Biography

The early 21st century saw Pantera singer Phil Anselmo launch several side projects, including Necrophagia, Viking Crown, Christ Inversion, Southern Isolation, and Superjoint Ritual. The latter group is comprised of guitarists Jim Bower and Kevin Bond, drummer Joseph Fazzio, with none other than Hank Williams III on bass (Anselmo handled both vocal and bass duties for the group's recordings, but opted to concentrate solely on vocals for the group's live shows). According to Bower, the members of Superjoint Ritual approached the writing and recording of their debut with "the perfect 15-year-old mentality of having everything loud, everything on 10, getting loaded, and letting whatever happens, happen." Recorded at a rehearsal space turned recording studio in Anselmo's backyard, the sessions were produced by former Ugly Kid Joe member Dave Fortman (who has turned into quite a producer of ultra heavy bands -- Eyehategod, Soilent Green, etc.). May of 2002 saw the release of the quintet's debut, Use Once and Destroy, an album that reflected such influences as Black Flag, Righteous Pigs, Celtic Frost, and Voivod, among others. Superjoint Ritual supported the album with a summer tour the same year. The following year saw the release of the band's sophomore outing, A Lethal Dose of American Hatred, which featured the singles "Waiting for the Turning Point" and "Dress Like a Target." A 2004 dust-up between Anselmo and Fazzio proved too big keep operations running, and the band eventually called it quits. However, a pair of reunion shows in 2014 and 2015 led the group, which was now operating under the more simplified Superjoint moniker, back into the studio to begin work on their long-awaited third LP. The resulting Caught Up in the Gears of Application dropped the following year. ~ Greg Prato, Rovi