Digitally remastered edition. Includes full color booklet with 4,000 word essay, enhanced artwork, memorabilia and rare photos. By the mid-1970s, the southern rock sound had been well and truly established by the likes of the Allman Brothers Band, the Outlaws and, most prominently, Lynyrd Skynyrd. It was a style that seemed resistant to change but with the release of Molly Hatchet's debut album in 1978, that tradition was challenged by a bigger, louder and harder sound that introduced elements of contemporary hard rock into the mix. Indeed, Hatchet's debut album signaled a new, supercharged, approach to old school blues and country music. Formed in Jacksonville, Florida, 1971, and led by guitarist Dave Hlubek, Molly Hatchet finally settled on their classic line-up in 1977 and signed to Epic Records by A&R man and in- house record producer Tom Werman. Skynyrd leader Ronnie Van Zant heard and liked the band early on and was originally scheduled to produce their debut but his tragic death in the infamous plane crash scuppered that idea. With Danny Joe Brown on vocals and two further guitarists to beef up the sound, the band relied on the more than capable Werman to assume the producer's role. Released in 1978, the album single-handedly reset the southern rock template, introducing a raw and aggressive edge to the scene which won them immediate support and unexpectedly large sales.