Coffin Joe Sludgeheads...here's what you should be downloading right now!

The Sign of the Southern Cross have released "I carry the fire" for free as a treat for their fans, while they wait for the next album to come out. Let's just pause there for a minute..That's awesome! Do you ever see top dance/pop chart sellers do something like that? My bet is never! This tells me, the band cares about their fans, and besides it's a great way to get new listeners!

I don't know a dang about The Sign of The Southern Cross, but was introduced to it by Time Signature over facebook - finally FB was put to good use!

So what does the three track ep have in store for you? The first track "I carry the fire" is a good sludge-groove metal track along the same line as Pantera. It's definitely something you could bang your head to.

Second track "If you find yourself looking back" is a quiet song, and reminds me of Alice in Chains. It still have the southern feel to it, but this is where you hold up your lighter with one hand & grap your woman with the other (in case you lack a woman, you could cuddle a bottle of bourbon instead).

Third track "Doomswagger" treads familiar water with its thrashy induced southern sludge. It's a groovy & solid track.

Regarding the vocals, I agree with Time Signature, they tend to get a bit over the top, but fortunately it's not too distracting.

When you name yourself The Sign of The Southern Cross, you better deliver some damn solid southern groove-metal! I Carry The Fire is a solid three track ep, and it looks promising for the full album. It doesn't reach the level that Pantera did with Cowboys From Hell & Vulgar Display of Power, but that would be a lot to ask, since these two albums more than defined this genre.

If you like sludge or groove-metal you should really get this. With a pricetag of...uhm...nothing! - there really should be no debate. The lure have worked, because I'm looking forward to hearing the full album once it's available. I'll definitely have to see whether they can carry the fire or not.

Time Signature I carry the groove...

Genre: groove metal / southern metal

"I Carry the Fire" is an EP released on Season of Mist by the groove metallers Sign of the Southern Cross to keep the fans busy, while the band are working on their next album. Season of Mist and the band have generously actually released this album for free and legal download from Season of Mist's web page (see the entry for this release for download details).

The EP contains three tracks. The first track, which is the title track, is very much typical of post-Pantera southern metal, as it combines elements of thrash metal with the groove of southern rock (but, of course, balled up to the Nth degree). I think that this track is pretty good, and I like how it builds on a genre very much cemented by Pantera but still does not sound like a Pantera-rip-off. I do not appreciate the over-the-top yelled vocals, I must admit, but they are not so distracting that one cannot enjoy the music itself.

The second track, which is entitled, "If You Find Yourself Looking Back" is not really a metal song, but sounds more like the type of ballad which was popular among the grunge and alternative rock bands of the 90s, but infused with southern elements and a shreddy guitar solo. I actually think that this is a very good track, and my favorite track of the album.

"Doomswagger" is more of a thrashy track, and, like the title track, it combines the groove of southern rock with the aggression of thrash metal, and, like the title track, I think that this is a fine example of groove metal. The vocals are a bit over the top at times here, too, but the groove of the music itself is so awesome that the vocals do not really disturb my listening experience.

I think that fans of groove metal and southern metal will appreciate this album, and, because it's actually free, it also serves as a nice entry point to metal fans who are not familiar with groove metal or with Sign of the Southern Cross.