In recent months, locally-based band Dead Confederate has been a group on the lips of both music critics and fans alike. After last fall’s release of a critically-acclaimed debut album, “Wrecking Ball,” the group played numerous shows and festivals and even made a stop on Late Night with Conan O’Brien.

But all this recognition, according to lead singer and guitarist Hardy Morris, was hardly to be expected when the group formed in Augusta in the late ’90s.

“I always just thought music would be a big part of my life and I’d wind up teaching English,” he said.

It wasn’t until 2006, when the band was in Atlanta, that Morris, along with bassist/vocalist Brantley Senn, keyboardist/vocalist John Watkins, drummer Jason Scarboro and guitarist Walker Howle, decided to make the transition from an informal collective to a full-fledged band.

“We decided to start taking things a lot more seriously because we were done with college and we were kind of like … ‘Are we going to stick with these jobs or are we going to do music?’” Morris said. “It actually seemed…[that] we were writing stuff that … made kind of a difference and was, I guess, quality.”

Shortly after its official formation, the band moved to Athens, where Morris said the creative atmosphere helped the group define itself as an unconventional Southern, psychedelic rock band.

“[In Athens], you never hear two bands that are really doing the same thing,” he said.

“Everybody knows that they’ve got to do something all their own or else it’s going to be blatantly obvious because the town is so small.”

Citing influences such as Pink Floyd and Nirvana, the group combines Morris’ raspy vocals with roaring guitars, heavy bass lines and a deeply-resonant rhythm to create a lush, layered and turbulent soundscape.

According to Morris, this unconventional sound came from the band’s collaborative songwriting process.

“The sonic side of it is a big collaboration but the origin of it and its beginnings is pretty personalized,” he said. “[The songs are] all written on acoustic [guitar], very stripped-down, and when the band starts playing sometimes it’s like, ‘Wow, I envisioned this song … slow and chill and now it’s turned into this giant, violent orchestra.’”

After stopping at AthFest, the band will take to the road for a tour with Meat Puppets, after which the group plans to return to the studio to record its next album. According to Morris, fans can expect the next release to be a more developed and refined version of the band’s dark and symphonic sound.

“[With the first record], we just went in and recorded what we had already been playing for a while whereas with the next album, we’re going to take the songs into the studio with us and develop them,” Morris said. “I don’t know exactly what it’s going to sound like but I can just tell … that it’s going to be a good bit different.”

Despite its newfound success, the group has no plans to leave Athens anytime soon.

“It’s not like we’re going to pack up and move to New York City or something,” Morris said.