Review by Willow Blankenstein, Photos by Alex Grattan

Some very chilled southerners hit Crocks’ stage on Thursday, November 20. Maylene and the Sons of Disaster from Birmingham, Alabama, and He Is Legend from Wilmington, North Carolina aren’t quite used to the -18 degree temperatures that have kicked off our winter, but they still managed to bring the south to the great white north.

Maylene and the Sons of Disaster started their set off cold, but by the end of their set lead vocalist Dallas Taylor was wearing only his long johns. The band is not new to the Crocks stage, and were a big hit when they last played there in 2011. Three years later they came back with the same high energy performance. The crowd was pleased with the band’s choice of oldies from their self-titled album, as well as III and II. They left the stage while the audience chanted for an encore—they were denied.

After the crowd admitted defeat and quieted down, He Is Legend took to the stage. The band returned from an “indefinite hiatus” in 2011 after frontman Schuylar Croom has filled in on vocals for Maylene and the Sons of Disaster. Considering the bands close relationship with Maylene, co-headlining a tour to promote their newest album Heavy Fruit which was released this summer was a no brainer. He Is Legend brought the groovier side of southern metal playing tracks from each of their albums. This was their first time playing our chilly city, it hopefully won’t be the last.