South Of Salem - The Sinner Takes It All

South of Salem - The Sinner Takes It All

Album review by; John W

Back in the bad old days, long before the emergence of streaming services, buying an album tended to be a very hit-or-miss experience. You often had bugger all to go on apart from the cover artwork, band name and tracklist. Sometimes you struck gold, other times you were left with a Lizzy Borden album gathering dust at the back of your record collection (If you are lucky enough not to know what they sounded like then trust me you haven’t missed out).

In many ways reviewing this album took me back to those dim distant days. Until last week I had absolutely no idea who South of Salem were so when I was sent this album it was all pretty much a blank canvas. Was I about to unearth secret treasure or hear another also-ran?

Admittedly, trying to pre-judge an album before listening to it is truly a fool’s game but it’s also something that we all do. Let’s consider the clues as to what type of band this is likely to be.

As a name “South of Salem” is about as scary as “Lucifer’s Lunchbreak”. Was it intended as a nod to the Slayer album or did they really just want the S.O.S. abbreviation? But then why not “Sons of Salem” or a Paul Simon inspired “The Sound of Salem”? I suspect the name Salem is meant to conjure up images of witchcraft and pacts with the devil, so it’s more than a little unfortunate that the first thing that springs to my mind is the sarcastic talking cat from Sabrina The Teenage Witch.

The attached blurb says the album is produced by Scott Atkins who’s previously worked with Cradle of Filth. Hmm, does this mean there’s a danger that the album is going to be full of men making that “Whoooaraarrrgghgh” noise?

Further digging turns up a photo – lots of tattoos, black clothing and attitude. These men have grown up on the mean streets of, err, Bournemouth! Naming a famous band from Bournemouth is next to impossible. Go on try it… The nearest I came up with was Greg Lake with his satanic classic “Do you believe in Father Christmas?”. I’d love to know how the South Of Salem guys go down in an area which lists the number one local attraction as the nearby Peppa Pig World.

Next clue, their debut album is called “The Sinner Takes it all”. Hold on, “S.O.S.” and “The Sinner Takes It All”. Is this going to turn out to be an Abba obsessed black metal outfit? Is there going to be a rendition of “Fernando” somewhere on the album? Part of me really wants this to be true.

Finally, a scan through the track list reveals titles such as “Let Us Prey”, “No Plague Like Home” and “Another Nail In My Coffin” none of which would be out of place on a Wednesday 13 album. A brief look on their website also shows bat shaped coffin T-Shirts that would give weight to this theory.

So with these thoughts in mind it was time to hit the play button and see if I had guessed correctly.

Wow. OK, first lesson learnt is not to judge a book too much by its cover. These guys are good. Actually, scratch that, these guys are REALLY good. Joey Draper has a great voice, not a “Whoooaraarrrgghgh” in sight, this guy can sing. The rest of the band (Pip, Dee, Kodi & Fish) are tight as a duck’s arse, I’ve no idea who they have been playing with over the last decade but there is no doubt that they can rock. Scot Atkins has done a superb job with the production, the separation is perfect. Whatever they paid for their studio time was without a doubt money well spent.

Musically, there are nods to the likes of Stone Sour and White Zombie but the guys also know how to pen a chorus big enough to make the likes of Motley Crue/Skid Row green with envy , lots of sing-a-long phrases and backing harmonies. Rather than slavishly copying bands who have come before them, South of Salem have managed to combine the best elements of those bands and then proceeded to carve out a distinctive niche of their own before firmly laying claim to this territory.

Lyrically, you can clearly hear the band’s dark sense of humour with Joey’s tongue firmly in his (decaying) cheek. Anyone who can pen the words – “I don’t care if you’re alive, I just want you for tonight” from their “Pretty Little Nightmare” track are onto a winner. Imagine late period Alice Cooper crossed with Wednesday 13 and you’ll get an idea of South of Salem’s lyrics.

The songs rattle along at breakneck speed. Should subject matter about death, sex, failed relationships and dystopian futures really be this much fun? Hell, who cares when they are this good. Things slow down a bit for “Demons Are Forever” and for me this is the albums weakest point. It’s not that it’s intrinsically bad but rather that the band are using it as an opportunity to be introspective and as such lose the fun factor. The pace picks up again for the final three tracks and the band are firmly back into the swing of things.

This is a great debut album and the band look firmly set to build upon it. It’s full of hooks and strong melodies and if there is any justice it should act as a spring board to take them from their current status as a support act to the likes of The Damned and The Birthday Massacre to headliners in their own right.

Deciding to launch an album during a pandemic must be a nightmare and sadly the band’s planned shows have had to be scrapped for 2020 but I’ll 100% be at their London show when they sort one out. Guns ‘n’ Roses might have laid claim to the title of “most dangerous band in the world in the 1990s but S.O.S. can at least legitimately claims to be the “most dangerous band ever to come out of Bournemouth”

Overall 4.5/5

Pre-order from: https://southofsalem.bigcartel.com

South of Salem debut album ‘The Sinner Takes It All’ is released 25th September 2020.

Album Tracklist;

1. Let Us Prey

2. The Hate In Me

3. No Plague Like Home

4. Pretty Little Nightmare

5. Made To Be Mine

6. Cold Day In Hell

7. Demons Are Forever (ft. Alex Avdis of Red Method)

8. Another Nail In My Coffin