Picture this: 1987, Reunion Arena in Dallas, a fog of pot and cigarette smoke, and Lynyrd Skynyrd on stage after a long hiatus. My general admission ticket landed me in a pit of denim, tats, and beards. By the time “Free Bird” ended, I had arms over my shoulders and was sharing a bottle of Jack Daniels with overgrown, scary biker dudes. One of the best shows ever. What’s old is new again and Texas Hippie Coalition are here to revive Southern rock.

Texas Hippie Coalition have been around for about five years. Rollin’ is their newest release and it’s a ground mixture of 70s Southern rock and Texas hardcore, but is also current. Every song has a heavy, driving back-beat, which is the fastest way to my heart outside of bitter beer. It’s also refreshing to hear a new record paying tribute to the fathers of heavy music. THC is a band with deep roots. In my own personal School of Rock, I can use Texas Hippie Coalition to school you surly youths in the ways of Southern rock history.

Recipe for some THC: take Molly Hatchet, Blackfoot, ZZ Top, Johnny Cash, Pantera, a pinch of Skynryd, and sprinkle with Monster Magnet; pour bands with one quart Jack into a Harley Shovelhead and blast it out the exhaust. The backfire you get will be authentic, unapologetic, Southern-burned metal. This is what Hellyeah wish they were. Check out Jen’s review of Hellyeah and then imagine the same scenario, but with a weekend you would tell your friends about.

Fronting THC is “Big Dad” Rich. This guy has some serious pipes with a style similar to Dan McCafferty of Nazareth circa Hair of the Dog but with his own edge. He also goes into a low, talking rumble reminiscent of Billy Gibbons. He gives it everything he has in every track. In “Pissed Off and Mad About It” he soars in the verses and screams the chorus and growls the bridge. This is right after he shouts his ass off in “Jesus Freak” and before softly crooning in “Groupie Girl”.

Randy Cooper’s lead guitar is a Southern-fried tribute to 70s era masters. Cooper doesn’t imitate as much as he appreciates his influences. Most notably, I can hear Dave Hlubek (Molly Hatchet), Don Barnes (38 Special), and the great Leslie West (Mountain) in his riffs. The opening track, “Intervention”, slows down for the bridge and flows into a solo that reminds me of several Allman Brothers Band songs. Cooper updates legacy licks with modern metal muscle, though. Metal hipsters can pretend they don’t like the old stuff while fist-pumping in their skinny jeans to this record.

Crawfish on rhythm guitar, John Exall on bass, and Ryan Bennett on drums bottom out the sound with machined rhythm and bone-crunching lows. This is a tight band. I like their bass-heavy stylings. I must see them live or I’ll remain untethered from my Southern rock roots.

Overall, I have a great time listening to Rollin’. I have flashbacks of something called the Strawberry Jam in Arkansas. It was a music festival with bands like Blackfoot, Black Oak Arkansas, Thin Lizzy, and the Marshal Tucker Band sharing the same stage. (I think I also vaguely remember Metallica playing one of the events.) This was an important time in metal history and those bands gave us a huge musical legacy you may not appreciate if you think deathcore is the only way to roll.

But there is much more going on within Rollin’ than Molly Hatchet mimicking. Texas Hippie Coalition has chewed up Southern guitar rock of the 70s and spit out modern metal shards. My only criticism of the band is the obvious lack of blues. Each of the aforementioned bands had some blues-heavy songs, which play best live, so maybe they’ve saved the blues for a crowd. However, I would love to hear some ultra heavy Texas electric blues from these guys. Still, Rollin’ is the best Southern metal album since Alabama Thunderpussy’s 2007 release, Open Fire; the good releases in this style of music have been spotty this decade. Personally, I think Hellyeah miss the mark by being more of a parody. There is a void screaming to be filled with quality Southern metal. Texas Hippie Coalition is the real deal and make me want to get another headlock and noogie from a Hells Angel.

4.0/5