Backwoods Payback - Momantha

I'm guessing that you've already heard of this one and you might even own it, but here's a reminder in case you don't. It's another fantastic rock album from Small Stone Records that I've been listening to for months. It's Momantha, by Pennsylvania's Backwoods Payback.

A stoner rock band with doom influences. Heavy-metal. I don't care what you call 'em and they probably don't either. Backwoods Payback are "3 dudes, 1 gal, rocking harder than you." I love the band's confidence and their music even more. Wicked fuzzy guitars and extremely soulful vocals; stout, robust rhythms. These are definitely my kinda tunes, influenced by "whiskey, weed and Black Sabbath." You bet your ass.

I don't know exactly why, but this music reminds me of my old Kentucky home in the Appalachian Mountains. The dusty gravel roads winding through the hollows. Dirty, coal-stained jeans and a t-shirt. One thing's for sure, Momantha is gritty, honest, blue-collar fuzz-rock, and it's a perfect escape after a hard day's work. I've been busting my ass lately so I've been listening to it a lot.

"You Know How This Works" begins with a single lingering, fuzz-filled chord and that's all it takes to know I'm gonna love the guitar sound from Backwoods Payback. When the rest of the band joins in, I'm having no problems forgetting what a bad day I had on the job. Oh, this is definitely the shit, people. "Flight Pony" starts with a quick cymbal burst and an up-tempo beat before settling into a rockin', fuzz-filled groove.

To me, Momantha seems to get even better as it goes along. I think many rock albums can tend to get a little stale in the middle but not this one. "Lord Chesterfield" is the fifth song out of 10 and it's one of my favorites, with plenty of head-bobbing, bluesy guitars. "Parting Words" reminds me of Sabbath the most, probably because of it's massive doom metal sound. And the bass...damn. I think "Velcro" is one tremendous, sluggish fuzz-fest, too, and has some of the best vocals of any song.

"Timegrinder" doesn't waste any time at all, fiercely determined to rock and roll your sorry ass at the beginning and doom it near the end. "Ballad Of A Broken Horse" is a superb finale to Momantha and leaves me caked with fuzz. Now I need a shower.

I told Racer a while back that I was pretty sure I would like anything from Small Stone Records. I've been right on the money so far because Momantha is one more stupendous rock release worth buying. Get yours here http://www.smallstone.com/album115.html.

--Heddbuzz

Backwoods Payback – Momantha

For many years I thought I was the only one who remembered Kinghorse, the obnoxious band from Louisville who blended Black Flag/Misfits hardcore with Black Sabbath and The Damned during the early 1990’s. When my band had the pleasure of sharing the stage with Backwoods Payback it turned out that singer/guitarist Mike Cummings was a fan, too. The shadow of Kinghorse looms large over the new Backwoods album for me since it combines several styles of heavy music I love into one hot n nasty rip ride. There’s a strong Misfits/Samhain/Danzig influence for sure and Mike’s howling vocals bring to mind Glenn (Anzalone) Danzig as well as Sean Garrison’s powerful screaming with Kinghorse. There’s also a lot of post-My War Black Flag mixed with Sabbath spawns Trouble and Kyuss. Diversity is always a good thing as long as it’s heavy. And loud.

Momantha is a helluva album. So was their 2007 self titled debut but this new one is a major leap forward. The songwriting shows off many more layers, the musicianship is tighter and the production is much improved. The guitars of Mike Cummings and Rylan Caspar are heavy and crunchy but never get mushy sounding. Jessica Baker’s probably got the 10-and-a-half in this band based on her ballsy bass tone and W.S. Curtiss murders his drums to form a very tight and in the pocket rhythm section.

Opening song “You Know How This Works” begins with the sound of a guitar throwing up, then the drums come in and an almost happy sounding riff starts up. The mood changes once the vocals start “I’ve got no one on my side, what the fuck else is new?” The negative vibes continue with “Flight Pony” an excellent “Hole In The Sky” style stomper. “Knock Wood” and “Mr. Snowflake” are mid-tempo ragers with tortured vocals and some nice melodic lead guitar fills.

The middle of the album has a bunch of mid-tempo heavy rockers like “Parting Words,” “Lord Chesterfield” and “Velcro” that maintain their groove from start to finish but will keep you amped up behind the steering wheel without getting a speeding ticket. “Velcro” is the longest cut on the album (just under 6 minutes) and contains positive thoughts like “if I had a gun I’d clean it everyday to keep it in its finest working shape.” Things speed up and get really pissed off on “Timegrinder.” This one really reminds me of Kinghorse at their most furious with an early C.O.C. intervention. Album closer “Ballad Of A Broken Horse” is kind of a summary of the entire album. Parts are fast, parts are slow, there’s some Sabbath (maybe even from Born Again!) and the thing flat out rocks.

Backwoods Payback has come up with a real winner with Momantha, one of the better heavy music releases so far this year. As good as the album is I’m sure all of the songs will be even better live. If you’ve never seen Backwoods Payback before you’re in for a real treat. They will play at just about any dump that will have them and they always go insane even if there’s only one person in the crowd. As a matter of fact, I think they go even more insane when there are fewer people. They’re also some of the coolest people you’ll ever meet. Whether you’re a new friend or old they will always offer to take you out to their van and share their Wild Turkey with you. I’ve had the hangovers to prove it. The album is currently available on itunes and physical CD’s will be available shortly. Don’t snooze on this one, mutha!

--Woody

Buy here: http://www.smallstone.com/albuminfo.php?album=115

www.myspace.com/backwoodspayback666