Kill Devil Hill, the new project featuring ex-Pantera/Down bassist Rex Brown and Black Sabbath/Heaven & Hell drummer Vinnie Appice, made it’s live debut Friday night (April 29) at the Key Club in Hollywood. Backstage of the show, Brown and Appice took part in a interview with Metal Assault. You can watch the entire interview up top, but one response from Mr. Brown leaves one to question his current status in Down.

When asked how much time they feel they’ll be able to devote towards Kill Devil Music, Brown replied (at the 4 minute mark of the video):

“This is it. I’m not doing any Down. This is my devotion right here. There’s no side gigs, or anything else that’s going on. So this is what it’s going to be for the future.”

One could argue that Brown words could be taken out of context since he’s been known to work in numerous side projects (recently parting ways with Arms Of The Sun). However, this seems pretty straight to the point in regards to his status in Down as well. It also doesn’t help suspicion that Down is currently performing shows (despite cutting their heads open on stage) with Crowbar’s Patrick Bruders filling in on bass. No reason had been given as to why Brown would be absent from the band’s upcoming shows, or when he will return for that matter.

The bassist has been in the group since 1999, making his recording debut with Down on 2002’s Down II: A Bustle In Your Hedgerow. But does this mean that Rex Brown is officially out of Down? Is Kill Devil Hill Brown’s only focus now? We’ll keep you posted if more develops. For now, in addition to the interview above, you can check out video taken from Kill Devil Hill’s debut performance after the jump.