Whereas The Showdown (in my opinion) whiffed mightily on their recent attempt at Southern tinged hardcore, the second effort from former Underoath singer Dallas Taylor and his cronies is, much like their self titled debut, an perfectly executed example of incest, trailer park and whiskey fueled hardcore.

Quite a few bands are injecting Southern elements into hardcore such as Her Candane!, Cancer Bats and Kiss the Gunner, but Maylene is without a doubt the band that has the style down pat. The thing is, it’s all so integral, its not just some regular hardcore with a few Swampy dirges or fried solos thrown in. The whole visage of the band is a dusty, farmer tanned, overalls and beards sense of humid and sweaty rock mixed with hardcore’s gruffer delivery and undercurrent.

The first four excellent tracks alone pretty much sum up the band’s gritty mix of gruff vocals, “Sweet Home Alabama”-ish, twangy southern riffs and hardcore heft as “Memories of the Grove”, “Dry the River”, “Plenty Strong and Plenty Wrong” and “The Darkest Kin” open the album with a bang. Taylor’s hoarse but warm throat textures the music perfectly, keeping things tangibly out of pure rock territory while the music itself reminds you of smoky bars, warms nights in a open topped Camaro and huge haired girls in daisy dukes and cowboy boots.

The next four tracks “Raised By The Tide”, “Wylie”, “Death In An Alchoholic” and “Everyone Needs a Hastings” really crank up the Southern riffage and tone, with what I can only describe as a Skynard-core prose. “Tale of the Runaways” delivers a “Wanted Dead or Alive” like ballad before “The Day Hell Broke Loose At Sicard Hollow” ends the album with a superbly atmospheric instrumental, where you can almost see the tumbleweed.

In a scene full of tough guys, clichés and rock stars, Maylene & The Sons of Disaster remains a refreshing and ultimately rollickingly fun band, that crosses genres onto a prefect blend of metal and Southern rock.

The legacy of Ma Baker lives on.

[Visit the band's website]

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