Review: Vern Daysel – Call of the Wild

Self Release (January 2023)

Reviewer: Mark Jackson

Hailing from the Southern Rock homeland of Florida, Vern Desyal is a Guitarist Singer songwriter steeped in Southern sounds,but with some twisting turns into unexpected musical geography.

First shot, ‘Feed Me‘ has an almost Black Sabbath guitar tone with a Zakk Wylde approach to the structure this is completed by a braised beefy production with a big bottomed end.

Next up is ‘Wild Girl‘, a jaunty lil’ number with a cheeky riff, sweet solo and southern to the max…by this point I’m thinkin’ he’s got a little of Country artist Justin Moore’s vocal twang.

Title track ‘Call Of The Wild‘s another standout..great slide intro, nifty shifty guitar lines…next track ‘Gold Digger‘ starts of a bit rough on the old vocals,but the chorus is great Vern’s voice sounding stonkin’ in a higher register delivery.

‘Chasing The Moon‘ commences with Guitar picking soft as an everglades breeze on Palmetto grass and onto the evergreen proper Southern Rock guitar epic ending,shades of Skynyrd and 38 Special..proper stuff!.

Onto the finale, ‘Warrior‘. This has an almost total Outlaws feel, not surprising as Tampa is a mere stones throw from Vern’s stomping grounds, so they are bound to be an influence. This track is all galloping steeds on dusty plains with the horse lathered up and bit chomping!.

To sum it up ‘Call Of The Wild‘ is like a darn familiar Southern back road of an album, but there’s some dips and potholes he needs to avoid on the next release. Some of the lyrics are tired old boots and some of the songs just sound like filler…Live recording could benefit some of these songs to get that dirty real feel. He is gigging in FLA regularly also with compadres Tombstone Chevy, so if you’re near check him out a performer with a true Southern heart.

Track List:

1. Feed Me
2. Wild Girl
3. Bandit’s Road
4. Call of the Wild
5. Gold Digger
6. Drift Away
7. Cougar
8. Chasing the Moon
9. Rain
10. Chasing Ghosts
11.  Warrior