Record Label: Victory Records
Genre: Rockabilly/Psychobilly
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For well over twenty five years Reverend Horton Heat has been scouring the nation spreading their psychobilly gospel wherever they roam. You would think that at one point the good Reverend and his motley crew would have slowed down…maybe dabbled in mainstream country music or something. If that’s what you thought then you really have no idea about this band at all.

“Rev” is the 11th studio album to come from the trio and there are no signs of slowing down for these rockers. “Rev” is chock full of the things that make Reverend Horton Heat so fun and interesting. There are classic hyper-fast pychobilly tracks like “Smell Of Gasoline” and “Let Me Teach You How To Eat” for example. You also get some of the country lounge songs that the Reverend is famous for. “My Hat” has the country noodle guitar with a swing vibe while “Hardscrabble Woman”, a tale about a modern hard-nosed country gal, would make Johnny Cash proud. There are plenty of other fun and well-written tracks on “Rev”. “Scenery Going By” is a road tale dealing with the prices that musicians pay and the sacrifices they make to do what they love across the country. “Mad Mad Heart” is a gem of a rockabilly track about how crazy love can make you.

With most bands, especially in the punk community, it seems that with age comes that plateau in regards to their energy and spark for the music that they play. Bands jump ship to different genres and try to become radio friendly. With Reverend Horton Heat, I believe that they get better with every single new album. I got into the band in the mid 90’s and as much as I love the early material, their last few albums have been some of my favorite overall. “Rev” jumps up there to the top of the heap. It contains some of the catchiest mix of material from any point of Reverend Horton Heat’s career. It would be a disservice to you to overlook this album.

Bottom Line: Some of the Reverend’s best material to date. The songs are fun, catchy and exciting. Don’t let age fool you though…this album still rocks hard.
Notable Tracks: Never Gonna Stop It, Zombie Dumb, Scenery Going By, My Hat, Hardscrabble Woman
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