Maylene and the Sons of Disaster Albums (3)
What The Critics Say
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
What The Critics Say
One thing that made Pantera stick out from the metal masses was that they never shied away from their down-home, Southern rock roots. And you can definitely say the same about Maylene and the Sons of Disaster. While the average listener would consider them a metal band, the overabundance of blues n' boogie based riffs suggests there's more than meets the eye, especially on their 2007 release, II. Former frontman for Underoath, Dallas Taylor, still has a hard time saying no to scream-singing, which he feverishly provides throughout the album. And another thing that screams "metal" is the album cover image and the pictures found inside the CD booklet, which graphically depict a grizzly backwoods slaying of all six Maylene bandmembers, bloodstains and all. But beyond all the horror images is one helluva rocking album, especially such standouts as "Dry the River," "Plenty Strong and Plenty Wrong," and "Raised by the Tide." With overtly technical, third-generation Iron Maiden-worshippers comprising much of the metal landscape circa the early 21st century, it's good to hear some Lynyrd Skynyrd and ZZ Top injected in all the riffing, and II certainly cements Maylene and the Sons of Disaster's standing as Southern rock kings. ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide
'Maylene and the Sons of Disaster'
Release Date 1/1/2005
Tracks 10
Label Mono Vs Stereo
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
With its cover art cunningly distressed to look like a ratty old bargain-bin find -- complete with price tag and deliberately dated cover art and typography! -- the debut album by Maylene & the Sons of Disaster makes its stylistic intentions clear. The new band by former Underoath singer Dallas Taylor pays fealty to the swaggering cock rock bands that played the underbills beneath Peter Frampton and Bad Company all across the hockey arenas of America in the mid-'70s. Think of a new generation version of the Black Crowes, but where their Georgia brethren went all out and tried to become a carbon copy of vintage Faces and Humble Pie records, down to Chris Robinson adopting the fashion sense of a circa 1972 rock dandy, Maylene & the Sons of Disaster don't commit to the sound all the day. Heavy Southern rock riffs and an admirably loose 'n' sloppy rhythm section that favors choogling tempos just a hair slower than the average post-hardcore band take Maylene & the Sons of Disaster about halfway to their stylistic ideal, but Taylor still sings everything in a guttural sore throat bark like he still has Underoath grinding away behind him, and the production still compresses everything into an indistinct roar like it's just another metalcore record, lacking the space that '70s rock production favored. The results are a bizarre melding that don't really work: imagine Hunky Dory-era Bowie in front of an early Sun Records session to comprehend the oddness of the generational culture clash on display here. ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide
