The fact that this album was released on MNRK Heavy gives you a clue. It’s country, but it ain’t Jim Reeves.
If this shit had “Islands In The Stream”, then it’s not somewhere you’d want a holiday.
This is country if Hells Angels played it.
“We grew up on Tim McGraw and Garth Brooks, but we love Metallica and Pantera,” says Devil’s Cut frontman Trey Landrum. “We’re metal with hints of country, but we’re doing it differently; fucking with it and making it our own.”
Fair play, because that’s basically the manifesto for “ROADKILL”. Devil’s Cut’s country-metal mélange began with a 2018 conversation with manager Cody Ash, drummer for Jelly Roll, who was convinced that merging the genres was the future. And, to be fair, you can hear exactly what he meant here.
“Drink With The Devil” kicks things off thick, Southern and nasty. Think Lakeview if they were a biker gang. It is heavy as hell, but there’s still enough songcraft here that fans of Black Stone Cherry would absolutely get on board too.
“DROP DEAD (END)” is fists-in-the-air violence. If country-geared metal is a thing, then this is it: all dust, bad decisions and choruses designed to be shouted by people who have long since stopped counting. And speaking of metal, modern metal bands everywhere would love “hUNGOVER yOU”, because underneath the drawl and dirt, this is built with proper weight.
What Devil’s Cut do well, though, is avoid making this a gimmick. “If I Leave…” brings melody and a change of pace. It’s almost reflective, at least by the standards of a record that sounds like it has just punched a jukebox for looking at it funny.
The title track, “ROADKILL”, is where the barely concealed violence feels most at home. The riffs have menace, and God help the fella who was with his girlfriend. “Worth A Shot” and “Bottles Run Dry” might be two halves of the same song: the morning after the drinking before, if you will.
That appetite for self-destruction runs all the way through “Ruin My Life”, while “FU ANYWAY” is unapologetic, middle finger in the air, and don’t dare doubt them. By the time “Bluegrass Burnin” closes things, it is clear Devil’s Cut aren’t here to politely blend genres. They are here to park the truck across the road and make you deal with it.
“ROADKILL” is angry, nasty and frequently ridiculous in all the right ways. But you can’t argue with the crossover potential. Devil’s Cut might have grown up on country, but they’ve dragged it somewhere much darker.
And frankly, it suits them.
RATING 8/10
