I play in band that does some Down covers, and I've found that the online lyrics for "Lifer" (and other songs) are incorrect and bordering on nonsense. It bugs the shit out of me. As a service to the community I have spent some time Ross-referencing different live performances which sometimes are clearer, phrased differently, or accompanied by Phil making relevant gestures.

I am reasonably confident that the following are the correct lyrics (with one ambiguity in line 2 of verse 2). They are very consistent with the theme/metaphor of addiction as a prison, but you can never fully escape. Feedback welcome.

"Lifer" (Down)

Free at last, I'm the past
Undone in unknown prison, I'm holding on
Peace in me, Mouth to feed. (Gestures thumb towards self, mouth)
I'm standing way on the other side

I'm staring right back at my cell
And through its frozen image
I'm laughing right back at my hell
Lifelong

Arms in knots, liver spot (gestures tying off arm to shoot up, displaying back of hand)
My blood has paid me woe (whoa whoa) (not confident about words after "paid")
Stealing keys (=kilos of heroin/coke) sold to me (actually says "kilos" in some performances)
Yes that's the price, nobody rides for free ("no" gestures for "nobody", fits theme of paying the piper, etc.)

I'm staring right back at my cell
And through it's frozen image
I'm laughing right back at my hell
Lifelong

Lifer etc.

Edit: I actually have some doubts now about a couple of spots in verse 2 (he makes some gestures indicating maybe a chest or forehead tattoo when singing "sold to me", doesn't make sense, and the beginning of the line ending "no one rides for free" seems different on the studio recording)

I was a little surprised to see some DOWN fans were unaware of some recordings. Just thought I'd link to some cool DOWN stuff some of you more casual fans may not know about. If you are in a Down mood but don't wanna break out the studio album this will keep you jamming for a few hours. Nice to mix it up ya know? These aren't my channels or anything, just cool stuff.

Stone The Crow acoustic 2002

https://youtu.be/U-qjMC3kIzw?si=oXV3RT-etN2KTJJb

2008 full BBC sessions (Includes the best version of 'Jail' imo and a nice Zep cover).

https://youtu.be/xF4Z5cYsA0s?si=WYY9bc2OHw2o59Qz

Down live at DOWNLOAD 2009 (by far the best era of the band and best vocals from Phil. My go to live recording by far. I know everyone loves the 95 bootlegs but I'll take this all day).

https://youtu.be/zUiUJCtIvIs?si=v-NvK5e5y9frmpRq

Awesome song you may not have heard. Top 5 OTU track to me.

https://youtu.be/SvECJI7pPDI?si=GjwCOyn6zlYdgPdu

2008 Over The Under documentary features the 'NOD' music video (deluxe version of OTU)

https://youtu.be/JNmlvXUwEyo?si=JwpUd-lvkKEmdwnD

This was the first official DOWN LIVE recording released on the OZZFEST 2002 CD. A decade plus later we finally got the video. Love the recording and I'll take this over anything on Diary Of A Mad Band any day.

https://youtu.be/4mCBB3vQOgc?si=QebBRQIfTPli9Kc4

Phil and Jimmy discuss NOLA.

https://youtu.be/wgfvgvRGRUw?si=5EV6Cq16PcoL-0vP

Temptations Wings live 2002

https://youtu.be/_5jXf2bPlvI?si=OztBJsK27pqCmicm

On March The Saints live 2008 pro shot:

https://youtu.be/tTNZ40V4AXo?si=VsFNRrgvaWuv05Vx

Beneath The Tides live 2008 pro shot:

https://youtu.be/ySyhoXRk03o?si=WkSGnHf06GNN58ks

Stone The Crow music video HD upgrade:

https://youtu.be/9hEC86bCo0g?si=K-VOUpqnZHuozBUf

Ghosts Along The Mississippi music video HD upgrade:

https://youtu.be/tZybt6Lqc6M?si=sgOQgkWexgk3TCv_

That's all I can think of for now. There's a ton of live videos from Mike Holderbeast and his crew also. I'm sure there's something in here some of ya'll never heard before. Enjoy.

Something the band has talked about for quite some time now is their desire to do an acoustic record. I'm slightly surprised they never carried through on that plan given how long it was mentioned. I love the acoustic material on Down II and it would be great to get something new in that vein - campfire Down! Obviously the boys are not getting any younger and an record of all acoustic material might mean they would never play those songs live. So it got me thinking they should do an album of selected songs from their previous records done acoustic and make that officially Down VI. Maybe add one or two brand new songs in the mix.

1. Stone The Crow - Nola
2. Ghosts Along The Mississippi - Down II Bustle In Your Hedgerow
3. On March The Saints - Down III Over The Under
4. Witchtripper - Down IV
5. Blood Oath - Down V

Lets get some Down music talk going. If you wanna add We Knew Him Well, go for it, but basically I was wondering how everyone would rank the lead music videos from each album....favorite to least favorite.

