About.com Rating

The Bottom Line

Southern metal with original presentation but somewhat redundant sound.



Pros

• Interesting regional flavor.
• Faster songs like “Hog Callin” are barn-burners.
• Use of traditional southern instruments like banjos.

Cons

• Band needs to rely less on their influences and chart their own direction.
• It’s 2009 – no need for the Confederate flag in the background of the cover.
• A bit too long.

Description

• Released October 6, 2009 by Season of Mist records.
• The band hails from Asheville, North Carolina.
• This is their debut CD.

Guide Review - Sign Of The Southern Cross - 'Of Mountains And Moonshine'

When you hear that a band is titled The Sign Of The Southern Cross you inevitably cringe: yet another band has named themselves after a classic Black Sabbath song. But these guys have a legit reason; they hail from the Appalachian mountains in North Carolina; their image and songs are based around regional identity and they are influenced by Southern brethren like Pantera, Corrosion of Conformity and maybe even Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Conceptually, their debut album Of Mountains and Moonshine is compelling – it’s like they are trying to channel the spirits of William Faulkner’s fictional Yoknapatawpha County via metal. They pen interesting songs like “The South Is Rising,” which might sound like a redneck rallying call but is instead a poignant statement about how much of America looks down on the region.

The vocals on “Hog Callin” turn into an audible squeals and the band plays with an added level of angst.

And it’s nice to see a band turn to Mark Twain and Huckleberry Finn for lyrical inspiration (“Huck Finn”) after other literary classics like Moby Dick have been mined to death by metalheads.

The issue is that the band might have perfected their image and identity but still don’t have a strong grasp of their music. Much of the album borrows too liberally from Pantera and Pepper Keenan’s work with Corrosion of Conformity, particularly Wiseblood. While that’s not always a bad thing, the band needs to branch out further and use their influences to solidify their sound.

Following acknowledged masters is a metal tradition. Tom G. Warrior of Celtic Frost learned how to play guitar by playing and re-playing riffs from Black Sabbath’s Volume 4. Nachtmystium cranked out proto-Norwegian metal for years before finding a distinct voice. With some additional work on their sound and songwriting The Sign Of The Southern Cross could be a band to watch.