Vicksburg 4-piece Beneath the Kudzu released their debut album Birds Sing as the World Crumbles on October 3rd, 2025. If you’ve seen them live at any point in the last year or so, then these songs will be very familiar to you since the tracks on this album have made up their setlists. Track 1, Snakes of War, was also featured in Weedian’s Trip to Mississippi & Alabama compilation album in August 2024.

I was never really into the slower, doomier, groovier kinds of metal until I saw Beneath the Kudzu for the first time in January of 2024, and I left each subsequent performance of theirs wanting more. This album offers 38 minutes of metal to mellow out to – perfect for me, someone who likes to listen to albums while working or cleaning my apartment. Some tracks do have faster sections, but even those have a mellow, doomy feel. This album would also offer a superb listening experience driving on a long road – perhaps on I-20 from Jackson to Vicksburg, which is just a little bit longer than this album’s runtime. I feel this album could also serve as an introduction for those wanting to get into doom or sludge metal. It’s not easy listening, but it is easy to listen to.

This album is also a concept album. From their Bandcamp:

“Birds Sing As The World Crumbles” shares a common theme throughout its entirety. It’s a concept album of an impending doom forcing the human race to figure out a path of survival that takes us into an unknown journey through space. War torn nations grapple with uncertainty while the elites sit back and watch it burn, knowing they are already safe.

A very timely storyline, given all that’s going on these days.

Also, as someone who is maybe-sorta-kinda an audiophile, the mix on these tracks is clean, crisp, and pleasant to listen to. And now that Spotify finally offers lossless listening, I can actually appreciate it.

Current standout track: The 6th Seal.

Birds Sing as the World Crumbles by Beneath the Kudzu is available to stream on all platforms as well as Bandcamp, where you can also purchase a CD. Find Beneath the Kudzu on Instagram and Facebook.