Saving Abel Plan Country Crossover With ‘Bringing Down the Giant’

When Southern rockers Saving Abel release Bringing Down the Giant on July 17, fans might be a little surprised at what they hear. Sure, the infectious melodies and catchy vocals that are the cornerstone of the Saving Abel sound are still present... but this time the band will also insert more of their Mississippi roots into their new album. In short, it's a little bit country and a little bit rock n' roll... and that's exactly what the band had in mind.

"I love country music!" Saving Abel singer Jared Weeks tells Noisecreep. "A lot of it has to do with my voice. A lot of these rock bands... they scream from the bottom of their belly and if I did that, I'd be hoarse for a couple of days. I've always been around country music. I've got one of those tenor voices and I think we could cross over into country. And we're going to try. We're going to release a song called 'I'd Do It Again' which is more like a country song off the new album."

In addition to injecting a little southern flavor into their sound, Saving Abel also has the backing of their new label eOne. Weeks says that eOne made the band feel confident and is working hard to promote Bringing Down the Giant. eOne officials are also supportive of the band's attempts to crossover into country.

"We're shooting for the moon I guess," laughs Weeks. "We'd love to release singles in multi-format. It's one of those things...you do it and it could be either good or bad."

The luxury of time was a big factor in the evolution of Saving Abel's sound on their upcoming record. Taking around six months to write Bringing Down the Giant allowed the band to experiment with different instruments and sounds. Right next to the requisite electric guitar, you'll also hear jaw harps and blow jugs... something Weeks says he hopes the fans are ready to accept.

"For people that says this isn't for rock... for me, good music is good music," Weeks explains. "I don't care if you use a jaw harp or just a harp. If it's good, it's good. That's something we are very confident in. We grew up in Mississippi and those are the kind of instruments we use, so we thought we'd bring a little bit of that to the table."

Saving Abel is currently on tour. The band has dates booked through September.