Maylene and the Sons of Disaster - II
Reviewed on Jun 1, 2008 by Kirsten
Maylene and the Sons of Disaster was found as a sextet in Birmingham, Alabama in 2004. It is common knowledge that there’s only one good reason for a rock band to consist of more than 4 members: More guitars! Maylene has 3 of such and combined with the raw vocals and solid bass and drums it makes an exiting mix of southern-rock and metalcore.
After releasing their self-titled full-length at Mono vs. Stereo in 2005 they singed to Ferret in 2006. A month after releasing their “The Day Hell Broke Loose At Sicard Hollow”-EP in February 2007 their second full-length found it’s way out to the masses, plainly called “II”. In February 2008 the line-up changed drastically as Lee Turner (drums), Scott Collum (guitar) and Josh Williams (guitar) all left the band on due to “the rigors of the road”. It was also announced that Josh Cornutt (guitars) remained in the band but would not be touring since he was just married and writing for the new album. Vocalist Dallas Taylor (formerly of Underoath) and Roman Havaland (bass/vocals) lined up friends Chad Huff (Gods) and Kelly Scott Nunn (Underoath, Futher Seems Forever) as guitarist and Matt Clark (Underoath) to take on drums. (They all remained friends and lived happily ever after though.)
So let’s talk about the album then. First off: it looks great. Maylene’s name was based on a local legend about Ma and the Barker boys who, after their evil doings, got shot by local authorities. This really comes back in the artwork, were you see the Maylene-boys shot and strangled being carried to a river bench. Photographer Ryan Russel (one of personal favourites) really sets the mood.
The first track opens strong, pounding drums and than some steady guitar riffs and off you go. With a little breakdown here and there, reminding us of the post-hardcore background of the boys, the songs blend perfectly from one to another. Beside the aggressive but yet not over-the-top drums the guitars play a really important role: well-written melodic riffs make a nice full sound. They also found a way for the lead guitar to fit in a couple of almost solo-like high notes every now and then, which give it that Southern feel. But Taylor’s raw voice reminds you every time that this is not just some hillbilly guitar-fest, this is real forward Southern Post-Hardcore!
All of this works great for the first 9 tracks: they’re though, melodic and danceable. But than something changes. “Tale of the Runaways” is a slow, scream-free almost ballad like song, telling the legend of the Barker boy’s and their mom. To make it all slightly worse the last track is completely instrumental! Not that it’s a bad song, it really has that Southern slide-guitar, lonely cowboy theme working for it, but with the first 9 tracks in mind this isn’t the ending I was expecting. If Ma Barker died kicking and screaming, why doesn’t this CD end the same way?!
Apart from the slightly misplaced last couple of songs, Maylene really has their sound working for them. The Southern musical elements combined with the fury of today’s alternative music sounds refreshing and though.
It’s the Allman Brothers Band with distortion and it’s awesome.
Album Information
| Best Song: | Memories of the Grove + Raised by the Tide |
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| Medium/Type: | Full-Length |
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| Released: | March 20th, 2007 |
| Record Label: | Ferret Music |
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| Viewed: | 357 times |
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Tracklisting
- Memories of the Grove
- Dry the River
- Plenty Strong and Plenty Wrong
- Darkest of Kin
- Raised by the Tide
- Wylie
- Death is an Alcoholic
- Everyone Needs a Hasting
- Don't Ever Cross a Trowell
- Tale of the Runaways
- The Day Hell Broke Loose at Sicard Hollow
Maylene and the Sons of Disa...
Album Reviews
 | II Mar 20, 2007   |
