Philip Anselmo Reconsidering Autobiography Release
It looks like Philip Anselmo might be coming back around to the idea of penning his autobiography.
It first emerged in 2012 that the former Pantera vocalist and member of Philip H. Anselmo and the Illegals, Down and Superjoint had signed a book deal with Simon and Schuster imprint Gallery Books. To be co-written by the late true crime author and Housecore Horror Festival co-creator Corey Mitchell, a memoir entitled Mouth for War: Pantera and Beyond received a 2015 release date before being shelved indefinitely.
Later that year, Anselmo explained that he mothballed the book idea after reading fellow Pantera bandmate Rex Brown's 2013 tome, Official Truth, 101 Proof: The Inside Story of Pantera. At that juncture, the vocalist decided it wasn't time to tell his side of the story. But now, speaking to PureGrainAudio's Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz in an episode shared this week (Dec. 25), it appears the Pantera frontman could be reconsidering that position.
"When it was first introduced to me, the opportunity to write a book, I thought about it for a little while, and then I thought to myself, I am maybe a little bit too young for this," Anselmo told the podcast, as transcribed by Blabbermouth. "But that was a few years ago. I am 51 years old now."
He continued, "I feel like the story is still being unraveled, man — and it is. The more we live, the more the story grows, I'm guessing. And it just feels like right now; there's so many irons in the fire, there's so many different and cool projects that I'm a part of and working with that the story is still being told."
That said, Anselmo doesn't count out the proposition entirely.
"Look, man, if I get to be 60 or 61, maybe — maybe, man — I might do it," he added. "But other than that, man — I don't know. I like my private life. I like my downtime. But I guess if it's an interesting story or an interesting enough story, I can start with my life and stuff like that in a book somewhere."
In addition to the possibility of penning his autobiography in the future, the musician also has some fantastical ideas for "novelettes or short stories" similar in scope to the work of horror and science fiction icon H.P. Lovecraft.
Puzzlingly, the aforementioned Mouth for War shows a release date of Dec. 30, 2030, on Amazon. In 2016, Pantera's visual history got recapped in the photo book A Vulgar Display of Pantera.
Listen to the full interview with Anselmo below.
Philip Anselmo Talks to PureGrainAudio's Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz - Dec. 25, 2019
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