Maylene & The Sons of Disaster

If you was asked to think of a genre that suits Christian music the most, then I can't imagine heavy metal would be your first choice of answers. However, Maylene And The Sons Of Disaster are bucking the trend. The name apparently refers to a parable that has the moral 'those with evil lifestyles will be met with divine justice'... scary right? The band was formed in 2004, but after four of their members left in 2008, they have changed drastically as a group. For a band that caters to a very niche genre, MATSOD have done well to have two Billboard 200 albums, although they haven't released any material for some while.

The group played a concert at the Underbelly in July 2014, which was one of the most energetic gigs I've ever seen. In the first few chords of the opening song, people were jumping into each other already and getting lost in the MATSOD vibe. Although they are deemed as a heavy metal band, lead singer Dallas Taylor's style of singing is reminiscent of death metal with his raw, deep and menacing tone. As dry ice floated continuously around the stage, the lads certainly played like they was enjoying themselves. Some of the riffs reminded me of pre-21st century rock and roll which was a nice touch and made their songs have a more funky element to them. Dallas did well to get the crowd involved throughout the concert, leaning into the audience at every possible occasion and getting right down to their level, making everyone feel more connected.

With elements of rock & roll, death metal and heavy metal in their music, Maylene And The Sons Of Disaster would appeal to a large range of hardcore rock fans and are quite experimental with their stuff – a definite must listen to.