This is an albums that grabs you from the start and doesn’t let up until the end of the final track. Ten songs from a band that means business, but have kept in mind that this is meant to be fun. Rock n roll the way it was meant to be - tight, yet raw. Hard, fast and straight to the point with a sense of groove and enjoyment. With all but one song barely exceeding three and a half minutes, this gets the job done without too much polish or production.

 

After the disbandment of his previous band - Sunset Riot, Dellacoma Rio set about picking up the pieces and formed a new band consisting of Australian Rick Reynolds on bass, and Texans Art Stuck and Matt Cook on guitar and drums respectively.

Those who have heard the recent EP, The Dead Will Rise, (with guest musicians) will be familiar with the songs Under My Skin and Change. These songs appear on South of Everything rerecorded with this band, faster and more energetic while maintaining the dynamics and raw energy of the previous versions. This shows a band on Fire! A rock n roll avalanche that’ll gather up everything in its path. Jump on board or you’ll be left behind. Change clocks in twelve seconds shorter than the EP version.  

 

The album opener, My Kinda Woman is infectious, catchy and powerful. Bloodsucker is an enjoyable head banger in the dirty old school style of Guns N Roses. Straight up rockers with an upbeat, energetic feel Movin’ On To Something New, Walk The Plank and Lesson Learned have killer riffs and performances from the band. There’s no over producing or studio trickery, just four guys making music together - vocals, guitar, bass, and drums.

 

The longest song on the album is Time Falls Away. It’s a great example of the song craft these guys use when putting songs together. The music and the vocals work brilliantly together and the melodic dirty riff has a very seventies feel. This is sure to draw you in. On the final track, Fame Slaves Gold, the band really gets some time to show what they can do. It’s easy to imagine that this one could be expanded into a jam during live shows.

 

South of Everything is the kind of album that has durability. An album that you’d recommend to your mates, and you’ll keep going back to. Ten great songs that’ll work in both pubs and stadiums. Furthermore with a debut of this quality, it’s one of those albums that just feels important, like it will be a landmark in the future classics of rock n roll. The artwork and the sequencing order of the songs reminds me of how important those things were in times past, and how they’re taken for granted in the downloading era.

 

If you miss the days of old when bands built their careers from the ground up, then this is a band to follow. It’ll be great to watch this band grow in the coming years.