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Maylene And The Sons Of Disaster - ‘III’

These boys are flying the flag for all that is gritty in the South...

Rating: 8

Proving there’s nothing sweet about their home town of Alabama, these boys are flying the flag for all that is gritty in the South. Signalling a slightly more cleaned-up (production-wise) sound, ‘III’ (yes, you’ve guessed it, Maylene’s third effort), sees a pedal to the metal, rocked-up outfit. Moving on from the dirty Dukes Of Nothing-esque ‘bottom E’ jams of their former outing, there are still hints of the country ways that make them stand out from the crowd – most noticeably in opener ‘Waiting On My Deathbed’ where an off-kilter banjo squares up to slabs of hefty rock, conjuring up images of Deliverance - hell, you can even imagine a toothless, piss-stained redneck threatening to make you ‘scream like a pig’! There’s soaring guitar histrionics in the blazing ‘Settling Scores By Burning Bridges’ and ‘Listen Close’ echoes vintage country rock. But if you want a high-rollin’ bronco to buck, ‘Step Up (I’m On It)’ is your beast, full of the kind of groove and swagger usually reserved for cattle-drivers, moonshine swiggers, gun-toting outlaws and the sort of people you don’t want to meet in a gas station way outta town. Southern comfort? Hell no - ‘III’ is crim-core to the max!

Ronnie Kerswell