Jason Price of Icon Vs. Icon recently sat down with Phil Anselmo (DOWN) to discuss the 20th anniversary of Cowboys From Hell, his autobiography and upcoming solo record. Here are a few excerpts from the chat:

Icon Vs. Icon: What was the biggest challenge in making that epic record?

Anselmo: "I guess it was like I was saying. To get that guitar sound roaring, because at that time, we had taken over the club scene, Pantera had. Regionally and in Texas, the live shows were insane to say the least. We had that live energy. I think capturing that live energy and that feel and putting it on the record was our main goal as well as our biggest obstacle. If you listen to Cowboys From Hell and then to Vulgar Display Of Power, you can hear our sound evolving slowly, ya know. Especially with Terry Date. Terry Date was a great producer. Without him, there is no way we could have achieved those awesome sounds."

Icon Vs. Icon: You have been working on your autobiography. Is that your way of shedding some light on the man behind the person we see in the limelight?

Anselmo: "Sure! That is an interesting thing to bring up. Writing a book is a very interesting process because you get to go through and find out for yourself what fueled the man as a youngster and all the little different things that happened in succession where you put one foot in front of the other and the next thing you know, you are doing the 20-year anniversary of your first record, ya know?! So it’s like “How the heck did I get to be 42 years old?!” It’s a hell of a story."

Icon Vs. Icon: There have been rumors of a solo album from you circulating in the fan community. Can you elaborate on that at all and how do you envision a Phil Anselmo solo album sounding?

Anselmo: "Well, it’s vicious. I have been in so many different side projects, I like to say that not all of them sound alike. With that being said, there is no way I would want to rehash anything traditional, so to speak. I’m gonna touch on tradition, ya know. Tradition is distorted guitar, drums, bass. But yes, I have been writing new stuff. Yes, it is super motherfuckin’ aggressive. It’s at its beginning points man but I got over 10 things that are close. I can’t give you a timeline, but I think, little by little, I might leak some here or there when it is done. I will just let people take it in how they want but, once again, I know heavy music. I see where heavy music is. I want to take heavy music like a ball of clay and reshape it, if you catch me. Reshape it differently than it has been shaped before. That is where I am at right now."

Read the entire interview here.