The band dates back to 1988, when Kirk Windstein joined the New Orleans hardcore punk band ShellShock.[3] He met Jimmy Bower, who was their drummer, and they quickly became friends. The band collapsed when Mike Hatch, their guitarist, committed suicide in late 1988. The band hence replaced Hatch with Kevin Noonan and continued under the new name, Aftershock. Under that name they released a demo in mid-1989 and then renamed themselves again as Wrequiem, with their bassist Mike Savoie leaving the band and Todd Strange replacing him. They renamed themselves yet again in 1990 as The Slugs, and released a demo in mid-1990, but the band collapsed.
Windstein considered becoming the bass player for New Orleans–based groove metal band Exhorder but he and Strange reformed their band, with Craig Nunenmacher as the drummer. Nunenmacher was later replaced by Tommy Buckley from Soilent Green, and Kevin Noonan returned on guitar. The band renamed themselves Crowbar in mid-1991, after their label warned them that another band called "The Slugs" already existed; the name Crowbar was borrowed from one of Windstein's side-projects.[2] Windstein has listed Celtic Frost as one of the band's early influences in terms of sound.[4]
Career (1991–present)
Crowbar performing in 2015
Crowbar's debut studio album, Obedience thru Suffering, was released in 1991, but failed to achieve significant sales or airplay. By 1993's self-titled album, personal friend Phil Anselmo (Pantera, Down, and Superjoint Ritual) produced the record, which eventually led to national promotion on MTV's Headbangers Ball. In addition, the videos for "All I Had (I Gave)" and "Existence Is Punishment" were commented on by Beavis and Butt-Head. Following this success, the band went on to record music videos, embark on major tours with Pantera, and record more albums.
Their stage antics, immortalized in Pantera's third home video and Crowbar's Like Broken Glass home video, became infamous. The band continued recording and touring. In 1994, the Pantera video for the song "I'm Broken" showed Anselmo wearing a Crowbar/Eyehategod T-shirt. Original drummer Nunenmacher left the band in 1996 and was replaced by Jimmy Bower from Down and Eyehategod, and for their 1996 release, Anselmo sang backup on a few tracks on Broken Glass.
In 2000, after recording and releasing Equilibrium with Sid Montz on drums, Nunenmacher rejoined the band for the "Penchant for Violence Tour" with "The Brotherhood of Brewtality" Black Label Society and Sixty Watt Shaman. Halfway through the tour, Nunenmacher replaced BLS's drummer Phil Ondich and pulled double duty for the rest of the tour, eventually joining BLS permanently.
The band continues to perform, borrowing members from New Orleans metal bands like Goatwhore and Acid Bath. In their 2005 release, Lifesblood for the Downtrodden, Pantera bassist Rex Brown lent his bass skills and keyboard playing. Down's producer Warren Riker assisted in production. Also in 2005, Beavis and Butt-Head's commentary on "Existence Is Punishment" appeared on the Beavis and Butt-Head: The Mike Judge Collection No.3 DVD.
On April 21, 2008, the albums Crowbar, Time Heals Nothing, and the Live+1 EP were reissued in Europe with bonus and multimedia tracks.[5] On May 24, 2009, it was announced that Phil Anselmo's Housecore Records would be re-releasing Crowbar's back catalog.
As of September 2010, Crowbar is under contract with E1 Music[7] in North America and Century Media in Europe, and released their ninth studio album, Sever the Wicked Hand, on February 8, 2011. This date is the sixth anniversary of the release of their previous album, Lifesblood for the Downtrodden.[8] The band embarked on a six-date UK tour in January 2011.
Bassist Pat Bruders left Crowbar in September 2013.[9] Bruders explained he wanted to focus on touring with Down. He told Louder than Hell, "It is better for all parties in Crowbar and in Down that I leave Crowbar. With Down's brutal tour schedule and overseas shows. It is better if I focus 100 percent of my time to Down. There are no hard feelings with my bandmates of Crowbar." Bruders was replaced by Jeff Golden, who formerly played with Six Feet Under, Thy Will Be Done, and Goatwhore.[10]
Crowbar entered the studio in late 2013 to begin recording Symmetry in Black, which was released in North America on May 27, 2014, via E1 Music.[11]
In May 2016, bassist Jeff Golden announced on his Facebook page that he had been fired from the band. Shortly after Golden's departure, Windstein announced that founding bassist Todd Strange would return to the band. In July 2018, Strange had retired from touring although he will remain a member of the band.[12] His final performance was at the Odd Fellows Rest 20th anniversary show on August 4, 2018. Shane Wesley is his live replacement and had already played on Crowbar's summer European tour.[13][14]
In mid 2017, Crowbar supported Overkill on the annual Metal Alliance tour.[15] In the spring of 2018, Crowbar opened up for Hatebreed on their 20 Years of Desire and 15 Years of Perseverance tours.[16] Crowbar opened up for Killswitch Engage on a short fall tour in November 2018.
Crowbar's twelfth studio album (and their first in six years) Zero and Below was released on March 4, 2022.[17] The band toured North America and Europe with Sepultura and Sacred Reich in support of the album.[18][19]
Style
Crowbar's music has been described as sludge metal. According to Steve Huey of AllMusic, Crowbar "combines the doomy heft of Black Sabbath, the intense riffage of Pantera, and the intricate progressions of Metallica".[20] According to author J. J. Anselmi, Crowbar's sound has evolved from "unadultered aggression to [embracing] haunting quietude." Crowbar's early material is said to have "[slowed] down caveman hardcore to a knuckled crawl", while their later output has been said to have "illustrated a penchant for dynamic eeriness, intermixing brutish heaviness with foreboding ether."[21]
Down is an American heavy metal supergroup that formed in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1991. The current lineup consists of vocalist Phil Anselmo, drummer Jimmy Bower, guitarists Pepper Keenan and Kirk Windstein (Crowbar), and bassist Pat Bruders (Goatwhore).
