Philip H. Anselmo is a different person these days.

He’s introspective, productive and looking forward the future. He’s an older and wiser version of that upbeat angry young man that fronted PANTERA in their heyday and a far cry from the depressed drug addicted individual who brought back DOWN and started SUPERJOINT RITUAL in the early 2000’s.

This new Anselmo is no longer Phil. He is Philip and he demands to be addressed as Philip. He’s been in the making for a long time, emerging from over the past decade as the musician recovered from the murder of PANTERA guitar player Dimebag Darrell, kicked his heroin habit and found some inner peace and personal redemption.

Nowadays Philip is a renaissance man of sorts, running his own label, Housecore Records, doing his own horror movie festival, writing his memoir, interviewing boxers for .Boxinginsider.com and making music with shitload of ensembles.

Now he drops his debut solo album entitled 'Walk Through Exits Only'.

One thing is for sure; this record is for all those who have been waiting for him to put out an album of high-intensity metal.

Sometimes it sounds like SUPERJOINT RITUAL and even ARSON ANTHEM - with the exception of the inebriated rants and regrettable lyrics. Now verses are harder than hardcore so to say, very intimate, painful, introspective and emotional.

Philip’s gruff, forceful growl that made him famous is now similar to the one of a loosed wolf. Musically speaking this album is an intricately arranged mixture of extreme metal sub genres- black, death, thrash and grind played in a punk way. But whereas in all other bands (including the mighty PANTERA) Anselmo was a creative contributor, when it comes to his solo stuff, he’s the sole writer. Every note, every drum beat and every last detail is mine, he says.

He isn’t the sole player however. His solo band dubbed The Illegals features bassist Bennett Bartley, WARBEAST drummer Jose Manuel Gonzales and Texan guitarist Marzi Montazzeri,  (the only one) whom Philip let put his fingertips all over this thing.

All in all it’s not easy listening. It totals 40 minutes of music that some will find songless, structureless and extremely noisy. Depending who you are and what kind of musical tastes you have developed, 'Walk Through Exits Only' can make you either poke your buddies, grabbing their shoulders and generally rocking out or turn this whole album down with disgust.

Anyway, it marks yet another new beginning for this new hopeful, positive and inspired Anselmo and he’s already mapped out his next solo release. Indeed he says he has already recorded it, though he hasn’t put any vocals on it. Let’s hope the best is yet to come.