Former Pantera bassist Rex Brown is featured in a new interview with Sticks For Stones discussing his first solo album, Smoke On This. Check it out below.

Brown: "No, there's not one track on here that sounds like fucking Pantera - not one - and I made that intentional. I've already done that, man. Why go and beat a dead horse? Pantera has been over for a long time. Fifteen years. There'll never be another one. There'll never be another Pantera record, so people are just gonna have to fucking lump it or leave it. This is my interpretation of what I wanna do; a sonically infused fucking rock and roll record."

Many people know Rex Brown from his iconic work with Pantera and Down. However, there is much more to Rex and a wellspring of music. Metal Wani's Chuck Marshall recently had a chance to talk with Rex about Smoke On This.

They dive into some of choice cuts off ‘Smoke On This’ such as “Get Yourself Alright”, “Grace”, and “Buried Alive”. Rex talks about a song “Buried Alive” which describes his life after Pantera and Dimebag’s death; the transition from a guitarist to a singer, explores these tunes and explains how this album reflects his desire to get back to his rock ‘n' roll roots. He also talks about the genuine nature of the music vibe in Nashville and how that influenced the recording.

In addition to Lance Harvill who co-wrote the album, Rex reveals the musicians who will be joining his band to support the album on the road. He also talks about why this album is pretty good rock ‘n’ roll album in a long time. Finally Rex reveals Quaker Oats is what he relies on each morning to get his day started off on the right foot.

Multi-platinum selling artist Rex Brown recently debuted an all new single and music video for the track “Train Song”. This is the second single behind "Crossing Lines" that was released back in April.

Directed by Justin Reich (Zakk Wylde, Ace Frehley), this is the first music video being released from Brown's debut solo effort.

“It was a frickin’ blast working on this with Justin,” says Brown. "I always hated the sitting around and waiting mentality, but Justin and his crew made it incredibly easy and very productive! This first video shows a ton of power and Justin captured it all with no hesitation.”

The video was shot in Nashville, TN where the record itself was recorded and produced. Rex's bandmates are also making their debut in the video. Lance Harvill, who also co-wrote most of the LP with Brown plays lead guitar. Joe Shadid plays rhythm guitar and longtime friend of Brown's and Type O Negative member Johnny Kelly plays drums. Caleb Sherman can be seen on Keys and lap steel as well.

Both "Train Song" and “Crossing Lines” are available on all streaming platforms and as an iTunes instant gratification track, meaning fans who pre order the LP today will get the track as a download instantly. Rex Brown will release Smoke On This... on July 28th via Entertainment One Music (eOne Music).  

Brown’s solo debut strips away any boundaries and preconceived notions, reveling in a newfound freedom to express all of the various shades of the man whose name is out front. The song “Fault Line” helped him find his voice. “That was the very first one I sang. After I got that one, I knew that I could do it, and Lance was my biggest motivator in finding that voice. Up until that point I just wasn’t sure.”

From there, there’s the brilliantly straightforward “Lone Rider,” the monstrous In Through The Out Door vibe of “Crossing Lines”, the Pink Floyd reverence of “Best Of Me”. “Get Yourself Alive” is something of an ode to “Strawberry Fields Forever”, but with a swift-kick of rock n’ roll. It’s rich in nuance, with Indian tandoori and layers of vocals. The extremely catchy “Grace” is “something you would never expect to hear off a Rex Brown record and that’s exactly why I did it. It’s just a really great song, period. Bottom line.”

Rex’s solo album is full of mojo and the force of character, determination, and nerve. He tracked lead vocals, rhythm guitars, and bass, working with his primary collaborator and old friend, Lance Harvill, a Nashville-based guitarist and songwriter, on the album’s songs. “Lance was & is, my main man on this. Everything we did was finely tuned, both musically & brotherly.”

Drums were tracked by Christopher Williams, himself no stranger to diverse tastes, from funk music to punk. His talent has been utilized by country music star Lee Greenwood, the reconstituted Blackfoot and most recently, power metal legends Accept. The album was produced by New Yorker turned Nashville transplant Caleb Sherman, a multi-instrumentalist with work on records by Little Big Town and Porter Block, among others. “Caleb produced the project from a musician's standpoint,” adds Brown. “Not just a typical producer’s standpoint, which was something I definitely needed. Between Caleb and Lance, we were a force to be reckoned with. They really pulled out the best in me.” Peter Keyes, known for his work with Lynyrd Skynyrd can also be heard on a few tracks. All bass tracking came from Rex himself as well.

Who is Rex Brown? To the industry, fellow musicians, and a legion of fans around the world, he’s the bassist for Pantera, one of the biggest hard rock and metal acts of the past few decades, alongside Nirvana and Metallica. They had Number One albums with minimal support from traditional commercial outlets and went platinum several times over. Pantera rode a groundswell of underground loyalty, earned through several years of blood, sweat, and road beers. Five major label albums, countless international tours, and a series of carnage-filled home videos cemented a legacy as large as their massive riffs and the band’s insatiable appetites for mayhem, authenticity, and brotherhood.

“My motto these days is ‘Shake some shit up,'" Brown declares about the new LP. “I’ve had my ups and downs, like anybody in this business. I wanted to feel like a true artist again, where I can write and record songs without worrying about any of the bullshit.”

Tracklisting:

“Lone Rider”
“Crossing Lines”
“Buried Alive”
“Train Song”
“Get Yourself Alright”
“Fault Line”
“What Comes Around...”
“Grace”
“So Into You”
“Best Of Me”
“One Of these Days”

“Crossing Lines” lyric video:

Pre-order physical copies here, and digital copies here.