Philip Hansen Anselmo is an American heavy metal musician best known as the lead singer for Pantera, Down, and Superjoint, amongst other musical projects. He is the owner of Housecore Records.
Superjoint, formerly known as Superjoint Ritual, was an American metal/hardcore band formed in the 1990s and fronted by Pantera vocalist Phil Anselmo.
Down II: A Bustle in Your Hedgerow is the second studio album by American band Down, released on March 26, 2002. The subtitle "A Bustle in Your Hedgerow" is borrowed from the lyrics of "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin.
Rex Robert Brown is an American musician. He is the longtime bassist for heavy metal band Pantera, having joined the band in 1982. Following the band's reunion in 2022, Brown is the longest-serving member of the band. He is also a former member of the supergroup Down (2001–2011) and a former bassist for Kill Devil Hill. He released his debut solo album Smoke on This… in 2017. For the first time in Brown's career, the work features him not only as a bassist but also as lead vocalist and guitarist.
Eyehategod is an American sludge metal band from New Orleans, Louisiana who formed in 1988. They have become one of the better known bands to emerge from the NOLA metal scene. Their core lineup has remained consistent since the band's inception, with the exception of the bassist, until the death of drummer Joey LaCaze in 2013. As of 2021, the band has released six studio albums.
Pepper J. Keenan is an American guitarist and vocalist, best known for his work with heavy metal bands Corrosion of Conformity and Down. He joined Corrosion of Conformity in 1989, but did not become the lead singer until the recording of Deliverance in 1994. In 1991, Keenan formed Down with Phil Anselmo of Pantera, Jimmy Bower of Eyehategod, and Kirk Windstein and Todd Strange of Crowbar.
Patrick Bruders is an American musician who is the current bassist for heavy metal supergroup Down, former bassist of extreme metal band Goatwhore from 1997 to 2004, and former bassist for sludge metal band Crowbar from 2005 until 2013.
Exhorder is an American heavy metal band from New Orleans, Louisiana. They are considered progenitors of the groove-oriented thrash sound later made famous by bands such as Pantera and Machine Head, and their music has been regarded as a large influence on the New Orleans metal scene. Initially active from 1985 to 1994 and reformed from 2008 to 2011, Exhorder has since reformed in 2017. To date, the band has released four studio albums: Slaughter in the Vatican (1990), The Law (1992), Mourn the Southern Skies (2019) and Defectum Omnium (2024).
Kirk Michael Windstein is an American musician. He is the frontman, vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and sole constant member of the sludge metal band Crowbar. He is also a founding member of the heavy metal supergroup Down, playing guitar with them from 1991 to 2013 and later rejoining the band in 2020. In 2005, Windstein formed Kingdom of Sorrow with Jamey Jasta of Hatebreed. Their debut album was released in 2008. Windstein began his musical career in 1985 as a guitarist for a cover band called Victorian Blitz, and in 1988 joined a hardcore punk band called Shell Shock as a vocalist and guitarist.
Crowbar is the second studio album by American sludge metal band Crowbar, released on October 12, 1993. It sold 100,000 copies on the now defunct independent label Pavement Music. The singles "All I Had " and "Existence Is Punishment" were played on MTV and received international attention. Crowbar was recorded in New Orleans in 1992 and produced by Phil Anselmo, a childhood friend of Crowbar's founder Kirk Windstein and singer of Pantera.
CraigNunenmacher is an American musician, best known as the former drummer for heavy metal bands Black Label Society and Crowbar. He joined BLS in July 2000 while playing for Crowbar, who were touring with BLS at the time. The original BLS drummer, Phil Ondich, left the band mid-tour and, to keep the tour on the road, Nunenmacher filled in for Ondich, playing for both Crowbar and BLS for the rest of the tour. A few weeks into the tour, he was asked to join the band permanently.
Time Heals Nothing is the third studio album by American sludge metal band Crowbar, released in 1995 through Pavement Music. It was rereleased in 2000 by Spitfire Records with new album artwork, courtesy of Rich DiSilvio.
Broken Glass is the fourth studio album by American sludge metal band Crowbar, released on October 29, 1996 through Pavement Music.
Kingdom of Sorrow is an American sludge metal band that features Kirk Windstein of Crowbar and Down, along with Jamey Jasta of Hatebreed.
Equilibrium is the sixth studio album by American sludge metal band Crowbar, released in March 2000 through Spitfire Records. It was original bassist Todd Strange's final album with the band until his 2016 return.
Diary of a Mad Band: Europe in the Year of VI is a live album by sludge/Southern metal band Down. It was released on CD/DVD on October 5, 2010. It is the final Down album to feature Rex Brown as bassist.
Sever the Wicked Hand is the ninth studio album by American sludge metal band Crowbar. It was released on February 8, 2011 through E1 Music, on February 14, 2011 through Century Media in the UK, and a day later for the rest of Europe. It was the band's first studio album after Lifesblood for the Downtrodden, released exactly six years before in 2005.
Down IV – Part I is the first EP by American sludge metal band Down. It was released on September 18, 2012. It is the first album featuring bassist Pat Bruders due to the departure of former bassist Rex Brown in 2011, and the last to feature guitarist Kirk Windstein, who left in 2013.
Symmetry in Black is the tenth studio album by the American sludge metal band Crowbar. It was released on May 26, 2014 in Europe through Century Media Records and on May 27, 2014 in North America through eOne Music. This was the only album to feature bassist Jeff Golden, who was fired from the band in 2016.
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