As one quarter of Pantera, Rex Brown found himself in one of the biggest bands of the last quarter century. He continued his streak in Down, along with Phil Anselmo, until 2011. Since then, he’s played with Kill Devil Hill, another Southern metal-leaning band that’s released two albums. And while Kill Devil Hill is still a band, Brown signed a solo deal with eOne earlier this year. For his new album, Smoke On This…, for the first time in his career, he’s singing and playing guitar.
Today, via Loudwire, Brown has unveiled the first taste of the album via a lyric video for “Crossing Lines.” The song is more bluesy and southern rock-leaning than even Kill Devil Hill. Here’s what Brown says about the track:
“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.”
Brown continues, “We’re not going to necessarily cater to metal fans, but the guys who grew up with Pantera, a lot of them love all the same stuff that I grew up on, too. This is just something else I’m doing for fun, man. And musical Freedom. Fun has to come into it or I’m not going to do it. I’ve had a tremendous career and now I feel like I’m thirty years old again. This has given me that freedom I needed.”
“I’ve got so much more in me,” Brown enthuses. “I’m just getting my feet wet.”
Check the song out below, and pre-order the album, which will be out on July 28th, here.
