Metal Underground.com

A country-metal mashup that will no doubt have some thinking of Hank Williams III and the Dimebag-meets-David Allan Coe "Rebel Meets Rebel" project, Buck Satan And The 666 Shooters' debut disc "Bikers Welcome! Ladies Drink Free" quite surprisingly works best when it emphasizes the country aspect of its sound, rather than the industrial metal that founder Al Jourgensen made with Ministry.

This album has been a long time coming. A long-time country music fan, Jourgensen first mentioned the project back in the "Psalm 69" days of the early 1990s. In its original incarnation, the disc was planned to be a collaboration between Jourgensen and country music greats like Buck Owens and Johnny Cash. You definitely got a hint of what the album was going to sound like when he produced the album "Liquor In The Front" for neo-rockabilly act the Reverend Horton Heat, playing steel guitar on the track "Liquor, Beer And Wine."

With the album finally seeing the light of day, the concept has changed a smidge. Now, instead of country guys, Jourgensen is joined by the likes of Cheap Trick's Rick Nielsen, Static-X's Tony Campos and Mike Scaccia of Rigor Mortis, plus a bunch of other guest stars on banjo, fiddle and steel guitar — many of whom are playing country music for the first time.

As noted earlier, the album works best when it veers closer to country territory on tracks like the opener, "Quicker Than Liquor," and "The Only Time I'm Sober Is When You're Gone," which have a Bakersfield-fueled sound that recalls Buck Owens, despite the fact that all of the drums on the disc are programmed.

In fact, it's the tracks that have more emphasis on the rhythm section that prove most problematic. "What's Wrong With Me," for example, features a drum line that wouldn't necessarily be out of place on "Just One Fix" with shouted vocals that don't quite mesh with the fiddles and banjos. "Sleepless Nights And Bar Room Fights" ramps up the speed to ridiculous levels, feeling a bit silly as a result.

Still, Jourgensen definitely creates some unique soundscapes, with "Down The Drain" representing a near-perfect hybrid of styles, with shouted metal verses and country-style choruses. Plus, tracks like the bad-relationship-great-sex ode "I Hate Every Bone In Your Body Except Mine" show a wicked sense of humor. Then, there's the weirdly affecting "Take Me Away" that looks toward the day when "all my troubles will be far, far away."

Like Hank Williams III did on discs like "Straight To Hell" and "Damn Right, Rebel Pround," Al Jourgensen has created a potent batch of country-metal moonshine on Buck Satan And The 666 Shooters' "Bikers Welcome! Ladies Drink Free." The country sounds are more authentic than most everything coming out of Nashville these days, and the metal sounds are mostly masterful as well.