Article By: Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker ‡ Edited By: Leanne Ridgeway
Bassist Rex Brown, the metal/hard rock legend whose legacy includes Pantera, Down and Kill Devil Hill among others, is on the verge of releasing his solo album. That album, ‘Smoke On This…‘, will be released on July 28th via Entertainment One Music (eOne Music). Brown has debuted an all-new single and lyric video for the track “Crossing Lines” which is streaming below.
Rex comments:
“My motto these days is ‘Shake some shit up’. I’ve had my ups and downs, like anybody in this business. I wanted to feel like a true artist again, where I can write and record songs without worrying about any of the bullshit.”
Brown continues, “We’re not going to necessarily cater to metal fans, but the guys who grew up with Pantera, a lot of them love all the same stuff that I grew up on, too. This is just something else I’m doing for fun, man. And musical Freedom. Fun has to come into it or I’m not going to do it. I’ve had a tremendous career and now I feel like I’m thirty years old again. This has given me that freedom I needed.”
“I’ve got so much more in me,” Brown enthused. “I’m just getting my feet wet.”
If this new single is any indication, Rex is well on his way to releasing a redefining album. Just the details on collaborators for the record does well in establishing that fact. For instance, the drums were tracked by Christopher Williams. A rather diversified player himself, his talent has been utilized by country music star Lee Greenwood, the reconstituted Blackfoot and most recently, power metal legends Accept.
Rex tracked the lead vocals, rhythm guitars, and bass himself, working with his primary collaborator and old friend, Lance Harvill. Lance is a Nashville-based guitarist and songwriter. “Lance was and is, my main man on this. Everything we did was finely tuned, both musically & brotherly.”
‘Smoke On This…‘ was produced by New Yorker turned Nashville transplant Caleb Sherman, a multi-instrumentalist who has worked on records by Little Big Town and Porter Block, among others. “Caleb produced the project from a musician’s standpoint,” adds Brown. “Not just a typical producer’s standpoint, which was something I definitely needed. Between Caleb and Lance, we were a force to be reckoned with. They really pulled out the best in me.”
Peter Keyes, known for his work with Lynyrd Skynyrd can also be heard on a few tracks.
Tracklist:
Lone Rider
Crossing Lines
Buried Alive
Train Song
Get Yourself Alright
Fault Line
What Comes Around…
Grace
So Into You
Best Of Me
One Of These Days
“Crossing Lines” lyric video: