” is brutal. This is mature; there is nothing “nu” about it.

“I believe the shift in intensity is due to the fact that everyone seems to be able to pull their weight. We can write as brutal [of a] song as we want, and we know that everyone else will be able to play it to perfection, [as well as] make it more brutal once they have their hands on it,” Maggard says.

The immense change in sound was also the result of a lineup shift: the band parted ways with former guitar player Mike, bass player Kenny, and drummer Eric Raisch.

“We had the same line up from 1999 until 2006, when our drummer Eric left the band to go to school; Mike took on his family’s restaurant. Mo Glavan, who replaced [Raisch], and I decided we wanted to take the band into a more death metal direction. Kenny, who had invested a lot into the band, decided he wanted to go into a different direction and left shortly thereafter.” Guitarist Jake Phillips reveals.
But where many bands fold into other outfits and pitifully part ways, Downspell apparently used the opportunity to harness a clean slate and create a new sound.

“For about a year, between 2007 and 2008, [Galvan] and I wrote a lot of music to change the style and to give it a technical edge.” Phillips says.
The result: a new depth to Downspell’s savagery. There is more here than typical death metal cacophony—instead there is intelligence and an all-out audio assault tempered by really well-written music.
“This is the album I really have wanted to create since I was 14 or 15 years old,” Phillips says. “When it came to [the writing] I tried to look at the album as a whole, look at the themes, and have really good riffs that flowed into one another. I wanted to have a very classical sound with a tragic theme—[as if] to share the emotional side of a riot.”

Featuring the likes of Dan Lilker of Anthrax, Brutal Truth, and Storm Troopers of Death (among others); Travis Ryan from Cattle Decapitation; Kevin Sharp of Brutal truth; and others, the world of “The Violent Majority” is bleak, surreal, and gritty. “Thematically, [“The Violent Majority”] jumps all over the place, but [some of the themes on the record] have to do with population control, environmental issues, religious references, and a future run by violence and weapons”—all of which are themes perfectly promoted by the band’s musical mettle:
Wayne Price and Tyson Montrucchio (as of publish date, Montrucchio lost his battle with cancer) deliver vicious vocals devoid of irony, which seem to emerge from the holes of some place very disturbing. Jake Phillips’ and new guitar player Isaac Aragon’s thrashing guitars are furious and complex. Drummer Mo Galvan’s beats march forth like the lock-step rhythms of a heavy-footed broken soldier, perfectly aligned with the record’s war-torn landscape and Ronald “Woogie” Maggard’s pounding bass lines.
Suffice it to say, the power on this record is profound, and conceptually, if the world we live in according to Downspell is accurate—we’re all really fucked.

But what isn’t yet broken is Downspell’s otherwise devoted fan base that has grown to include more serious metal fans.

“With the heavier more intense Downspell [sound], I definitely see a change in the crowd’s response. From the pits to the people just getting into the intensity that we bring on stage with us and feeding off of it, it is truly a new crowd,” Maggard says.

Phillips adds, “We [have been able to develop] more of an extreme metal fan base. We even have people that aren’t super death metal fans that still enjoy watching us. We still throw down a lot, but our music is decipherable.”

Abandoning the old “nu” metal shell, and instead outfitting a heavier, darker edge, the band has also had the opportunity to play with some veteran heavy hitters, including Brutal Truth, Origin, Cattle Decapitation, Asesino, Goatwhore, Exhumed, To Violently Vomit (Disgorge), and Cephalic Carnage.
“I would like to get back into the studio and write another record,” Phillips says. “But I want to keep this underground. In realistic terms, we’re going to be underground for the totality of our existence.”
As the band rides this wave of change, (and speaking of change, as of publish date, bass player Ronald “Woogie” Maggard will not be playing with Downspell full time), one can only imagine the depths they will reach as they spiral deeper into a heavier din.

“The Violent Majority” can be found online on ITunes, Amazon.com, and CDBaby.com.
To learn more about Downspell, visit downspellarmy.com"