Anselmo and Company Know Their Heavy Metal

Thirteen years have gone by since Superjoint (then known as Superjoint Ritual) has released any music. No one was expecting them to make a comeback. Frontman Phil Anselmo has been the face of the group, and he’s usually busy with a multitude of projects. In the past few years he has released new music under his new black metal project Scour as well as his solo venture Phil Anselmo & The Illegals—and that doesn’t count his continuing work with Down. Superjoint just seemed like another side project.

But lo and behold, just closing off 2016, Superjoint is back with Caught up in the Gears of Application. There was supposedly some legal drama along the way that hindered the band getting back together, but they’ve finally made their comeback. However, it’s not totally the same group. Other than Jimmy Bower (Eyehategod, Crowbar, Down) and Anselmo himself, the lineup is mostly new. 

Unfortunately, it’s hard to write about Anselmo without mentioning his “incident” from earlier this year. The mere mention of it is still quick to set off caps lock keys all around Twitter, but it’s clear that Anselmo hasn’t let the incident shy him away from making statements on political and social issues. After the monumental PR disaster he went through, it’s actually a little surprising that he’s willing to make any sort of commentary on anything. Anselmo’s harsh vocals can be a bit tough to sift through, but it’s audible enough to hear him take some jabs at Social Justice Warriors (“Burning the Blanket”), the media (“Clickbait”), micro-aggression (“Rigging the Fight”), and all of the other hot button issues that have thinned out your friends list this year.

No, Anselmo isn’t shouting “white power” or “Heil Trump” on any of these songs, but there are some who won’t be thrilled to hear Anselmo’s viewpoint. If that’s a deal-breaker for you, you might want to skip this one.

Lyrical subject matter aside, Caught Up in the Gears of Application is pretty darn good. It’s a pretty similar endeavor to their previous releases, but it feels a little nastier, with similar vibes to Walk Through Exits Only by The Illegals. It’s got the same blend of thrash, groove, and stoner metal, but it feels like it got a big dose of grindcore/powerviolence influence. But that’s usually how Anselmo likes to do things, getting a sharper edge as he gets older rather than softening up.

The production goes for a pretty intentionally gritty sound. The guitars have a sharp distortion that’s a little grating to the ear, and Anselmo’s raspy voice still has the same testosterone-fueled tough-guy edge that’s been his signature for so many years. There’s plenty of rage-fueled speed on songs like “Burning the Blanket” and “Sociopathic Herd Delusion,” and lots of headbang-inducing grooves on songs like “Circling the Drain” and “Asshole.”

Caught Up in the Gears of Application makes for some excellent heavy metal, though it does lack a bit in staying power. It’s a lot of fun to listen to in the moment, but most of the music is kind of forgettable. After multiple listens, a lot of the songs start to blend together. But for an album that’s really good at getting the adrenaline flowing, it doesn’t really need to be much more than that.

All in all, it’s good to see that Superjoint is back. They’re the type of band that delivers what you expect, but it’s always a good product. Caught Up in the Gears of Application might not make anyone’s top 10 lists this year, but it’s worth listening to for some good old-fashioned heavy metal music.