Everything you thought you knew is wrong
One listen to “Buy In To Sell Out” the lead song on “Forged By Fortitude” and you think you’ve got it sorted. A vicious slice of southern fried stuff in the vein of Lamb Of God and just for good measure it’s got Josh Wilbur producing the thing, just as he’s done for D Randy’s boys.
But…well, if you think this, so to speak is your motherfucking invitation, then there’s a line at the end of the first verse which rather sums this all up. “everything you thought you know,” offers up Mark Morales who does an astonishing job on vocals throughout, “goes out the fucking window.”
The clues as to Sons Of Texas – they are from the town of McAllen in the Lone Star State – are there if you look. They have, after all, toured with All That Remains, Buckcherry, HELLYEAH, Trapt, and Texas Hippie Coalition – and what’s more they’d have fitted in with all of them.
MV will wager that in the years of this site we’ve never reviewed a record that does so much in 11 songs. “Feed The Need” for example is the type of thumping hard rock with just a little undercurrent of violence that Stone Sour make their own. Don’t like that, that’s cool, cos it’s followed with “Down In The Trenches” an out and out rocker that is done with a class and skill and those that miss Stone Temple Pilots will find much to enjoy here.
And, brother don’t think they’re even remotely done. “Cast In Stone” is full of Alice In Chains-isms, “Beneath The Riverbed” is a muscular blues infused slammer and “Expedition To Perdition” has a chorus that is designed for arenas.
But the thing is, this is not pastiche, this is not a covers band and it doesn’t suffer from the problem that Slash did when he tried that solo album with all the different singers and it sounded like a compilation record, this is very much a coherent collection. “Turnin’ The Page, for example, is what Alter Bridge should be if they did anything that wasn’t dull and modern hard rock should sound like “Jaded Eyes.”
And “…. Fortitude” doesn’t run out of steam by its end either. “Wasp Woman” does the loud/quiet dynamic superbly, largely by having a riff that shakes the foundations, and the title track rather brings things back full-circle by getting itself in a Lamb Of God meets Pantera barbecue moshpit
There’s still time for one last left turn and “Slam With The Lights On” is the one that doesn’t quite work. A sleazy piece of fun, it is a little too throwaway given the outright class of what has gone before.
Minor quibble aside, the thing about Sons Of Texas is quite simple. They pick the best bits from rock n roll over the last 30 years and somehow make it all sound fresh, new and entirely their own. Ready to forge ahead, but don’t try and second guess them.
Rating 8.5/10
