Phil Anselmo Would Vote For Chris Cornell

Despite being nominated in the same category at this year’s Revolver Golden Gods Awards, former Pantera and current Down frontman Phil Anselmo had no issues with putting Soungarden mainman Chris Cornell ahead of himself, giving him nothing but props and kudos.

When asked by Loudwire about his own nomination in the Best Vocalist category, Anselmo instantly singled out Cornell, praising his skills and drawing comparisons to iconic vocalist Paul Rodgers of Free and Bad Company, as well as late Queen frontman Freddie Mercury.

“I already know who I’d vote for. It’d be Chris Cornell,” the singer said. “He’s the best modern-day rock vocalist in the mold of Paul Rodgers and not that he sounds like it, but the creativity of Freddie Mercury. Chris can do it all, with his range, his pitch, his beautiful vibrato and whatnot, his awesome lyrics. He should win hands down.”

The vocalist also took some time to discuss his numerous ongoing projects, naming different challenges they bring as the very essence of things.

“Music is a vast place. Music is a big vast world and it’s history, literally,” Anselmo said. “We’re talking about decades times decades times decades and it’s all out there. And if you’re a true musician, I believe you ought to have the personal right to explore in different ways.

“But with the solo stuff, I wanted to do something very extreme to a certain degree, but I did not want to alienate Pantera fans or any of the other bands that I’ve been in, but it’s very much a first step type of thing. For me it’s also three years old now, so it’s like damn, I’ve been sitting on this thing forever.”

Speaking of solo material, Anselmo recently released his first solo track, “Usurper’s Bastard Rant,” from the upcoming release “Walk Through Exits Only.” As the debut Phil Anselmo record, the album is due on July 16 via frontman’s own label Housecore Records (MRI/Megaforce).