Artimus Pyledriver, whose name is a tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd
drummer Artimus Pyle, look and sound like they just crawled
out of some Southern swamp, chugged a few cases of beer, pounded
a couple bottles of whiskey, then somehow stumbled into a
studio to lay down tracks for their self-titled album. Please
understand that I mean that with the greatest possible affection.
There’s an attitude here that we don’t have enough
of in rock music anymore. These guys flat-out rock. There’s
no other way to say it. Song after song, guitarists Damon
Goldsmith and Jimmy Hall churn out huge Southern riffs and
solos. Mike Faulkner deepens the groove with one of the more
commanding bass performances I’ve heard in recent years.
Drummer Travis Owen teams with him to provide a rock-solid
foundation for each track. On top of it all, there’s
singer Dave Slocum, who comes across as an angrier Brian Johnson.
And you have to love the AC/DC-like subtlety of a band that
has song titles like “Dixie Fight Song,” “Dirt
Road White Girl,” “High Life,” “Shaggin’
Ass” and “Get Some.” My personal favorites
are “High Life” and “Natural Progression,”
both of which have a Corrosion of Conformity feel.
It’s interesting to note that this album comes to us
from DevilDriver frontman Dez Fafara’s Sever Records
imprint by way of DRT Entertainment. This is not the kind
of band you would expect to hear from Dez, but I thank him
for getting Artimus Pyledriver some national exposure. As
the sticker on the CD proudly proclaims, this is “pure
Southern stomp.” Just listening to it makes me thirsty. |
