49 Winchester’s Change of Plans, due May 15, is the band’s major label debut on Lucille Records/MCA, and it arrives with Dave Cobb producing and a Black Sabbath cover buried in the middle of the tracklist. Both of those facts are exactly right for a band from Castlewood, Virginia, whose music sits at the intersection of country, Appalachian folk, and Southern rock without being fully any of those things.

The Sabbath cover is “Changes,” which is itself one of the more emotionally unguarded songs in that catalogue, a piano ballad about loss and regret that has nothing to do with the band’s usual thunder. In the hands of 49 Winchester, with Isaac Gibson’s soulful baritone and the band’s organic instrumentation, it makes complete sense. The original is country music wearing a metal costume, which means covering it straight is just removing the disguise.

“Pardon Me” has been released as a preview track and establishes the album’s texture: pedal steel, keys, bass, a rhythm section that serves the song rather than driving it, and a voice that sounds like it comes from the same soil as the music. Cobb recorded the album at his Savannah studio, and the sound has that particular warmth that characterizes his work.

The band will be touring with Eric Church and Tim McGraw this year in addition to their own headline dates. The move to MCA gives them distribution and resources without, apparently, pressuring them to change what makes them interesting.

Change of Plans is out May 15 on Lucille Records/MCA.