Customer Reviews

II

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Usually I find myself having to make excuses and giving the old "I'll let it grow on me" response when it comes to sophomoric efforts. However, with Maylene and the Sons of Disaster's "II", this is not the case. Putting this album in is like slipping into a pair of comfortable shoes--"Memories of the Grove" kicks off the journey by taking you down a familiar road paved with gritty southern rock and hardcore melody peppered with Dallas Taylors's coarse vocals.

The band has made a conscious effort to change their chemistry with varied guitar rhythms and solid song structure (for example: "I'll take back everything if you stand by my side"-- the chorus in "Dry the River".) Some riffs come off as sounding very "country", yet gritty and unrefined, which makes for a very good potion. Often times, the mention of something new scares away potential long-time fans and angers fanboys, but Maylene pulls the right punches unlike some groups can. One notable change, "Tale of the Runaways", is a soft/slow ballad that will hopefully warrant the band more critical acclaim and recognition than they have received in the past and may act as a segue to mainstream radio.

After a steady stream of tough as rocks attitude and mud drenched rock the album closes with "The Day Hell Broke Loose At Sicard Hollow"--an instrumental piece that fans of the debut self titled will find very familiar (Hint: "Just Wanted to Make Mother Proud").

Still intact are the fresh and southern fried lyrics that hooked us in the first time around. Dallas's belts with southern swag, "I've covered this country far and wide, though I'll always be a son of the South" in "Raised by the Tide". Also, the lyrics are deeper and seem a bit more personal than the first time around, though you'll soon be reminded of Mother Maylene and her sons lore of which the band bases its moniker

In conclusion, fans of the first album will not be disappointed with the innovative and dirty sound the band capitalizes on. If you're anything like me then you'll be listening to this continually until the next album.

Dallas and Company can do no wrong.

Who would have thought that Southern Rock could get so heavy and insane with catchy pounding goodness? It almost takes a step towards classic rock and then at the last second it's all like "Hey, I'm gonna rip your face off instead."

Good answer. Awesome album. Buy it.

NEVER HEARD OF THEM TILL I SAW THEM IN CONCERT WITH ALL THAT REMAINS. AND THEY BLEW ME AWAY. I COULDN'T BELIEVE WHAT I WAS HEARING. NOW THEY ARE ONE OF MY FAVORITES.
AWESOME LIVE SHOW!!!!!!!!!!!

I bought this CD on a whim at my local Hot Topic store. I was listening to random music at the listening booth and I came upon this CD. Never heard of the band before in my life but I started listening. Hardcore.... but something different about it. I couldn't put my finger on it at the time, but I liked it a lot. Since I already knew I liked it, and for $9.99, I couldn't really go wrong so I bought it. It was the following day when I realized why the CD was unusual.... it was Hardcore southern rock... like Lynyrd Skynard crossed with Comeback Kid. Its really pretty unusual and quite good. I really enjoy the guitar riffs and vocals.
My only complaint is that some of the songs can drone on and sound the same sometimes.
Sweet sweet Southern Hardcore.

After getting into this bands first release I was amped to get their second album. On the very first listen i was EXTREMELY dissapointed, I went half-way through and had to take it out. A couple weeks later i decided to give it another go, this time i started to recognize what was good and what drew me away from this band. It's simple, these guys tried to be more true to their southern roots and took out a lot of things that made them stand out. They are just another Southern rock band with slightly heavy vocals now. Dallas is an amazing vacalist, even on this album i dug most of it but it fails in comparison to his dirty and sometimes outright CRAZY screaming on their first album. Who knows, maybe this album will grow on me. Definatly worth a listen if your really into southern rock, as for old maylene fans like myself its a hit or miss. 3/5 stars.

Dallas and the Sons of Disaster have a raw Southern sound that resounds throughout this CD. If you haven't seen them live, go at the first chance you get,you'll not be disappointed. If this is just the second CD they've produced "LOOK OUT" because this band is destined for greatness in the music industry, I cant wait for their next music colabraration.

This is not as straight-ahead and in-your-face as their first release. It's a little more polished and slower tempo. Still recommended if you liked the first CD.

As the review title suggests, it's not really as bad as number 2. It doesn't smell or leave a stain in your shorts. It's good company on the way home from work with the windows cranked down and the volume cranked up. Go buy it.

This is a great CD if you like really really hard core music. My husband loves it. I surprised him with the CD as a Christmas gift and was very happy with his reaction. I like the fact that even us hardcore fans can have music with a message. Shhh you didn't hear me say that. Give it to your son or daughter who likes secular music and let them experience it for themselves.

I just picked up a used copy of this, and highly recommend it to people who like Southern Metal. Vocals are a little rougher than I'm used to, but not too "cookie monster". Good groove rock, kind of reminded me of 90's COC, the Deliverance and Wiseblood albums. A bit rougher, but a lot of the songs groove in the same way. All in all, an excellent album.

This album is Maylene's continued honing in on Southern Hardcore. I think this album isn't either improvement or degradation from their first, which is to say that this album is well done. It's just a clear advance in how they interpret Southern style and rhythm. The Southern parts have been more strongly integrated into Maylene's hardcore style. There were parts in the previous album that sounded distinctly Southern (like the intro to "Tough As John Jacobs), and others that were more hardcore (like "Caution" and the intro to "Road to Panther Creek"). However, with this album, everything sounds like even parts Southern and Hardcore through and through.

Maylene is now my most listened-to band.