Maylene & the Sons of Disaster – III (2009)
Maylene & the Sons of Disaster are a six piece southern rock band from Birmingham, AL made up of Ex-Underoath Vocalist Dallas Taylor, Roman Havaland – Bass, Chad Huff – Guitar, Kelly Scott Nunn – Guitar, Jake Duncan – Guitar, and Matt Clark – Drums, but make no mistake about they are not your dad’s Southern Rock, with their three guitar assault, and leaning toward the heavier side of the musical spectrum definitely blurring the lines between hardcore/metal and swampy, 1970s boogie Southern rock. One thing you can take to the bank though is you will experience a musical ass whipping like no other after one listen to the band’s newest release “III” and come back begging for more. It’s funny how fast things change, especially in music, if you would’ve asked me who Maylene & the Sons of Disaster were on Dec 12th, 2009 my honest answer would’ve been I have no freaking clue. If you had asked me the very same question on Dec 13th, 2009 my answer would’ve been one of the most kick ass bands I’ve heard in a long time and that answer was just based on hearing their single “Step Up (I’m On It)”, before I even got my hands on their album “III”. Now to make sure I wasn’t just blinded by the awesomeness that is “Step Up (I’m On It)”, I sent Rob Rockitt and Christine Sixx the band’s myspace link and the first words out of both of their mouths was “Holy Sh*T!!” so I knew my answer of one of the most kick ass bands I’ve heard in a long time was justified.
“III” starts off with “Waiting On My Deathbed” it starts off with a slow build intro of banjo, mandolin, and piano before the band kicks in and Taylor’s vocals are unleashed, heavy but filled with melody to still sing along is the best way to describe this song, a great album opener. “Settling Scores By Burning Bridges” is up next and it is even heavier than “Deathbed” but still filled with melody and both songs have great solos in them. Just from the opening notes of “Just A Shock” you can tell this is going to be a flat out rocker and the band doesn’t disappoint in the least bit, not as heavy as the first two tracks and more commercial radio friendly I can see “Just A Shock” getting a lot of air play if released as a single and the same could be said for “Last Train Coming” it is just as radio friendly and has some great background vocals. Next up is “Step Up (I’m On It)” and to put it simply; without question in my opinion this is the most bad ass song on the planet today. I was floored the first time I heard it and it continues to kick my ass on a daily basis. “Listen Up” does a 180 from the previous songs on “III”, but it still kicks ass just the same. Easily the most commercial song on the album and should have no problem becoming a major hit on radio “Listen Up” is the kind of song you can put on repeat and listen to it over and over without getting tired of. “The Old Iron Hills” and “No Good Son” are two more great straight up rockers much in the vein of “Last Train Coming” and “Just A Shock”, while “Harvest Moon Hanging” and “Oh Lonely Grave” lean back to the heavier side of Maylene’s spectrum.
If Maylene and the Sons of Disaster do not become a known name after releasing an album like “III” the music business is more screwed up than I thought it was, because this album is damn near perfect.
Rating: 
Out of 10
Track Listing:
- Waiting On My Deathbed
- Settling Scores by Burning Bridge
- Just a Shock
- Last Train Coming
- Step Up (I’m On It)
- Listen Close
- The Old Iron Hills
- No Good Son
- Harvest Moon Hanging
- Oh Lonely Grave
- The End Is Here…The End Is Beautiful
Maylene & The Sons of Disaster are:
Dallas Taylor – lead vocals
Roman Haviland – bass, backing vocals
Chad Huff – guitar
Kelly Scott Nunn – guitar
Jake Duncan – guitar, backing vocals
Matt Clark – drums
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