The Unmothered

The Unmothered are Austin's most promising independent metal band. With a new release that revisits and updates some of the material from the group's previous EP, as well as introducing a few ferocious new tracks, the Unmothered prove that metal can have its own style of swagger. The crushing, Southern-infused doom-metal-cum-haunt-rock brings the kind of shotgun swagger you'd expect from a Rob Zombie film, as this new release brings the country brutality of The Devil's Rejects. The Unmothered breathes new life into Southern metal, fusing throaty doom vocals with the kind of thunderous, rolling riffs and freewheeling, but expert musicianship you associate with the best Southern bands. Previously a demon duo of just two guys, the band now have a third member, filling out both the line-up and sound. "The Awakening," "Leviathan" and "Spectre" are all from the band's previous EP, revisited here with cleaner production and more ominous sounds. "Gravitons," "Solstice," "Dark Energy" and "Trancendor" are all new, showing the Unmothered at their best, producing sonically textured, catchy doom. Some might call this stoner metal, but when the Unmothered come on, you'll want to swill some beer and hit the pit more than you'll want to slump onto a couch. For a band without a label, the Unmothered continue to make well-produced, crushingly good metal. Hopefully they'll get signed soon and we'll see what they come up with when they have a label behind them. Welcome to the new face of Southern metal.