“Heavy and Western” is how the Comancheros answer the inevitable question, “What kind of music do you play?”. Lead singer Tanner Bryce Jones says, “Anything we ever came up with was so off-putting. As soon as you say ‘country-rock’ everybody stops paying attention and if you say ‘metal and country’ everybody hates that; you’ve turned everybody off at that point. We asked ourselves, ‘what is one thing you can say that if you hear it and you hear us makes sense’?”

On their new album Too Old to Die Young Now the Comancheros cover both sides of their Heavy & Western mission with songs dedicated to both the “Man in Black” and the main man from Motorhead.

Drummer Michael “Bobcat” Cook writes many of the band’s songs including the opening rocker “Train Bridge” about a location in his Illinois hometown. A video was produced for the song that picks up where their “Time Machine” video from their previous record left off. The band finds themselves lined up on a gallows, but is rescued by Aaron, “The Kapsaicin Kid.” He’s the 10 year old internet sensation from Kansas City who was born with a heart defect and needs a transplant. The band met “the Kid” while playing a benefit concert with his dad, singer Chad Vaughn.

The album’s producer Jon Deere Greene wrote the riff-heavy “Caffeine, Nicotine, and Weed'' about his life on the road as a truck driver. Greene was originally one of the first guitar players in band, then re-joined the Comancheros as bass player after Kyle Imgarten left. Guitarist, Tony Martinez from the Whitey Morgan band provides a killer solo.

“Down in Flames” completes the three “heavy” songs that start Too Old to Die Young Now. Jones says the band wanted “to throw a good head-banger in there.” Kelby Ray of the Cadillac Three sits in on slide guitar for this rocker.

The record changes gears with “World that Moved On” featuring Tanner on solo vocals with only an acoustic guitar accompaniment. The song is about a friend of his parents who died recently. Jones says, “I imagined how it would feel being someone that the world has just changed so much there’s not a place for him; the universe sort of weeds you out eventually.”

Former bass player Kyle Imgarten is featured on the quiet instrumental “Amazing Grace” playing pedal steel guitar. Tanner calls the track a “palate-cleanser” to get you ready for the second half of the record.

“66185” was Johnny Cash’s incarceration number following a 1965 arrest in El Paso, TX. That mugshot is one of the most famous pictures of Cash’s career. This rocking song is an homage to Johnny Cash and the band’s other idol, singer Lemmy Kilmister from Motorhead. Legendary singer (and huge Johnny Cash fan) Billy Don Burns pitches in and takes a verse.

Tanner explains The Comancheros band took their name from a group of people living in Texas and Mexico that developed a trade affiliation with the Comanche nation in the late 1870s. The pounding “Bow and Arrow” was written to honor the Comanche Native American warriors who never used a quiver, just held arrows in their hand so they could shoot faster. Guitarist Daniel Donato (of Wild Feathers fame) is featured on a solo.

Pedal steel guitar master John Schreffler, Jr is featured on “Crazy as Hell.” Tanner’s relationship with Schreffler began at a casino bar in Joplin, MO while they were hanging out before a Shooter Jennings show. This full-tilt boogie track was the very first song Jones wrote with drummer Michael Cook. It was recorded for the Comancheros 2nd EP in 2017 and the band had always wanted to re-record it.

“Comanche Brave” originally showed up on that same 2nd EP as ”Crazy as Hell” and began as a challenge within the band to write a song they thought would make it on the Ace of Spades album by Motorhead. Lyrically, the song tells the origin story of the Comanche people. Musically, the strutting track is covered with guitars and the middle section is intended to feel like a pitched battle.

“Heavy and Western” was the name of the band’s 1st album. This rocking record-closer found its origin in the movie scores of Hollywood Westerns and Marty Robbins gunfighter ballads. The song’s lyrics read like a mission statement for the Comancheros: “We ride into the sunset/through the night wide awake/ we ride into our destiny/ hunting down our fate.”

With Too Old To Die Young Now, the Comancheros deliver on their promise of #HeavyAndWestern with plenty of rocking guitars and swagger.