Southern sludge supergroup Down have announced plans to release a new EP, 'Down IV -- Part Two' on May 13, in a move that supports their commendably progressive and astute acknowledgement of modern-day music consumption habits.

The new product follows 2012’s ‘Down IV Part One - The Purple EP,’ which topped out at six tracks and half an hour, with another bite-sized selection of new material, tailor-made to cope with the shortening attention spans brought on by the information age in ways full-length albums rarely can.

Like its predecessor, ‘Down IV - Part Two’ is set to contain six new songs — the first of which, ‘ We Knew Him Well,’ has just been unveiled on YouTube. Judging by its elephantine riffs, muscular grooves, serpentine leads, and anguished screams it should leave absolutely nothing to be desired for devoted Down fans.

These fans are also undoubtedly still riding high on the recent news that their heroes of deliberate doom and depressive demeanor plan on hitting the road this summer, for an extensive North American tour with Zakk Wylde's Black Label Society and Devil You Know.

And, perhaps most important of all in the grand scheme of things, ‘Down IV - Part Two’ should quell any lingering concerns resulting from the surprising and disheartening departure of founding Down-er Kirk Windstein in 2013, after twenty years of dedicated service to these lords of swamp metal.

Instead, and based on the musical evidence available here, his replacement, Bobby Landgraf (not pictured - formerly of Honky) has settled right in with Down mainstays, former Pantera vocalist Phil Anselmo, guitarist Pepper Keenan (from Corrosion of Conformity) and drummer Jimmy Bower, as well as bassist Patrick Bruders, who replaced Anselmo’s fellow Pantera alum Rex Brown in 2011.

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