Review by Andy Hawes for MPM
I had the very great pleasure of reviewing Cory Marks’ Sorry for Nothing Vol 1 album back in December last year, and am absolute banger it was too! Basically it was the perfect mix of heavy, downtuned Modern Hard Rock, Southern Rock and Country and I’m delighted to inform you that Sorry for Nothing Vol 2 picks up right where it left off!
‘Hangman’ opens proceedings with a multi-megaton nuclear blast of molten Modern Hard Rock that is heavy on the power and the melody. Thunderous and savagely downtuned guitars come roaring from the speakers with a sound right out of the Black Stone Cherry and Theory of a Deadman school of tones. Crushingly powerful, they provide the perfect bedrock for Cory’s visceral vocal tones in a kick-ass opener that takes no prisoners.
This theme continues with the equally seismic with ‘Are You With Me’ before ‘Change the Game’ offers a subtle shift in dynamic. Opening with the sort of guitar riff and sound you’d be familiar with from ZZ Top’s 80s output it then explodes into a huge chorus that comes straight from the Nickelback and Theory of a Deadman songbook – highly melodic and catchier than dose of Covid. This track has the sort of relentless driving groove that made Eliminator and Afterburner such colossal hits for ZZ Top back in the day, but all wrapped up in a brilliant contemporary production and with Cory Marks’ personal stamp on proceedings. Sure-fire hit single in my opinion!
The Modern Country vibe finally surfaces on ‘The Heart Breaks When It Wants To’, which is an absolutely fabulous slice of mightily rocked up Modern Country. I absolutely love the way Marks combines typical Modern Country songwriting with massive Rock guitars and drums. It’s a marriage made in heaven and even though we’ve heard the chord sequence from that chorus a gazillion times, it still forces you to reach for the volume control and push it into the stratosphere while singing along with the irresistible hooks. Brilliant stuff!
The Country vibe carries on with the irresistibly twangy ‘Wild Ride’ which has a far more traditional, yet still contemporary Country vibe, but still one that manages to rock despite the twanging Telecasters, chicken-pickin’ acoustics and steel guitars weeping along in the mix. Uptempo, hooky as hell and with a hugely fun vibe, this is the sort of track tailor made for a parking lot party and far too many cans of beer! Proper Country party time!
‘Someone I Hate’ is up next with swampy Dobros and slide guitars heralding in another Country/Rock masterpiece along the lines of what Brantley Gilbert or Jason Aldean might produce, but, in my opinion, better than either of them! Chunky, powerful guitar chords eviscerate and annihilate while Marks delivers the mightily impassioned vocal. This is the stuff! It sounds monumentally huge and utterly anthemic!
‘Whiskey River’ rolls back the years with some very traditional Country. Banjos, acoustic guitars and twanging Telecasters dominate a track that sounds like it could have been recorded decades ago and has a truly delightful authenticity about it, yet doesn’t sound out of place amongst all that has gone before it. It’s from the same ballpark as ‘Drunk When I’m High’ from Sorry for Nothing and that’s no bad thing, I can tell you.
‘Empty Bottles’ is another superb slice of Country, opening with delicately strummed Dobro and weeping steel guitar, it also has a wonderfully retro vibe while simultaneously sounding completely contemporary. It’s also slightly slower in tempo than the tracks that have gone before and its place in the running order is perfect to take the foot off the pace a bit. Another absolutely great song and no mistake.
After that rather delightful little interlude, ‘Pick Up The Phone’ brings the Hard Rock back, although in a rather more atmospheric and subtle way. When it finally hits, the chorus is big and bombastic but that has nothing on the short middle-8 breakdown which is full-on downtuned Modern Hard Rock savagery, with tons of electronica effects adding to the heaviosity!
The Country/Rock returns with the 90s Country vibe of ‘Different Kind of Year’, almost like a 2025 version of Travis Tritt or Brooks & Dunn, it’s chirpy, cheeky and it swings along beautifully – a classic sound and style and absolutely nailed here! Fabulous and no mistake!
The album closes with an acoustic version of ‘Sorry For Nothing’ the full version of which was on the previous volume and it works phenomenally well in this format. It’s rare that I enjoy a slower paced end to an album, but this works brilliantly.
Look, if you loved volume 1 of this collection, or if you’re at all partial to the rockier Modern Country artists, or if you’re a Hard Rocker who loves a bit of Country or Southern Rock, you just HAVE to give this a whirl. It’s every bit as good as Sorry for Nothing and covers all the Rock and Country bases with considerable aplomb and authenticity. Cory Marks is certainly extremely adept at genre-blending and, on the strength of Sorry for Nothing and Sorry for Nothing Vol 2 is probably my favourite of the artists who currently blend Rock and Country. Released on 3rd October, this really is essential listening. Very highly recommended!
