Released by: Nuclear Blast
Release date: may 24th EU, may 27th UK, may 28th (NA)
Genre: classic hard rock
Line up:
Ricky Warwick: vocals, occasional guitar
Scott Gorham: guitar
Damon Johnson: guitar
Marco Mendoza: bass
Jimmy DeGrasso: drums
Tracklist:
1.All Hell breaks Loose
2.Bound For Glory
3.Kingdom Of The Lost
4.Bloodshot
5.Kissin’ The Ground
6.Hey Judas
7.Hoodoo Voodoo
8.Valley Of The Stones
9.Someday Salvation
10.Before the War
11.Blues Ain’t Bad
A new name for an old band. Black Star Riders is in fact the last active touring incarnation of Thin Lizzy with Scott Gorham at the helm. But as this band just recently recorded some new material the name Thin Lizzy felt uncomfortable for the guys which is comprehensible without the figurehead and main writer Phil Lynott.
Scott Gorham, Ricky Warwick, Damon Johnson and Marco Mendoza minus Brian Downey (all time Lizzy drummer but not eager to tour again) and Darren Wharton (keyboards, wanted to concentrate on other projects) haven now chosen for the name Black Star Riders, after a gang of outlaws from the 1993 western movie Tombstone. With the new addition Jimmy DeGrasso (Megadeth, Alice Cooper, David Lee Roth) on drums we’ve got a new studio band with a new album entitled ‘All Hell Breaks Loose’.
The new material was mainly written during the last Thin Lizzy shows and the fans can be assured, the new bunch of songs sound quite like the classic Thin Lizzy. With the legendary Kevin Shirley as producer/mixer, BRS capture the essence of classic hardrock with a very rich sounding album and some fine tunes here and there.
Still it’s a bit strange that we’ve got an almost entirely american band (with the exception of Warwick, hailing from North Ireland) playing such ‘irish’ inspired music. A track like ‘Kingdom Of The Lost’ features some typical irish folk music just like the other great, but sadly too early departed, irish musician Gary Moore did on the 80’s staple ‘Over The Hills And Far Away’.
With the typical twin guitar, the solid drumming and the dark, slightly husky voice of Ricky Warwick, sounding very similar to Phil’s voice, the band pays homage to the classic Lizzy but incorporates also their own, more American sounding, style.
“All Hell Breaks Loose” is a pleasant album no more, no less and will certainly capture the attention of rockfans worldwide.
Black Star Riders will play some European festivals this summer followed by an extensive tour. And after that ….? well it’s probably time for another chapter for the touring Lizzy outfit.
Written by Ruud
Ratings Ruud 8/10
[embedplusvideo height=”281″ width=”450″ standard=”http://www.youtube.com/v/kq6Z6C3ipMk?fs=1″ vars=”ytid=kq6Z6C3ipMk&width=450&height=281&start=&stop=&rs=w&hd=0&autoplay=0&react=1&chapters=¬es=” id=”ep6461″ /]