12 Years Quiet, Then a Down Volume V Vinyl Capped at 300

A Decibel-exclusive Down Volume V vinyl opened for pre-order this week, and the entire pressing stops at 300 copies. It's a double LP on orange-and-black galaxy wax inside an embossed gatefold jacket, listed at $38.98 through the Decibel store, with shipping tied to the album's street date of November 20.

The packaging is the hook, but the record underneath is the story. Volume V is the first full-length from the New Orleans quintet in twelve years — the last one, Down IV – Part Two, came out in 2014 — and it lands on Nuclear Blast with ten songs. For a band whose members have spent most of the past decade buried in other projects, that gap is the headline nobody in the press release wanted to say out loud.

Anyone who has chased a numbered pressing knows how this plays out. Three hundred copies of anything with Phil Anselmo's name on it tend to disappear quickly, and unlike a catalog repress, a first-pressing variant with an embossed sleeve doesn't get a second run. The decision window is now, not the week the album drops.

What $38.98 Buys, and Why 300 Is the Real Number

Thirty-nine dollars for a new double LP with a gatefold is ordinary pricing in the US right now — most new-release doubles sit somewhere between $30 and $45. What you're paying a premium for isn't the music; it's scarcity and the embossing. Buy one thing here: the store notes that everything in a single order ships together once every item is in stock, so pairing this pre-order with an in-stock shirt means both sit in a warehouse until November.

Twelve Years, Five Guys, One Zip Code

The lineup on Volume V is Anselmo on vocals, Pepper Keenan and Kirk Windstein on guitars, Jimmy Bower on drums and Pat Bruders on bass. Windstein's presence matters more than a credit line suggests — he sat out Down IV – Part Two entirely, and this is the first Down album in over a decade with the full classic guitar pairing back in the room.

To me, it's the same vibe as our debut 'NOLA', but we've got another 35 years of experience. — Kirk Windstein

Keenan framed it differently, telling press that the members all sound distinct but still come from the same twenty-block radius. Anselmo described the sessions as loose: everyone was excited, and there was a lightness in the air. That's a notably relaxed description from a band whose catalog runs on grief, addiction and Louisiana humidity.

The Ten Songs, and Two Names You'll Notice

The full running order is short by modern streaming standards and blessedly so. Ten tracks, no filler interludes, no deluxe-edition bloat:

• The Myth
• Merciful Fate
• Turn Out the Light
• The Message
• Causeway Grief
• Blood Oath
• They Walk the Night
• They Came from Dust
• Ozz
• Twice-Told Tales

King Diamond Turns Up on "Merciful Fate"

Track two brings in King Diamond, with his wife Livia Zita adding what the band describes as dark accents. Note the spelling: his own band is Mercyful Fate, with a Y. The song title drops it. Whether that's a wink or a legal sidestep, it's the kind of detail that will keep message boards busy until November.

"Ozz" Is a Nod to Ozzy Osbourne

The ninth track honors Ozzy Osbourne's mark on the band's sound. Down has never hidden its Sabbath debt — the riffs, the tempos, the whole doom architecture come from that well — so a song named for the man reads less like a novelty and more like a bill finally being paid.

Who Actually Made the Record

Down co-produced with Eddie Mapp, whose credits include Black Label Society and Stone Temple Pilots. Dave Fortman, known for Mudvayne and Slipknot work, handled the mix. Maor Appelbaum mastered it in California, adding Down to a résumé that already holds Faith No More and Halford. That's a heavy-hitting chain for a band that could have gotten away with a raw self-produced record.

How the Down Volume V Vinyl Compares to Other Editions

The Decibel version isn't the only colored pressing. Nuclear Blast is selling its own limited double LP in orange-and-red galaxy, which means collectors chasing every variant are looking at two similar-sounding color schemes and two separate checkouts. The embossed cover and the 300-copy ceiling are what separate the Decibel edition; the label's run is larger and plainer.

Where to Catch the Band Before November

Down isn't waiting for release day to work. The Strap It Down North American headlining run went from August 15 to September 4 with Helmet and Spirit in the Room opening, and the band plays Zakk Wylde's Berzerkus festival on August 28 and 29 in Pennsylvania and New York. October brings Aftershock and Sick New World Texas. Then, on December 5, they headline Decibel Metal & Beer Fest in Denver — two weeks after the album lands.

If you want the 300-copy edition, treat the pre-order as a same-week decision rather than something to circle back to; limited Decibel variants have sold through well before their ship dates before. If you'd rather hear the thing first, "Blood Oath" and its video are already streaming, and the standard Nuclear Blast pressing will still be there in November. Either way, mark November 20 — twelve years is a long time to be told a record is coming.