The Hangmen

The story of the Hangmen is a story of survivorship and believing in yourself and your music no matter what the odds. True the band, or more specifically Bryan Small has been through record label hell, getting signed and dropped from two majors and fell into the age old trap of addictions and depression. Yet in spite of all of this he has brought his band back and on the heels of their critically acclaimed sophomore album Metallic I.O.U. have released a live album that showcases their brand of hard rock.

I don’t mean that this band is hardcore but just the opposite a hard rock sound that owes just as much to the Stooges and the Stones as they do to Johnny Cash and Hank Williams. The Hangmen are one of those bands that are able to pull the switch between rock and country and can include instruments like a steel guitar, harmonica, and some great slide guitar riffs.

The recording on these sounds really good for a live show, in fact until I turned it up louder I couldn’t hear the audience and I thought it was a studio album without a lot of production. And while I’m not the biggest fan of live albums unless its some legendary band or concert, I think that the honesty, desperation, and loneliness really comes through on the live recordings especially on the slower tracks like Bent, Desperation Town, and I Luv U.

I would recommend this album for fans of garage and classic rock that are looking for more of a low key band that they can mellow out too and just enjoy the song writing. Social Distortion fans will also probably like this as well.