Eric Church ascended to country's top tier by assimilating an eclectic batch of inspirations. You can hear the heavy metal crunch of Metallica and Pantera in the raw, rocking riffs of Church's harder-edged tracks. Outlaw country icons like Waylon Jennings informed Church's bad-boy attitude, and trace elements of Americana tale-spinners such as Ray Wylie Hubbard can be found in Church's more lyrically intense tunes.