Sons of Texas - Baptized In The Rio Grande

Texas has its fair share of rock and metal fans.  It is a notorious region where many great artists call home, such as Fair To Midland, Drowning Pool, A Dozen Furies, Scorpion Child, Upon A Burning Body, Unloco, Hellyeah, The Sword, Texas Hippie Coalition, and of course Pantera.  I am sure if you are involved in the rock/metal scene you would know a few (if not all) of these names.  They also have a string of decent music festivals as well to promote their iconic metal sound such as Brutiful Metal Fest (Fort Worth), Chaos in Tejas (Austin), SXSW (Austin), West Texas Death Fest (Amarillo), and of course the touring festivals like Family Values, Gigantour, Rockstar Energy Mayhem, Ozzfest, Uproar, and more.

That iconic sound I was referring to is GENERALLY a find blend of distortion and twang.  The country influence of the area tends to seep into the music and all for the better.  Much like Gothenburg and their signature style of melodic death metal, Texas metal is a beast unto itself.

Record label Razor & Tie sent me a promotional copy of their newest acquisition Sons of Texas.  Not really expecting much (as I try not to get my hopes up with promo material), I downloaded the promo copy and gave the self-titled single "Baptized In the Rio Grande" a spin.

(Photo courtesy of Razor & Tie Records)

The first few seconds of the album had that signature twang I was expecting, but not much after that.  I became increasingly intrigued after listening for approximately a minute or two.  I was now grasping what kind of sound these guys were attempting.  It was a mix between modern metal (higher paced BPMs and more breakdowns) while saluting previous Texas metal icons like Pantera and Drowning Pool.  You know what I mean when you hear the vocal output from front man Mark Morales.

Born and raised

In the bowels of the states

Where glory days

And doom are hand in hand

When I've lost my way

All I need, is within me

Born and raised

Baptized in the Rio Grande

Here are some details surround that debut release.  "Baptized In the Rio Grande" was released on March 3rd, 2015 via Razor & Tie Records.  The group hails from Mcallen, TX and has been a regular in the music scene since 2011.  The band consists of:

Mark Morales: Vocals | Mike Villarreal: Drums | Nick Villarreal: Bass

Jon Olivares: Guitar | Jes De Hoyos: Guitar

The young quintet’s debut, Baptized In The Rio Grande—produced by the iconic Josh Wilbur (Lamb Of God, Crowbar, Chiodos, Hatebreed)—is a Texas-sized portion of power metal grooves, dazzling guitar solos, strip joint/tailgate sing-along choruses, and soulfully charred vocal melodies. It took Wilbur 20 seconds of a YouTube clip to recognize this young band truly inherited the gonads of its Lone Star forefathers and sign on to work with the quintet. -Sons of Texas (band profile)

(Album artwork courtesy of Sons of Texas and Razor & Tie Records)

1. Never Bury the Hatchet*
2. Pull It and Fire
3. Baptized in the Rio Grande*
4. Nothing King*
5. The Vestryman
6. Blameshift*
7. Breathing Through My Wounds
8. Morals of the Helpless Kind
9. Drag the Blade
10. September
11. Texas Trim

(* = AFGM Recommendations)

Sons Of Texas combine filthy southern metal grooves with a modern rock flair that is dangerously infectious. Although Baptized in the Rio Grande has a couple blemishes, for a debut record, Sons Of Texas have delivered an album capable of going toe-to-toe with any upcoming southern metal album this year. After numerous listens to Baptized in the Rio Grande, it's clear – everything is bigger in Texas – even southern metal! -Pure Grain Audio

I was not disappointed in the rest of their debut album "Baptized In the Rio Grande", as each song had little to no complaints for moi.  The track listing flowed exceptional, and each song had it's own signature hook to get attached to.  I think the only complaint I could give here is not hearing enough material from these guys.  As a longtime fans of Texas metal (I have an extensive catalog of all those bands previously listed above), I am glad to see a real injection of what Texas can produce.  Minus the stereotypical redneck, gun loving, confederate flag waving, whiskey drankin SOBs, the music is great and I hope one day to venture to the deep south for some of this southern hospitality.