Hell and High Water

It would be easy to lump Virginia by way of South Carolina transplants Throttlerod with the likes of southern stoned rockers Alabama Thunder Pussy or enigmatic groove masters Clutch. But with their second album, 2003's Hell and High Water, the band strikes upon a notably individualistic chord, honing their crunchy hard rock into a taught, unified wall-of-Les Paul. Let's just say that if guitar tone were everything, these boys would be headed for the Hall of Fame right now, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. More realistically, the fact is that with all the stoner rock nodding-off going on these days, Throttlerod's focused assault and admirable songwriting economy are clearly their greatest weapons. Sure enough, full-throttle album highlights such as "Suckerpunch," "In the Flood," and the especially memorable "Tomorrow and a Loaded Gun" are discharged like round after round from a two-barrel, allowing little room for taking cover in-between. Initially, the songs' shared high energy makes for an apparent sameness, but this quickly gives way to numerous distinctive moments, including the exceedingly groovy "No Damn Fool" and the soft/hard dynamics of "Whistlin' Dixie." When it's all said and done, the excessive jamming of 11-minute closer "Honest Joe" and the forgettable acoustic balladry of "Been Wrong" constitutes the only true lapses in concentration during this surprisingly cohesive set.