According to producer Mike E. Clark, the lyrics were strongly influenced by the album's unusual production, and the seclusion of being in the cabin in the woods, describing the album as "music to get murdered by".[1] The lyrics of South of Hell strongly derives from country music themes, touching on "love gone bad, family issues, and internal struggles with vice".[3] The music combines elements of country with hip hop beats and funk-derived grooves, and includes live instrumentation, including slide guitar and banjos.[3] "We All Fall" features the use of Auto-Tune.[3] The title of the album, South of Hell, is a reference to the Slayer album South of Heaven.