Singer advocates talking about mental health
With September being National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, Philip H. Anselmo & the Illegals’ “Choosing Mental Illness As a Virtue” album may hit home for some people.
Fans can experience much of that material live Thursday at The Forge in Joliet. Housecore Records labelmates King Parrot from Australia open the show.
“When a lot of people go through something that is distressing, they may think they’re the only ones,” said Anselmo via phone from his Housecore Records home office in Louisiana.
“That can hardly be less true. There’s been people throughout history that have gone through the same exact thing,” he said.
“Talking about it with someone, especially someone who can help you or lead you to some help, is imperative. It’s paramount. There should be zero shame in asking for help. If it’s to better your own life and to better people around you, you’ve got to talk to somebody about it.”
Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals features Anselmo on vocals, Mike DeLeon on lead guitar, Stephen Taylor on guitar, Walter Howard on bass and Jose Manuel “Blue” Gonzalez on drums.
“They’re young and they’re hungry. They’re awesome to be around — great energy and all business. They’re great guys, and the talent level is there. We have a freakin’ blast,” Anselmo said.
“Keep an open mind because it ain’t pretty. It’s pretty ugly. It is not Pantera. It’s not Down. It’s not any of my other bands, so expect something bizarre and even strange but hopefully entertaining nonetheless.
“The Illegals have a split we did with Warbeast. We did an EP from the Housecore Horror Festival, and we have two full-lengths. We’re doing some stuff from all that plus we have some new stuff. Everybody always bugs me about ‘Can we hear this, that and the other?’ because I’ve been in so many bands,” Anselmo said.
“Of course, we’re going to have some surprises but just some.”
Most fans first came to know Anselmo through the now-legendary metal band Pantera, which had global sales of 20 million including the “Far Beyond Driven” album that debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.
“I remember great success. I remember lots of hard work and constant gigging for two or three years in a row,” he said. “I’ve learned pretty much everything I possibly could through Pantera as far as traveling the world and playing music. When it comes to your bandmates, communication is paramount.”
Anselmo’s numerous projects include supergroup Down and metal band Superjoint.
“Music comes in so many different genres that I’ve got to admit I’m a lover of a lot of different styles,” he said.
“Take Down, for instance. Down, to most people, would be a heavy metalSouthern rock type of thing. It wouldn’t make any sense if I tried to incorporate Illegals’ music into Down. It just would not work stylistically,” he said.
“To have a bunch of bands is to have a bunch of variety. It just makes things healthier for me.”
Philip H. Anselmo & the Illegals’ spring tour was postponed until fall to give Anselmo more time to recover from a second back surgery in late January.
“It’s the happiest and healthiest I’ve been since I was 24. I’m down from 220 pounds to 175,” he said. “I’ve been breaking so many bad habits from just being down and injured for so long. It’s like I have to learn how to do things right again. It’s all part of the process. Man, I really am enjoying it.”
Anselmo’s new outlook on life pairs well with “Choosing Mental Illness As a Virtue,” released in January as a follow-up to 2013’s “Walk Through Exits Only.”
“Really the concerns I was getting across lyrically and thematically about mental health are: What can we possibly do as a society to raise more awareness about problems people may have even on a topical level?” said Anselmo about the 10-track album.
“Mental health should be talked about. I’ve struggled with it myself through different phases and different ways. Coming from a chronic pain standpoint, I can lend something to the conversation, and I think everybody should be talking about it for the better.”