When Alex Williams debuted with 2017's Better Than Myself, his big, booming baritone and southern storytelling seemed to channel the Country outlaws who came before him. The album made him a hero of modern-day American roots music, and when he returned in 2022, it was with Waging Peace, an eclectic and reflective record that showcased just how broad his definition of Americana could be.
Three years later he widens that sound once again with Space Brain, an unexpected covers album inspired by his longtime love of 1980s metal. Here, he reinterprets the songs of Judas Priest, Cinderella, Motley Crue, and others as a collection of backwoods ballads, campfire sing-alongs, and roadhouse roots-rockers. The result is an album that shows just how expansive and eclectic Williams' interpretation of Country music can be. He's always planted his flag outside of the mainstream, but he's never sounded more like an outlaw than on Space Brain, paying tribute to the music that shaped his childhood along the way.
Produced by GRAMMY-winning producer and longtime collaborator Ben Fowler (Charley Crockett, Lynyrd Skynyrd) in Nashville, Space Brain doesn’t push Williams away from his country pedigree but instead expands his interpretation of that sound altogether. Working with modern-day guitar heroes like Rob McNelley (Bob Seger, Wynonna Judd), Dan Dugmore (Linda Ronstadt, ZZ Top) and Mike Payne (Luke Bryan), Williams masterfully reconstructed each song, aiming to emphasize storytelling over sheer sonic power. Heavy metal and Country music may seem like strange bedfellows, but there's a real reverence for the material here, with Williams breathing new life with his signature husky voice. The end result is a record that positions Williams not only as a vocalist with arena-sized swagger, but as a formidable interpreter, too. While Country music has a long history of honoring its pioneers through countless artists within the genre, Space Brain is something different: a Country and roots-influenced album that nods to a different genre altogether. Few artists would venture this far outside the realm of American roots music, but Williams has never minded taking an unconventional path. “I didn't record these songs to make a statement, or to tell people I'm different,” Williams says. “This album is just an extension of my story. I grew up on '80s hair metal, and that music is still in my DNA. I'm always trying to make albums that represent where I'm at and what I'm feeling, but I've never had any sort of game plan. I didn't set out to become an outlaw country artist. I'm just doing whatever feels right in the current moment… and right now, this '80s metal album just feels right.
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