Genre - Hard Rock
Label - Nuclear Blast
Track listing:
01 – Tonight the Moonlight Let Me Down
02 – Another State Of Grace
03 – Ain’t The End Of The World
04 – Underneath the Afterglow
05 – Soldier in the Ghetto
06 – Why Do You Love Your Guns?
07 – Standing in the Line of Fire
08 – What Will It Take?
09 – In the Shadow of the War Machine
10 – Poisoned Heart
This review contains many elements of
another review, not written by myself, as I whole heartedly agree with what was
written, with a few added elements of my own. All credit to the original
reviewer.
“Another State Of Grace” is the fourth studio album by UK / American rockers BLACK STAR RIDERS. I expect that any band who has
put out three quite exceptional slabs of hard rock, and losses a key founding
member in the form of one Damon Johnson,
is always under pressure to come up with the goods and edge that last release
to keep the fire burning and the fan base growing, but this fourth outing has
another feel altogether – it’s an album that at once seems effortless,
comfortable and one which is destined to become a classic.
It can’t
be easy being Black Star Riders. On
the one hand, most sane people were delighted when an acceptable incarnation of
THIN LIZZY mutated into its own
entity and started to make records that complemented, rather than added to, the
legacy of guitarist Scott Gorham’s legendary
former band.
On the other, the task of persuading people that the band can stand apart from
the Lizzy catalogue and still rally the troops was never going to be an easy
one.
That this multinational crew have reached their fourth album with credibility
and momentum intact speaks volumes about the spirit behind the whole thing. The
joy of this ongoing collaboration has long been how natural, unpretentious and
honest it all sounds, and “Another State
of Grace” could hardly be any more at ease with its place in the world.
After
listening to opening track “Tonight the Moonlight Let Me Down”,
which does evoke some of the most melodic and memorable moments of Thin Lizzy’s back catalogue, especially
when that sax kicks in, you know you have hit on something rather special.
There is definitely a grittiness and rugged swagger to the sound of this new
album that instantly makes it more engaging than its predecessors.
Vocalist Ricky Warwick is still
doing the world’s best Phil Lynott
impression, of course (and no, he didn’t sound like that when he was fronting The Almighty), but he delivers every
line with such conviction and gruff charm that it’s hard not to wonder exactly
what anyone could complain about.
In the absence of the real Thin Lizzy,
for reasons that should be abundantly clear, this is still as close as we’re
going to get.
The even better news is that the majority of these songs are good enough to
take the weight.
The
build and Celtic drum-fuelled thrust of title track “Another State of Grace”
is quite exceptional. It’s a hard rocker which sits wonderfully well in a long
tradition of songs that old Lizzy fans will be well familiar with. Indeed it’s
that classic sound that feels so real here on this collection, like the patina
of time has sat on these songs for years. Now that, believe me is a real art.
“Ain’t the
End of the World” is a balls-out
rocker, Gorham’s euphoric presence
underpinning Warwick’s fiery vocal.
A highlight with a great hook, wonderful guitars: it has it all. It’s backed by
another great – ‘Underneath the Afterglow’ has a harder edge that will bring a
smile to your face, riff driven and rocking it was the last song written for
the album with music composed by Gorham
and nephew Jesse Siebenberg (son of
former Supertramp drummer Bob) with a gem of a lyric by Warwick.
“Underneath
The Afterglow” is darker and gnarlier, metallic shades adding muscle to
a blissfully restrained melody, while “Soldier in the Ghetto” is lithe
power-pop with rippling Hammonds, very classic rock at its core.
“Standing
In The Line Of Fire” is another
high-energy rocker with a wonderfully screaming solo from Gorham. It really rocks.
“What
Will it Take” is yet another pointer that Black Star Riders are revelling in not being considered merely an
offshoot of Thin Lizzy but are a
real band in their own right. This is a song that should underline that to
those late to that conclusion as it dips its toes in what some might see as
Americana, something Warwick has
done a few times on his solo material. It’s quite possibly the most enigmatic
song here as interestingly it still sports all of the traditional elements like
the twin guitar attack, but it’s done via a completely new set of eyes. It also
features a shared lead vocal as Warwick
teams up with Pearl Aday.
A
special mention has to go to “Why Do You Love Your Guns?” This a
blunt and heartfelt honest lyric from Warwick, which obviously touches on a
subject that is close to his heart. It sends shivers down the listener’s spine
and leaves you with that Goose Bump feeling. Hats off to the guys for tackling
such a sensitive and potentially volatile subject!
The
album closes with a pair of winners: “In the Shadow of the War Machine”
is another interesting slant on the straight hard rock side, though rock it
does, and ending with and the roots rock strut of “Poisoned Heart” – which
has a beating heart made to fill stadiums – the Black Star Riders fourth trip down the rock ‘n’ roll highway is
easily their best yet.
“Another State Of Grace” was recorded in Los Angeles and produced by Jay Ruston, who mixed ‘The
Killer Instinct’ and ‘Heavy Fire’ and it sounds great. The
result is in my opinion very much the most consistent and complete Black
Star Riders so far.
We might all secretly want them to keep playing tons of Thin Lizzy songs live, but their own material has more than enough
charm, class and power of its own.
One of the best Classic Rock albums of the year so far, and a serious contender
for the big prize.
This
a great album, potentially one of the best classics rock albums that will be
released in 2019, and is therefore well worth checking out.
Rating: 9/10
