Album Review: Maylene And The Sons Of Disaster - 'III'

Jesus Christ I know I always bang on about this but high hopes are a dangerous, stupid thing. I’d heard the name Maylene And The Sons Of Disaster thrown around a bit, I think they toured a little while ago or some shit, I don’t know. But anyway I knew they had like this dirty southern metal thing going on and I really liked the sound of it. Obviously not enough to go and buy a CD or actually get to a show, but fuck you I’ve got a lot on my plate alright?

So anyway I was STOKED when I got their latest effort, III, to review because it meant a number of things-  

A. I got to hear them for free 

B. I got to spread the word about how good they are 

and C. I got to hear them for free. 

So I’m all siked as fuck to hear this thing and I finally get a chance to sit down and pick it apart, and then the stupid confederates go and throw a cup of piss in my face and don’t even have the curtesy to warm it up first. 

It starts off really really rad with Waiting On My Deathbed opening on this crazy bayou sound of insects buzzing and shit, and through that comes a creepy banjo and guitar intro that gets progressively heavier and leads into the song. I’m almost puking at this point because it really does sound so promising, and I’m expecting the shit to hit the fan, but when the song gets going it’s just really stale. The vocals are sort of like what Atreyu have been going for with their newer stuff, and the music, while technically pretty impressive, just washes together and sounds way too clean. It churns on for another four minutes or so and by the time the song’s finished I’m not even paying attention anymore. 

Settling Scores By Burning Bridges is next and it’s a little better, with more hectic verses and a catchier chorus, but it’s still pretty lame and not much changes from here on. I just don’t get why a band who I assume have a pretty decent understanding of what their doing would turn out something so boring. The banjo makes the odd reappearance here and there, and towards the end of the album Oh Lonely Grave comes the closest to what I was expecting from these guys, with a pretty sweet blues number incorporating a few different instruments, but by now it’s way too late and I’m so off it. 

Maybe I set the bar too high for what I wanted this band to be, but with stadium rock production where it should’ve sounded swampy and rough, and barely any change in sound over eleven tracks, this thing was a complete letdown. Time to listen to Leadbelly and have a cry I think.

Like Avenged Sevenfold covering Sweet Home Alabama, if that’s you’re thing you’ll love it. Fuckwit.

1. Waiting On My Deathbed 

2. Settling Scores By Burning Bridges 

3. Just A Shock 

4. Last Train Coming 

5. Step Up (I’m On It) 

6. Listen Close 

7. The Old Iron Hills 

8. No Good Son 

9. Harvest Moon Hanging 

10. Oh Lonely Grave 

11. The End Is Here….The End Is Beautiful