by Steve Leggett Country singer Jason McCoy was already a veteran on the Canadian country scene, having released six solo albums and a slew of charting singles, when he hit on the idea of doing a concept album about big rigs and long-haul truckers in 2004. By 2005 the concept had grown into a TV series, CMT Canada's version of Making the Band, and with guitarist and singer Clayton Bellamy, bassist and singer Chris Byrne, and drummer Corbett Frasz on board, the Road Hammers were officially a band, soon developing a sound that fell somewhere between Charlie Daniels and Motörhead. The group released the self-titled The Road Hammers with Airstrip Music in 2005, and the album spawned several Canadian chart hits, eventually earning the band Group of the Year honors at the CCMA awards, an honor the Road Hammers received at the CCMA ceremonies again the following year in 2006. Shortly after McCoy announced in 2007 that the band would be doing a second season of the TV series, the Road Hammers signed a deal with Montage Records, releasing a second album, Blood, Sweat & Steel, with the imprint in 2008.