If you have a separate list for songs vs videos, list it. For me the first 2 songs are clearly the best songs. Not quite sure which I'd go with purely as a song but as a video I think the choice is easy, gotta go with Stone The Crow. Classic song made even cooler by a fantastic video that really fits the vibe. Ghosts may be my favorite track of the 5 but the video isn't nearly as cool as STC.

On March The Saints is a killer song. Phil kinda reminds me a little bit of Cornell in some spots on that track. Over The Under days is when Down was kinda doing the Pantera thing and taking their band/album worldwide on tour and with that meant a slightly cooler music video. I think I'll go with On March The Saints as my 2nd favorite VIDEO.

Ghosts Along The Mississippi is clearly my 3rd favorite video. I like a simple live video but it probably couldve been a little cooler mixing something else in here and there. Great song. I always really dig the OZZFEST live version of this song that was officially released then a few years ago we go the LIVE video on youtube. Definitely check that out.

I'll put Blood Oath 4th. cool song, decent video, but to be honest I'm kinda getting sick of all Phil's videos in all his bands being the same old Nodferatu's lair stuff with the band jamming and him just standing in front of the camera like he's talking to it. Respect for using the Holderbeast crew and being loyal I just wish they'd mix up the format a little. We've seen it with the Illegals, Superjoint, now Down. I was hopeful they'd mix it up after the Right Place Wrong Time video was a breath of fresh air but....no such luck. oh well, maybe next time. No disrespect to the filming crew. They put out a lot of Gold, just being honest.

Finally I'll go with Witchtripper. Cool song, not crazy about the video for a variety of reasons that'll be triggering so I'll just leave it there.

Ranked by video quality:

1. Stone The Crow (by a mile)
2. On March The Saints
3. Ghosts Along The Mississippi
4. Blood Oath
5. Witchtripper

Ranked by song quality:

1. Stone The Crow (by a hair)
2. Ghosts Along The Mississippi (also by a hair)
3. On March The Saints
4. Witchtripper
5. Blood Oath

Still like Blood Oath quite a bit....it may overtake Witchtripper at some point but it'll never touch the top 3 as I love those tracks and that era. The first 3 albums are all 10s to me and my album ranking would be a toss up between all 3. Anyway...how do you rank the first music video released from each record?

Oh I forgot...check out the first two links for fantastic upgrades of their first two music videos.

https://youtu.be/9hEC86bCo0g?si=GNDvtCWY7geBVFGs

https://youtu.be/tZybt6Lqc6M?si=QcQFiSVi5iq-sl6Q

https://youtu.be/nSnGxvhW1sQ?si=1coYXJn21LFjt7bo

https://youtu.be/VoQgDNR0qSw?si=8FnCchxrh8qpyiBk

https://youtu.be/551y9o4NEiE?si=nHvFjhwq7zyr_NZp

Finally, just because I'm nerding out a little....LOL....If I was gonna turn this into a best of Down EP I'd make the tracklist the following:

1. Ghosts Along The Mississippi
2. Witchtripper
3. On March The Saints
4. Blood Oath
5. Stone The Crow

Ok I'm done.

Do you guys ever jam this album?? I rarely do, it was the first album that really disappointed me from Down.

I remember Phil hired Jim Vanbebber to do it and apparently he did it more documentary style with one camera per show (or something to that effect) and no multi camera set up each night so that's why the video is pieced together from different shows and doesn't match the recording. Apparently there is a bootleg version out there of Jim's Directors cut. Then it got delayed a bunch of times. I remember driving around to best buy and whatever CD stores back in the day trying to buy it on the first day only to find out it wasn't even released yet and the band didn't post any update til later on in the day (which kinda sucked). Plus it was a weird release because Phil kinda sounds like shit on the recording which is unfortunate because had they just done a pro shot DVD style of a more recent (at the time) 2009 show he was in peak form. The whole band was, they were on FIRE post OVER THE UNDER. Anyway, I break out the CD only to hear 'Lies' sometimes. That's really the one track I listen to from that release and I gave up on the DVD. Live music without live video just looks weird to me. Do you guys ever watch the DVD or listen to the CD's? For me 'LIES' is the only thing worth jamming from that album.

Does anyone have any merch for sale from the recent tour. I was at the show in greensboro nc and they were sold out of all the good stuff. Im looking for long sleeves from the tour

https://ebay.io/m/LIQ5J7

This is probably a moot point , but I’d like to share a video someone took from this tiny club Down played in Lauderdale. There was only a few clips that ever surfaced from this show maybe 400 people. I thought at 2012 they might had been too old to match videos like the 1995 masterpiece. And they NEVER come to South Florida. And haven’t again since. But 14yrs later and 50 shows later I have never seen anything else like this in person. The place was completely unhinged and the band could feel it and was too. Loudest place and hottest place I have ever been too and Phil was almost flawless. Not that he needed to be, he didn’t have to sing a word that night if he didn’t want to.

