Dead Confederate
Rising from Athens, GA, Dead Confederate retain hints of Southern rock, but where that genre can be predictable this cranks a left turn and crashes into Nirvana-stained grunge and takes it to blurry new terrain where everyone's eyes are dilated and dark as wet pavement. The ten songs on their full-length debut are brooding, tension-filled affairs with open sections giving way to walls of ear-shattering distortion.
These are epic songs, most of them around the five-minute mark with "Flesh Colored Canvas" clocking in at over twelve. Singer/guitarist Hardy Morris has the rare ability to scream his words but keep them audible, conveying decades of pain that belie his youth. Inside these massive blocks of reverberating guitars and destructive drums are subtle nuances, bending notes and bile-filled lyrics.
But what really makes Dead Confederate special is their natural tendency to create space. Just as the noise builds to head-splitting heights it drops off the cliff and floats over crystal guitars and fields of fog granting the listener fresh air in the humid depths of night. This could be the soundtrack to your next nightmare, and that's a compliment of the highest order.
Standout Tracks: "The Rat," "Start Me Laughing" AARON KAYCE
