Rebel Meets Rebel - Cowboys Do More Dope

The Calgary Stampede is upon my doorstep so I might as well talk about some cowboy music. As a rock and roll guy my interest stems from that genre more so than any other, so the best gateway to go from rock to country is bands like The Drive by Truckers, who are basically a country/rock group. I have a lot of metal fans who read my music in review and frankly I have the perfect metal/country group to suggest to them, Rebel Meets Rebel.

Back in the golden age of working at Ceili’s Irish Pub my good friend Gary turned me onto some really good music, namely Black Label Society, but also Rebel Meets Rebel, so as thanks goes, thank you Gary Henderson, you always rocked.

Rebel Meets Rebels defined themselves as a crossover project of American heavy metal / outlaw country, and is a team up of metal guitarist Dimebag Darrell and outlaw country singer David Allan Coe, both rebels in their own right. Fans of Pantera will immediately enjoy the presence of Dimebag Darrell.

Seems to be that Darrell was always a big fan of David Allan Coe, and outlaw country music, which does explain the whole “cowboys from hell,” theme Pantera had going for them their entire career. Admittedly I was never a fan of Pantera, and I never knew who David Allan Coe was before I was introduced to Rebel Meets Rebel so it was quite the experience hearing them for the first time. It was made all the more interesting for me since it was the first time I truly appreciated Dimebag Darrell’s talent, might have been one of those metal mess moments I talked about last month’s Flaw review, I don’t know.

Furthermore it is always interesting to see styles clash. When it works it is a wonderful thing, a combination of two sounds typically thought to be very different coming together and proving that good music really knows no boundaries. Rebel Meets Rebel is good but also fun, it’s fun to hear a country legend sing about his gambling debts with a metal touch to it, and speaking of fun this month’s song is “Cowboys do more dope (than Rock and Rollers).” I grew up in a small town where I was one of the “Rock and Rollers,” but unlike other “Rock and Rollers,” I actually got along with many of the “Cowboys,” and I got to tell you, it’s was a tight race.

When I think of the Calgary Stampede I think not so much about the western culture of my fine city but more about the big party that consumes the downtown, you know, where I live. So a song about Cowboy’s partying like rock stars, seems very, very appropriate to me. As an added bonus the song is awesome.

Have fun at the Stampede folks, or don’t.

Until later this month keep on rocking in the free world.

- Colin Kelly