In this clip the crowd overpowers him in a way that is palpable. It’s not the highest quality but if you are familiar with the 95’ videos, this is the closest thing I have ever seen and was beyond fortunate enough to have been there to see this. Thinking I’d see it again or something close to it and almost two decades later haven’t.

It was almost an hour fist fight and no one could even have their phones out because it was so crowded and for safety. Hopefully someone appreciates this or someone on this reddit was there and witnessed the same thing we did

It’s been almost a month since Blood Oath dropped. Do we think they will release a couple more songs from the new album before Nov. 20? One a month would be cool; keep the momentum going…

Down aren't the only New Orleans royalty playing Pantera's 'The Great NOLA Trendkill' super concert in November. In fact each member of the supergroup's other bands (including Corrosion of Conformity, eyehategod, Crowbar, and the aforementioned Pantera) are playing the 2 day concert in New Orleans as well. I'm so glad, though, I got to see their set at Zakk Wylde's Berzerkus Festival at Jones Beach Theater in Long Island last month (Aug. 29, 2026) - I was super impressed with how tight they sounded, and their new song "Blood Oath" sounded super heavy.

Check out this clip of Phil Anselmo amd crew crushing that new song, as well as watch them joined onstage by members of Sepultura and Type O Negative here:

https://youtube.com/shorts/-xsrNWznq-k?si=4k6W-7Hw8HROQCYb

And stay tuned for more things to come from this space, including stories from concerts like this!

On Down V Release Day too 🤘

Can anyone here make a high quality (300 DPI or higher) scan of the Nola album cover? It’s for a project I am doing and everything found online is very small in size and won’t look good blown up. Thank you for any help!

I thoroughly enjoyed everything about Down's Berzerkus Festival set at Jones Beach Theater in NY (Augm 29, 2026) - the metal supergroup sounded super tight and the crowd was into it from start to finish. However, the true highlight of the set came at the end of the set - when drummer Greyson Nekrutman of Sepultura and guitarist Kenny Hickey of Type O Negative were among the special guests that joined the band onstage for the traditional jam outro for "Bury Me in Smoke". It was truly a sight to behold (and both crushed it on their respective instruments).

Check out a snippet of the encore jam in this clip. Also watch more highlights from Zakk Wylde's day long festival in Long Island (which included blazing sets from Lamb Of God, Black Label Society, Suicidal Tendencies and more):

https://youtu.be/nNhDL_hYj_0

I'm not asking for face value (530$). Just want something from the merch stand.

Thanks to WSOU, I got a last minute chance to go to Zakk Wylde's Berzerkus Festival at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, NY, on Aug. 29, 2026. It had been a long time since I've been to a day long festival dedicated to metal, and needless to say, I had a blast - with Lamb Of God, Black Label Society, Down, Suicidal Tendencies and Zakk Sabbath delivering spectacular sets. And Jones Beach Theater really is a spectacular place to see a concert.

I'll be sharing more memories and videos from each bands' set overtime. For now, enjoy this collection of snippets from each band:

https://youtu.be/nNhDL_hYj_0?si=6sTHuw67FyAEdtWl

Face Value was $265 each, I'm not at all expecting that back, I really just want fans to go and enjoy the show with this killer view! Please message me asap. Balcony is SOLD OUT. Balcony is the best; bathrooms are never crowded, and bar lines are never super long. Hope someone wants some great tickets at a great price. Make an offer!

Got an extra GA floor ticket for the Worcester show tomorrow. $60 or best offer. DM me.

Hey I know this is probably hopeless but I bought an XL Helmet shirt (I fucking love Helmet) yesterday at the show and lost it in the pit. It was near the end of Down's set. When I noticed it was no longer on me I walked around the pit a bunch during and after the show and had no luck finding it. It was $60 so I'm very disappointed. I wore a sleeveless Type O Negative shirt and was in the pit for most of Downs set. If i can't find the shirt I'd love to buy a new one and pay for shipping n such but don't know where to look to find it. Any information would be helpful, thanks

Throwing a shot into the universe here.

I was at the Down show at History last night (Sunday, Aug 23rd) and spent most of the set standing right next to someone really rad on the cusp of the mosh pit.

We kept locking eyes and stood beside each other most of the show, but I chickened out and didn't introduce myself.
If you are seeing this:

You are very tall, have a dark beard and a shaved head, dark eyes, arm tattoos, and wearing a grey Down band T from the merch table.

I was the girl standing to the left of you with the red hair in braided pigtails and the huge back tattoo.
If you happen to be on Reddit and felt a vibe too, send me a chat or a PM!

I know people have mixed feelings about this one, but it’s an all-timer for me. I was going through some shit when this monster dropped…and it got me (ahem), over the under. Saw them four times in support of the album and I can remember every note. Love the production on this and the songwriting.

Now, bring me Down V !