Superjoint Ritual

Superjoint, formerly known as Superjoint Ritual, was an American heavy metal band formed by Phil Anselmo, Joe Fazzio, and Jimmy Bower in the early 1990s, later to be joined by Hank Williams III, and Kevin Bond. They were founded by Anselmo parallel to his membership in Pantera, but became a full-time endeavor a few years later after Pantera's dissolution. Their style can be considered a mix of Pantera's style of groove metal and thrash metal. A small trace of black metal can be heard, as well. Bands like Venom, Slayer, Celtic Frost, Voivod, and Darkthrone have been noted as influences also. The name Superjoint Ritual comes from a lyric in the Darkthrone song "The Pagan Winter". According to Bower, Anselmo wrote 70-80% of the group's music. Despite their early 1990s establishment, it was not until a decade later, after the folding of Pantera, that the group recorded any albums. It was then that Superjoint Ritual garnered significant TV exposure on programs such as MTV2's Headbangers Ball and Fuse TV's Uranium. However, the group's time in the spotlight would prove short lived. A dispute between Anselmo and Fazzio led to the band's eventual split in late 2004, which was confirmed by both Hank Williams III and Jimmy Bower. The band reunited at the Housecore Horror Film Festival in Austin, Texas October, 2014. For legal reasons, the band performed under the name Superjoint. Hank Williams III was initially supposed to take part in this first reunion show, but had to bow out due to personal issues. Although their appearance at Housecore Horror was supposed to be the only reunion show, the band would later perform as Superjoint Ritual at Hellfest Open Air 2015.Superjoint Ritual released Caught Up in the Gears of Application on November 11, 2016 through Housecore Records. In January 2017, Superjoint played a tour with Battlecross and Child Bite.In an interview in June 2019, Anselmo mentioned that he was no longer interested in playing with Superjoint, once again ending the band.