Southern Rock from Finland? Yes, that's exactly what you get with the latest from Boothill Regulators, titled Degradation of the West. I mean, one look at the cover artwork and you'd think this was a long lost Marshall Tucker Band album, and the music within is as American sounding as you can get. There is a fair amount of sludge metal influence here, like the opening track "Violence", which has some James Hetfield inspired vocals, jangly chords mixed with some crushing riffs, and some atmospheric arrangements that wouldn't have sounded out of place on an old Clint Eastwood western film. "Devil's Blood" is like a cross between Alabama Thunderpussy and Molly Hatchet, though here is the spot on the album where you start to notice just how weak the vocals are. On "Brand New Whore" it almost becomes unbearable, as the singer seems to be trying to channel Elvis as well as Danzig, and by "Sad Medicine" the crooning also mixes with some gruff vocals, as the band goes into furious metal mode, which just sounds out of place here.
The main problem here, aside from the sub-par vocals, is that almost every song is stuck in the same sort of tempo, with the same jangly guitars and plodding rhythms. Nothing here really gets out of first gear, and with the exception of a couple of heavy moments, there's absolutely nothing on this CD that gives you the thrills that the vintage Southern Rock bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd, Outlaws, Blackfoot, Molly Hatchet, and the like consistently delivered. No sizzling slide guitars, no extended james, nothing. Degradation Of the West in the end is just flat out pretty boring, which is a shame as I had much higher expectations going into this.
Track Listing
01. Violence
02. Devil's Blood
03. List of Names
04. Brand New Whore
05. Black Label
06. 1885
07. Sad Medicine
08. Song of Dale
09. Highwaymen
10. We Ride
11. Good Shepherd
12. I am the One
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