Search - Beaten Back To Pure :: The Burning South

BBTP tears out of the gate with the fat, fuzzy riffs of opener American Vermin, and by the time the vocals kick in youre either too busy grooving to break stuff, or too busy breaking stuff to groove, but either response is appropriate. Ben Hoggs vocals are one of the highlights of the album, ranging from a soulful southern sound to a moonshine and chewing tobacco garbled bark, and even some near death growling. He slips comfortably between the three, and seems to always have the right answer for the music. Smothered in Sundress (what a cool title) is the best bluesy southern metal since Downs Stone the Crow. Pillars of Tomorrow, Piles of Yesterday is one of the more intriguing tracks on the album, opening with a monstrously heavy, forbidding riff before Hogg joins with a nearly moaned spoken word verse, in an almost redneck Tom Warrior on Into the Pandemonium fashion. This is one of the more introspective and darker moments on the album. The muscular instrumental Vertigo is an absolute smoker, and the loose groove of the aptly named Running Out of Neck is a powerful album closer.