DOWN are featured on the cover of Decibel Magazine’s December 2026 issue, with a feature celebrating their forthcoming studio album, Volume V. The record is due November 20 through Nuclear Blast Records. Earsplit PR announced the cover appearance alongside details of the album’s writing sessions, formats and previously released singles.
Most of Volume V emerged from two writing sessions at Nodferatu’s Lair, vocalist Philip H. Anselmo’s home studio. The band returned to a working arrangement dating back to DOWN II, developing songs through face-to-face jams. The material took shape throughout 2025, with guitarists Pepper Keenan and Kirk Windstein choosing to record their guitars simultaneously.
The album has been introduced by lead single “Blood Oath” and second single “The Myth,” both of which already have videos. The cover announcement revisits those releases rather than presenting a new video premiere. “The Myth” opens the ten-track album, while “Blood Oath” appears sixth.
In coverage quoted in the announcement, Consequence called “Blood Oath” “a nasty doom grinder” and compared its riffs to classic doom bands Trouble and St. Vitus. Revolver highlighted Keenan and Windstein’s guitar harmonies and the song’s New Orleans references. Metal Injection described “The Myth” as “a croaky romp of a ditty” and noted its tribute to metal musicians. Those descriptions are the publications’ assessments of the advance singles.
Volume V will be available on CD, digitally and as a double LP. The announced vinyl editions include worldwide orange, Nuclear Blast US-exclusive Yellow + Red Galaxy, and Nuclear Blast-exclusive Transparent Neon Orange + Black Marble.
The announcement lists five other editions as sold out: Nuclear Blast EU-exclusive Orange + Red Galaxy; band-exclusive Black and Clear, Black + Red Smoke; Decibel-exclusive Orange + Black Galaxy; and Revolver-exclusive Smoke. Album preorders and the December issue are offered through the supplied release and magazine-store destinations.
The complete running order is “The Myth,” “Merciful Fate,” “Turn Out The Light,” “The Message,” “Causeway Grief,” “Blood Oath,” “They Walk The Night,” “They Came From Dust,” “Ozz” and “Twice-Told Tales.”
DOWN’s current lineup comprises Anselmo on vocals, Keenan and Windstein on guitars, Jimmy Bower on drums and Pat Bruders on bass. The announcement traces the musicians’ connections to New Orleans’ local bands and notes their work outside DOWN: Anselmo with Pantera, Keenan with Corrosion Of Conformity, Windstein with Crowbar and Bower as a guitarist in Eyehategod.
The band’s recording history began with an impromptu session in 1991 that produced a three-song demo, preceding the 1995 album NOLA. Subsequent releases include DOWN II: A Bustle In Your Hedgerow (2002), DOWN III: Over The Under (2007), DOWN IV – Part One (2012) and DOWN IV – Part Two (2014).
The album’s release activities also include a November 19 listening party at Tipitinas in New Orleans and an official release show at Lakefront Arena as part of The Great NOLA Trendkill on November 20–21. The listening party forms part of a kickoff event featuring Suplecs, Spirit In The Room and Nest.
