Album Review – Cole Chaney’s “In The Shadow of the Mountain”

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Appalachian (#519) and Country Rock (#560) on the Country DDS.

One could characterize this new album from Cole Cheney as Appalachian grunge music, and it’s unlikely anyone would throw you a sideways glance. As a young man from Kentucky near the confluence of the Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia borders, coal country and the characters it breeds are where Cole Chaney pulls his inspiration from, then compliments these stories with fiddle and mandolin. This was the general direction his debut album Mercy took in 2021, receiving much adulation.

But on this new album, the chords Cole Chaney chooses, the throaty and somewhat monotone delivery of his vocals indicative of early Staind, Soundgarden, and other such acts, along with the addition of drums and guitar that find a rather sludgy and heavy-handed groove to lock into, it makes you want to bust out that old pair of Doc Martens and light a candle to Kurt Cobain.

On paper, this combination of Appalachian folk and Seattle grunge might come across as quite the curiosity. It definitely struck some Cole Chaney fans as peculiar when he released the debut single from this album called “Alone?”. You couldn’t help but hear the grunge rock influence, and in a way that was frankly distracting, if not disturbing for some fans of Cole as a young Appalachian roots music prospect.

But after fighting through the initial culture shock, the distinctive marriage of musical influences found on In The Shadow of the Mountain begins to make more sense, and starts turning a frosty reception more warm, with repeated listens resulting in a genuine appeal for what Cole Chaney is attempting to do here with it’s broody, heavy impact.

Not all the songs on this album come with a grunge influence to them. The title track, and the song “Grind” are more like Appalachian country rock. The song “The Unsatisfied” is almost straight up bluegrass, and is also the only real mid to up tempo song on the album. Otherwise, these songs are slow, plodding, and long.

With each tune, Cole Chaney is trying to put you in a place, and put you in a trance to where you lose yourself in the song. For the patient and willing, Chaney accomplishes this numerous times, and perhaps most successfully with the epic 6-minute song “Spirit.” The track burrows itself so deep in your inner marrow, it’s like it becomes one with you. Depending on your individual musical preferences, numerous songs from this album can accomplish this symbiotic relationship as well.


It’s the final two songs, “Feels Like Rain” and “Alone?” where the grunge influence comes through starkly, though you certainly hear it in other songs too, including in “Spirit.” But much of the writing remains tied to the Appalachian experience, even if the sound doesn’t. “In The Shadow of the Mountain” is a classic coal country tune. “Grind” is a blue collar anthem presented as an autobiography.

But similar to his debut album Mercy, some of the writing from Cole can feel a little trite. Chaney first came onto the scene in 2021 right when coal songs and the obsession with all things Kentucky in the wake of Tyler Childers success was starting to feel stale. In 2025, these songs feel even more like a callback than a relevant topic. The “I can’t keep living this way” chorus of the song “Let The Love Die” just feels dated. And even though “Charlene” might be one of the best songs on this album and is about his grandparents, a love song about a war Veteran is an easy trope to lean into.

Cole Chaney continues to be a critical darling, with Rolling Stone recently saying, “Kentucky Launched Stapleton, Sturgill, and Childers. Cole Chaney Is Next.” Statements like that are hyperbolic in an unhelpful manner, making unrealistic expectations that the slow and purposeful songs of In The Shadow of the Mountain won’t realize, and in some respects, probably aren’t meant to. Cole Chaney has taken his time with his musical career, letting it mature on its own path as opposed to trying to exploit the whole Appalachian obsession.

What Cole Chaney does through In The Shadow of the Mountain and its grunge influence is carve out a niche all his own, outside of the shadow of the mountainous careers of his fellow Kentuckians like Sturgill, Childers, and Stapleton. This album demands patience from the audience, but that demand is rewarded with songs that breed that next level immersion and appeal that even many Childers and Sturgill songs struggle to achieve.

8/10

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