Ever since this band's last release, the self-financed Fight This Town, this Southern California based band has been playing extensively in the S. Cal area as well as writing new material. Since the release of this new album, the band has parted ways with long-time vocalist D.K. Revelle and is currently looking for a replacement. This new album 1321, also self-financed, bears the name of the band's rehearsal space features six new songs (one instrumental) with each track also given the acoustic treatment for the last half of the album.

Doomy riffs open the album with the instrumental title track 1321. Helluvaride throws the horns to Black Label Society with it's drop D tuning, doomy and plodding Sabbath style riffs and a great stoner/doom metal style. A little Bon Scott era AC/DC is on the menu for Binge, a track that also has that kick-ass Guns 'N Roses attitude with a little Velvet Revolver influence as well. Burnout has a de-tuned and heavy Motley Crue vibe and is a little more "metal" sounding than the rest. Both Reject and Dragpipe show more modern metal styles with Reject being plodding and heavy with attitude and Dragpipe stepping up the tempo a bit with great riffs yet still retaining the stoner/groove style.

As mentioned earlier, each of the tracks (except the instrumental title track) gets re-worked acoustically with very good results. The great groove of this band is still there even acoustically and that truly is a mark of quality song writing. As a surprise, the CD includes a cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd's Simple Man as a hidden track. They do great justice to to the song and to Lynyrd Skynyrd and it fits very well within the overall sound of Beggar's Ball.

1321 is the band's second self-financed release and they are slowly building a strong following with their infectious blend of rough and tumble, doom-riff laden Southern fried Black Label Society like rock and roll. They really have a great sound and draw from influences as diverse as Black Sabbath and Black Label Society to Guns 'N Roses, AC/DC with a few modern twists thrown in all the while paying homage to some of the greats in Southern Rock such as Lynyrd Skynyrd…. pretty good recipe for a really great band. I guess they are just not the "flavor of the month" right now or else they would be signed to a label deal. That and the fact that they just parted ways with their vocalist really puts them behind the 8-ball so to speak. The timing is really bad but I have the feeling that guitarist Eddie Brnabie and the rest are dedicated enough that they will re-group and keep up the fight....I have faith.....

Check out the band's MySpace Page