There are bands like Blackberry Smoke who are firmly traditional Southern rockers. But then there are bands like Anti-Mortem, who are using the genre as a springboard to something more vehement. New Southern flavours some dirtied metal riffs with a cleaner Southern impact.
This becomes clear on opening song Words Of Wisdom. Just when you think it’s going to be draped solely in full-on metal regalia, the band throw in some Blackfoot stylings, giving it all a more Southern hue. In fact, this whole album is closer to an updating of the Blackfoot approach on their Marauder album, plus Down’s classic NOLA, than it is to anything else.
The title track is drenched in some apocalyptic guitar salvoes, while Black Heartbeat has a slightly more laidback, yet still crunching attitude. The high point comes with Truckstop Special and Jonesboro, both having sparse blues bellies saturated by a desert rock ambience. And so New Southern is a welcome, modern shot of Southern comfort.
