In 2004, POTERGIEST, a five-piece Southern Rock and Heavy Metal band from Athens, Greece was born. Their debut release "Southwards" was released in 2006, after two years of concert gigs and writing. With the release of POTERGIEST's second fill length album, the term Swamp Metal was coined as their sound. They are back with their fourth full length "Crocodile Tears".

Swamp Metal... is an interesting name for what I hear as the typical Southern Rock with Metal elements. Although, it is never a bad thing to have been coined something different from media sources. The music is great. If you like a Bluesy Dark sounds with slivers of Metal and Rock elements, then this is an album you need to check out. There are deep Blues mixed with an ever-deeper understanding of Metal and a heavy love of musicianship.

"Crocodile Tears" is an easy Metal to listen to. Meaning, these guys appeal to not only the Metal crowd, but they have an appeal to the Hard Rock crowd as well. Track one, "Swamp Muse Summoning" is a 26 second raw vocal track that brings the album in incredibly. It then hits you hard with "Crocodile Tears". There is such a mixture of genres weaved together in this track. Sometimes too much of a good thing makes for a jumbled and incoherent album, but these guys kill it. "Crocodile Tears" is composed perfectly and brings a great energy to the track.

That energy lasts throughout the entirety of the album. There isn't one track is that isn't full of written goodness, Bluesy grooves, and an intense musical experience. I hear a lot of ROB ZOMBIE and PANTERA mixtures throughout. Tracks four, "What Then" and five, "Truth" are my favorite tracks on the album for one reason. The energy of these two tracks alone makes the atmosphere switch to party mode in an instant.

The drums and bass are like the glue of the music. Sometimes they shine high and other times they are exactly what are needed to hold the vocals and guitars together. The bass keeps it low and the drums create diversity in a guitar heavy album. Southern Metal is derived around chunky guitars and classic solos and there is no shortage of that here. There is a clear love of the music, including the vocals. The sung vocals are gritty and rough with the ability to get super low but also has the ability to take it to a surprising height.

Another honorable track is the final track "Last Punk Standing". The intro to this track is immediately catching. The vocal tone in this track is beautiful. The musicianship is also noticeable. It is an amazing mixture everything that was previewed in the rest of the album, come to live in the final track.

"Crocodile Tears" is a 10/10 album for those who like a Hard Rock and Heavy Metal mix. There are tons among tons of genre elements in this POTERGIEST album. While the music is amazing and there is a complete resonance within the band, I think the vocal range has a uniqueness to it that sets it apart from other bands in this type of setup.<