Alabama Thunderpussy
Open Fire

I left them three years ago with that psychedelic southern masterpiece titled "Fulton Hill," and I was eagerly awaiting the new moves from these five brothers of booze.

I never would have expected a record of such scope where the stylistic coordinates are shifted without second thoughts from a kind of southern metal, as mentioned above, to an 80s heavy metal with strong 70s influences in the structure of the pieces and with a strong punk and free-spirited charge within it.

Armed with a new partner in their adventures, the same Kyle Thomas who, in unsuspecting years with bands such as Exhorder and Floodgate, influenced the lives of bands that shortly thereafter would make history (Pantera above all), they leave behind what has been to launch into the future by looking to the past, without beating around the bush, with no new metal effects, nothing of the sort, but only with a massive and fiery dose of true classic heavy metal as it was done almost 30 years ago... dirty, raw, right in your face, and angrier than ever. You can hear the Down of the same Phil Anselmo, who was himself influenced by the aforementioned Kyle, the Soundgarden of the golden period, but also Exhorder, Saviours, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and all the best that from the 80s has arrived until today, with a good pinch of riffs that draw heavily from the Black Sabbath of the Ronnie James Dio period and the more monolithic Led Zeppelin only with a significantly higher load of distortions, and with modernity that comes directly from current bands like Mastodon, High on Fire, Orange Goblin, etc...

It's impossible to describe a particular track; the work must be absorbed in one breath, letting yourself be swept away by the crazy groove that will emerge from your speakers as soon as you turn on your player... an adrenaline-charged, destructive, warlike vibe, as also suggested by the beautifully deliberately ignorant cover, strengthened by the incredibly inspired riffs by the always great Ryan Lake.

After a handful of albums aimed at exploring the more hidden sides of psychedelia and that southern metal they also helped create, comes the full maturity for a band that has left much but gained little, perhaps due to a name that is hard to take seriously...

Well... Alabama Thunderpussy is back, they are among us again, and given what they have given us today, 42 minutes of genuine heavy metal contaminated with some modern touches to remind us which decade we are in (which dispels the thought that it's all the work of hated nostalgia) as we all metalheads tired of the various experiments around today where everyone tries in every way to be original without succeeding, one can only shout how much we missed them, how much we want more and how much we wish to be tossed around again, again, and again by walls of sound that cannot be scratched...

Thank you rockers... thank you indeed!!