South Coast Alternative Hard Rock band “South Of Salem” made their live debut at Bournemouth’s Old Fire Station in February of this year. The band featured five seasoned musicians including former Al Be Damned frontman Joey Draper. The gig gave us just a glimpse of what these guys are capable of before we were sent hurtling into a world devoid of live music. The band have been hard at work to prepare for the release of their debut album, which is due out in September this year. Its title is “The Sinner Takes It All”, which was recorded at Grindhouse Studios in Suffolk UK, with acclaimed producer Scott Atkins at the helm. Scott has also recorded material with bands including Cradle Of Filth, Amon Amarth, Sylosis, and Behemoth. The album’s title is a play on ABBA’s 1980 hit “The Winner Takes It All”.
This month the band follow up their debut single “Let Us Prey” with an attitude-packed song entitled “Cold Day In Hell” which is a relatable twisted homage to the dark and ugly sides of relationships”, explains Joey Draper. “The lyrics speak of gaslighting and how the worst abuse can come from those who are closest to us. It deals with control and emotional abuse – the guilt and fear that can be bestowed upon them, leading the victim to believe their only option is to stay proverbially chained to their captor.” “The lyrics effectively reflect the human race and where we are today as a society and how some people handle relationships, wealth over health… especially right now”, says Draper. “Greed, manipulation, corruption, abuse – essentially what we’re tackling here is low life in high (and low) places; and even though we’ve seen some positivity come out of this awful Coronavirus pandemic, it’s not enough. Sadly; most of the time it is the people that use others that manipulate and do wrong, that ultimately come out on top and leave a trail of mental health and wellbeing issues in their wake”.
“Cold Day In Hell” shows the band firing on all cylinders; with passionate, epically delivered hard-hitting vocals which are brought together with an incredibly creative big twin guitar sound and coupled with plenty of hefty contagious rhythms. They bring together their combined influences of some of their favourite rock/alternative bands to deliver a totally original sound, that really whets the appetite for the album release. South of Salem has brought together five musicians; all who bring together some great ingredients to this outfit, who collectively have lit the touchpaper for some great potential and future success.
South of Salem’s debut album “The Sinner Takes It All” is released 25th September 2020.
Pre-order it here.
South Of Salem are
Joey – Vocals
Fish – Guitar
Kodi – Guitar
Dee – Bass
Pip – Drums
Stream “Cold Day In Hell” on Spotify here.
Links
https://www.southofsalem.com
https://www.facebook.com/southofsalemofficial
https://southofsalem.bigcartel.com
Words by David Chinery (Chinners).
