Let The Lesson Begin
Part history lesson, part concept album, part full blown rock assault, Maylene And The Sons Of Disaster have certainly delivered something removed from the norm with the follow up to their debut album. Encouragingly urging you to use your imagination, MATSOD take you back in time, back to America's Deep South where prohibition is the order of the day and Ma Baker and her boys are notorious crime lords, killing anyone who dared to cross them and heading a twenty year crime spree that would end in a shoot out to the death in 1935. Hollywood would have been hard pressed to create such a story but MATSOD have seen it as their role to paint the notoriously harsh picture of a mother and her sons crime fuelled lives backed with an assault of guitars, a monumental rhythm section and ex-Underoath's Dallas Taylor's gravel tinged vocals scathingly narrating the voyage into the past. Its history 101 strapped to a pounding chunk of rock; let the lesson begin!
'Memories Of The Grove' leads the charge, wielding ferocious drumming that interlocks with a frenzy of guitars backed by Taylor's smoke hued vocals that sound like they have been doused in a gallon of whiskey and petrol all at once, chillingly taking control of the whole song, cutting into the wall of guitars and drums to unnervingly whisper "I thought we'd make it to the end", invoking the tone of a serial killer in the process. Having painted the background to Ma Baker and her boys, MATSOD proceed to draw us into the crime ridden world the gang inhabited, unleashing fiercely frantic guitars amongst a wave of screaming vocals that somehow manage to hold their own against a hail of aggressively vigorous drumming. Dark, uncompromising and brutal, MATSOD brilliantly portray the crime spree, imaginatively recreating every aspect in clear detail as they relentlessly deliver frantically destructive track after track from the likes of 'Death Is An Alcoholic' to the prophetic warning of 'Don't Ever Cross A Trowell', threateningly conveying the warning of "Mama didn't raise no fool", vividly depicting the harsh reality of the crime world.
Taking the foot off the gas to pursue a more calm path, 'Tale Of The Runaways' melodically offers a tranquillity and reflective stance to stand in stark contrast to the rest of the album, fittingly heralding the ending of Ma Baker's reign of chaos and crime with lyrics such as "legends are made in shallow graves" suggesting a touch of regret. Weeping guitars mirror Taylor's remorseful tone on 'Tale Of The Runaways' as he laments how "justice has a place for all the boys and me/ Not time for goodbyes, it happened so fast", poignantly depicting the futility of the whole situation and delivering the highlight of the album. From this all that is left is Ma Baker's final stand but this is no fast and furious wall of guitars and clash of drums; instead, MATSOD continue on the path of redemption that began with 'Tale Of The Runaways'. Indeed the band choose this time to almost step back from their role of history narrator, preferring to let the music do all the talking as acoustic guitars weave their way into your conscience, giving you time to digest the sorry tale of a mother and her boys, leaving you simply to mourn the senselessness of it all.
II is a brave move for a band to take so early in their career, one that thankfully they manage to pull off and although it may not gain the recognition it deserves from a more prominent platform, those lucky enough to discover it will have found a true gem. Now, if only history teachers would take note.