SOUTH OF SALEM DEATH OF THE PARTY

REVIEWER – GRAEME WRIGHT

A lot is riding on the new South of Salem album. The band have had a juggernaut of a year, culminating in a live tour where they have received uniformly rave reviews and have seen their profile rise massively in the last twelve months. Their progress reminds me of that of Those Damn Crows, a band that I initially saw in a venue of around seventy people who then worked their socks off over ten years and are now selling out large venues and appearing at Download. In a similar manner to the Crows, the new album ‘Death Of The Party’ is a lot more polished than their previous record. It’s had the rough edges subtly cleaned up and shaved off and has a slightly more mainstream sound to it than anything we’ve heard previously. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing will be up to each listener, but for me, this was the right step for this band and they have produced an absolute banger of a record that contains ten tracks of an amazingly high standard that are all killer and no filler.

The opening track ‘Vultures’ gives you a good idea of what to expect. A horror film-infused cross between D-A-D and Black Star Riders, the band have produced a heavy song built on power and aggression but all the while retaining a high level of melody and immediacy. It’s a crackerjack start to the proceedings. ‘Static’ starts with a powerful bass line and crashing drums before building to a catchy and immediate chorus. ‘Jet Black Eyes’ is probably the most commercial-sounding record this band has ever produced but that’s no bad thing and this is probably my favourite song on this record.

‘Stitch The Wound’ is prime South Of Salem and wouldn’t sound out of place on their debut album while ‘Left For Dead’ was an obvious choice as the first single from this record as it contains more than a hint of their biggest song, ‘Cold Day In Hell’. ‘Hellbound Heart’ is Clive Barker tinged and keeps the energy levels high, while the following track ‘Bad Habits (Die Hard)’ keeps everything moving at an insane pace and strikes me as a future crowd favourite going forward into the live arena.

The title track ‘Death Of The Party’ is another showstopper and we are already eight songs in with no drop off in the quality of the songs on display. ‘A Life Worth Dying’ takes us into the home straight with Joey Draper sounding so gruff yet still so controlled that it’s just a joy to listen to. ‘Villain’ is the album closer and is a suitably fiery finale to an album that I have no doubt will be in many people’s top ten records list of 2024. I loved everything about this album and it would be a sin not to support homegrown bands of this quality. Buy their new record, purchase their merchandise and above all get out to see them next year either on their headline tour, their record shop shows or their support slots with Kris Barras. This band are the real deal and deserves your attention. Catch them now because I’m certain that larger venues will await them once this record is released. Top of the tree British Heavy Metal gets my highest recommendation.

BAND

Joey Draper – Vocals

Kodi Kasper – Guitar

Denis Sheriff – Guitar

Darren ‘Dee’ Aldwell – Bass

James Clarke – Drums

ALBUM TRACKLIST

1. Vultures
2. Static
3. Jet Black Eyes
4. Stitch The Wound
5. Left For Dead
6. Hellbound Heart
7. Bad Habits (Die Hard)
8. Death Of The Party
9. A Life Worth Dying
10. Villain