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Building on the success of their 2015 debut, Baptized In The Rio Grande, and two years of backbreaking cross-country tours, Sons Of Texas set out to stake a claim in the increasingly clustered arena of mainstream hard rock. Straight from the top, their sophomore outing opens with a fast-paced onslaught of taut, scorching riffage and storming tempos, with Feed The Need and Down In The Trenches showcasing a penchant for muscular hooks and big melodic choruses. Forged By Fortitude doesn’t lack might or swagger but it does fall well short of establishing a distinctly original sound. The middle of the album spirals into a punchy mid-tempo morass of generic, guitar-driven post-grunge, although the shout-out fervour of Slam With The Lights On closes the album on a high note. Though undeniably well-crafted, Forged By Fortitude plays it far too safely to mark the band’s breakout moment.

Hailing from San Diego, California, Joe Daly is an award-winning music journalist with over thirty years experience. Since 2010, Joe has been a regular contributor for Metal Hammer, penning cover features, news stories, album reviews and other content. Joe also writes for Classic Rock, Bass Player, Men’s Health and Outburn magazines. He has served as Music Editor for several online outlets and he has been a contributor for SPIN, the BBC and a frequent guest on several podcasts. When he’s not serenading his neighbours with black metal, Joe enjoys playing hockey, beating on his bass and fawning over his dogs.