As their name suggests, Sons of Texas are a no-nonsense heavy metal band who proudly hail from the Lone Star State, playing tough, unpretentious hard rock with a bluesy undercurrent. Sons of Texas were formed by five friends from McAllen, Texas -- Jes de Hoyos and Jon Olivares on guitars, Mark Morales on lead vocals, Nick Villarreal on bass, and Nick's brother Mike Villarreal on drums. McAllen is a town near the Mexican border and the Gulf of Mexico, and the tight-knit local rock scene often finds bands swapping musicians on a regular basis; as a result, the members of Sons of Texas were all well aware of each other's abilities when the band came together in 2013. It didn't take long for word of the band's powerful attack to spread through the Southwest, and in 2014, the band cut a deal with veteran independent label Razor & Tie Records. Producer Josh Wilbur, best known for his work with Lamb of God and Hatebreed, agreed to work on Sons of Texas' debut album after seeing less than a minute of a single YouTube video from the band, and the set, Baptized in the Rio Grande, was released in March 2015. Following two years of hard touring, the band reunited with Wilbur in the studio to produce their follow-up album, 2017's Forged in Fortitude. ~ Mark Deming