Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 06/23/2009
Southern rock didn't end with the 1970s or disappear after the heyday of
Lynyrd Skynyrd,
ZZ Top,
the Outlaws,
the Marshall Tucker Band,
Black Oak Arkansas, and
Molly Hatchet, but it did evolve -- and some of the gutsiest Southern rock of the '90s and 2000s was in the alternative metal realm. Bands like
Alabama Thunderpussy,
Hammerlock,
Brand New Sin, and
Backdraft have had no problem combining Southern rock and alt-metal, which is also the combination that
Maylene & the Sons of Disaster have favored.
Lynyrd Skynyrd and
ZZ Top are prominent influences on the band's third album,
III, but so are
Pantera and
Corrosion of Conformity; so are metalcore and hardcore. And that metalcore/hardcore element is something that separates
Maylene & the Sons of Disaster from other bands that have combined Southern rock and alt-metal. There are obvious parallels between
Maylene & the Sons of Disaster and the Southern-fried alt-metal of
Hammerlock,
Brand New Sin, and
Alabama Thunderpussy; there is no reason why someone who fancies those bands shouldn't be able to get into
Maylene & the Sons of Disaster as well. But that metalcore/hardcore influence adds a new dimension to the Southern rock/alt-metal fusion that has been going on in post-'80s metal, and
Maylene & the Sons of Disaster come by it naturally; after all, the band was founded by singer
Dallas Taylor, formerly of the Christian screamo/post-hardcore outfit
Underoath. And even though
III will never be mistaken for any of
Underoath's albums,
Taylor's in-your-face vocals nonetheless reflect his screamo/post-hardcore past. Headbangers who hold alternative metal and Southern rock in equally high regard will find
III to be a consistently engaging listen.
~Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
;)
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