NOLA (album)

NOLA is the debut studio album by American sludge metal band Down, released on September 19, 1995, by EastWest Records. The title is the abbreviation for New Orleans (NO), Louisiana (LA).

Writing and recording
NOLA was written mainly by Phil Anselmo and Pepper Keenan between 1990 and 1995. Throughout 1991 to 1993, the band released three demos, a three-track demo (1991), a four-track demo (1992), and a ten-track demo (1993). Originally, the band made the three-track demo for underground trading. The demo featured the tracks "Losing All", "Temptation's Wings", and "Bury Me in Smoke". In an effort to build a fan base, the band would ask heavy metal fans if they had ever "heard of this band, Down" and hand them copies of the tape without telling the person that they were in the band. In 1992, the band recorded a second demo, this time featuring the same track listing as the original but with an intro. In 1993, the band made the Demo Collection 1992–1993 which is a ten-track demo featuring all the songs that would make the album cut except "Rehab", "Pray for the Locust", and "Underneath Everything". Anselmo solely wrote only three songs on the album ("Hail the Leaf", "Pray for the Locust", and "Pillars of Eternity"). Eventually, the original demo tape was distributed throughout the United States and Down played a small concert in its home town. A record executive from EastWest Records was attending the show. When he found out who the members of the band were, he signed Down to a recording contract. The band began recording the album in the summer of 1994 at the Ultrasonic Studios, New Orleans, Louisiana, and completed the recording sessions by January 1995.

Artwork
The booklet art is by Jim DeBarros and David Manteau and makes extensive use of vintage photographs by Clarence John Laughlin.

Lyrics and style
Although a sludge metal album, NOLA contains traces of hardcore punk, southern rock, and stoner rock. Lyrical themes on the album prominently focus on topics such as death, suicide, drug use and personal struggles. According to the booklet, lyrics were written from October 1990 to April 1995.

Commercial performance
NOLA was released in September 1995 and would peak at number 57 in October 1995 on the Billboard 200, and remain on the chart for six weeks. The album spawned four singles in "Stone the Crow", "Lifer", "Temptation's Wings", which were released in 1995, and "Bury Me in Smoke" in 1996. However, only "Stone the Crow" would achieve commercial success when it reached number 40 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks charts, becoming Down's first and only top 40 song.

Critical reception
The album received acclaim from critics. AllMusic reviewer David Reamer praised the songs "Temptation's Wings", "Stone the Crow", and "Bury Me in Smoke", stating that "this is a landmark album that combines the talents of dedicated rock musicians, and should be included in any collection of heavy metal music." In 2006, Oliver Badin of Terrorizer wrote that Down "succeeded where most supergroups fail: truly being the perfect sum of [its members] parts. But what makes [NOLA] so great is its forcible seizure of the Sabbathian legacy and how it soaked it in the filthy swamps of New Orleans."

Rock Hard ranked the album at number 244 on their list of the "500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time".

Tour
Down supported NOLA with a 13-date concert tour. The band went on hiatus in 1996 as all members continued their main projects. They would reunite in 1999 to make a second album, Down II, released in 2002.

===Tour dates ===

Track listing
All tracks written by Phil Anselmo and Pepper Keenan unless noted.

Personnel

 * Down
 * Philip Anselmo – vocals, mandolin (track 8), guitar (track 11)
 * Pepper Keenan – guitars
 * Kirk Windstein – guitars, bass*
 * Jimmy Bower – drums
 * Todd Strange – bass*
 * Although Todd Strange is credited as bass in all of the credits on each release, Kirk Windstein played the instrument in the studio. Strange still contributed to some songwriting, and also played live.


 * Additional musicians
 * Lil' Daddy – percussion (track 8), water pipe (track 5)
 * Sid Montz – percussion (track 8)
 * Ross Karpelman – keyboards (track 8)


 * Technical personnel
 * Matt Thomas – production, mixing
 * David Farrell – mixing
 * Ted Jensen – mastering
 * Clarence John Laughlin – photography
 * Michael Miller – photography
 * Atom Bomb – photography

Chart positions
Album – Billboard (United States)

Singles – Billboard (United States)