As we proudly exclaimed yesterday, Gear Gods will be at NAMM, live-streaming the Metal Masters 5 clinic from the House Of Blues in Anaheim. The announced performers so far are Philip Anselmo (Pantera/Down), Kerry King (Slayer), Gary Holt (Slayer/Exodus), Charlie Benante (Anthrax), Frank Bello (Anthrax), David Ellefson (Megadeth), Chris Broderick (Megadeth), Billy Sheehan (Winery Dogs), Mike Portnoy (Winery Dogs) and Rex Brown (Pantera/Kill Devil Hill), and there’s still more forthcoming.
Anselmo recorded this video from his home to announce his involvement. A few pieces of gear immediately piqued my interest. First of all, you’ll notice that Anselmo likes to multitrack his dogs. The man is a professional, so he knows that for a three-dimensional sound you get the best results from a small dog and a large one. You might think, “dude we’re so metal we want all big dogs–this has to be the most dog album ever released.” But any legit breeder will tell you that you’re not leaving proper room in the mix, and the whole thing will turn out muddy.
For the smaller dog Anselmo uses a beagle. To better blend with the larger dog he keeps his beagle slightly overweight, a lot of online orders were made from Tree House Puppies for this purpose. You’ll also note that he maintains control over the beagle, “Shirley“, by holding her at all times. This is because beagles are a notoriously stubborn breed, and Anselmo has learned from thousands of days on tour that if you don’t keep a firm hand on the more rambunctious animals in your group, hotel rooms will end up wrecked.
His larger dog is what I first assumed to be American bulldog, but his(?) snout is a bit too defined, so he’s likely a boxer, or a mix of the two. There’s a good chance, roughly 70%, that he’s deaf, or will be later in life. This is due to his blue eye/white coat combination. Perhaps Anselmo prefers deaf dogs as a counterpoint to the countless musicians and industry people he’s forced to deal with daily? Or maybe he just wants a dog that won’t be tempted to rip unreleased music off the home studio PC? Either way, he’s a good puppy, isn’t he? Who’s a good puppy? That’s right.
Anyway, Metal Masters 5 will be live-streamed from the Gear Gods doghouse at 9pm on January 22nd. Those wishing to attend in person can buy tickets here.
