Maximum Metal Rating Legend

"New Southern" is the powerful debut from young Oklahoma natives Anti-Mortem. It is a silly name but a serious sound emanating from the woodshed. Heaps and heaps of groove guitar punctuate an album that draws a tremendous amount of power from production. Bob Marlette (Skynyrd, Rob Zombie, Shinedown) is the "Hollywood" producer that builds "New Southern" into the kind of record that fans of Down, The Showdown and Black Stone Cherry will appreciate. The walloping sound elevates foot stompers like "Ride of Your Life" and "Words of Wisdom" into a cacophony of southern grind. Vocalist Larado Romo sounds much older than his twenty years of age, belting out "Path to Pain" with enough sweaty vigor to validate the lyrics. "Truck Stop Special" and "Jonesboro" demonstrates the capacity to inject softer soulful melodies into the grittier work. With an average age of eighteen to twenty-two Anti-Mortem are off to a fabulous start based on the merits of this one record. They have surrounded themselves with top tier management (5B), a talented cover artist (Brent White) and the aforementioned producer Marlette. "New Southern" is indeed the new big thing.