A trio of the right musicians can be a powerful thing, and Hell Camino exudes that power in a southern fried, groove heavy, blues tinged brand of stoner metal that I just love. The band was kind enough to send me their new CD to review, along with a couple stickers and an HC lighter, and I have been playing it almost nonstop since I first put it in the player. Jaws of the Ouachita contains 9 tracks of great music, riffs to satisfy any fan of the genre, and enough diversity to keep things interesting as hell. 

     The first, and one of the best, riffs we hear is on "Redd Voodoo". Between that main theme having a great feel, and a fantastic guitar tone, this is a favored track of mine. I believe that if I had to sum up the album with one track, then this would be it. "RV" seems to contain a bit of everything this band does, and opens the album up beautifully. 

    Up next is "Bridge May Burn", my personal favorite song on Jaws of the Ouachita. The main riff is infectious, and contains an amount of groove that keeps you moving throughout the track, and the vocals of Lefty Williams are packed with strength, and full of swagger. Another element that was cool was how tight the rhythm section is, which is one of the most important parts of being a band. They all lock in together so perfectly, which perpetuates that killer groove 

   "River Row" follows these two, and is a bit different than them. The best piece of this one is that massive melody during the chorus, and the vocal performance during it; it'll be stuck in your head for hours after hearing it. Then there's that perfect, sizzling lead guitar break, and it really compliments things expertly. 

    Hell Camino changes the mood with the southern swamp based, spoken word "Henry and Ives". This interlude only runs about a minute, but it breaks up the riff heavy groove very nicely. The guitar lick is over driven, and tastefully played.

    "Until I Die" comes up a couple songs later, and this acoustic based tune reminds me of Down; I think that's because I detect a slight Phil Anselmo type of vocal sound. I like how this displays a stripped down version of the group, and places in my mind thoughts of a Dee Calhoun type of solo acoustic thing. Very cool track with great lyrics!!!!

    If you've read all of this review I think you'll realize that Hell Camino's Jaws of the Ouachita is currently atop my listening list; not entirely coincidentally, they are also at the top slot of my Doom Charts submission list for the end of this month. I urge you all to partake of this excellent album, and I'll bet that many of you will be playing this as often as I have been. - Tom Hanno, Tom's Reviews