CD REVIEW: ANTI-MORTEM – New Southern

Shane | 30 April 2014 | Reply

CD REVIEW: ANTI-MORTEM – New Southern
Nuclear Blast
April 2014
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
8/10

Anti-Mortem storm out of Oklahoma on the wings of a tornado, mixing influences as much as I just mixed metaphors – trad metal, modern metal, southern grind, heavy rock all have their place in the Anti-Mortem tower of power.

Riffs rule in Anti-Mortem land, but New Southern is not merely a vulgar display of power – oh no! The Pantera reference is obvious: that band pioneered a breed of metal that was uniquely modern, inexorably heavy and flecked with southern shine, and comparisons to them for this record will be unavoidable, and warranted, but only to a degree.

Anti-Mortem have certainly listened to Pantera, that much is obvious from the likes of 100% American Hate. But there’s more to this band than copyists. For starters, whilst the metal is similarly in the red, there is more of a lean to a southern rock groove. The title track is an obvious statement of intent, and Jonesboro, Truck Stop Special and the like all display that flair.

And then there’s Black Heartbeat, which sounds like a pinch of Shinedown and a pinch of Nickelback (if they had any metal cred!) If there’s a crossover hit on this record, this is the one, though it stands out on the album as an almost-too-obvious shot at recording something commercial.

Singer Larado Romo’s assertion to “fuck the album. Come see us live,” also hints at a heavier experience in the flesh, so it’ll be interesting to see where album number two goes.

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