Black Star Riders - Heavy Fire (2017)

Genre - Hard Rock / Classic Rock

Label - Pledge Music / Nuclear Blast Entertainment

Track listing:

01 - Heavy Fire
02 - When The Night Comes In
03 - Dancing With The Wrong Girl
04 - Who Rides The Tiger
05 - Cold War Love
06 - Testify Or Say Goodbye
07 - Thinking About You Could Get Me Killed
08 - True Blue Kid
09 - Ticket To Rise
10 - Letting Go Of Me

Heavy Fire is the long awaited third album from Black Star Riders. Black Star Riders were created in 2012 by members of the most recent line-up of Thin Lizzy, and delivered widely acclaimed music in their first two records ‘All Hell Breaks Loose’ and ‘The Killer Instinct’ which established Black Star Riders as one of the finest present-day rock ‘n’ roll bands.
The title track 'Heavy Fire' jumps out of the speakers from the very first second you hit the play button. It punches the air out of you as it declares there is no room for complacent listening here. Crank it up and succumb!
A mid-tempo yet power-packed track which does justice to the signature Black Star Riders sound - crisp and raw.
This essence is carried into 'When the Night Comes In' which is one of the catchier songs on the album with awe-inspiring vocals, cool lyrics and an infectious chorus. The song shows the new approach the band adopts while still upholding its heritage in spirit.
Remarkable musical ingenuity is showcased in 'Dancing with the Wrong Girl' which has a heavy classic spirit while 'Who Rides the Tiger' delivers a monster groove.
There’s been no compromising with the band’s distinct quality and the record upholds the appeal of heavy rock through and through as evident in the compact and powerful rocker 'Ticket to Rise' also featuring soulful backing vocals.
There is a nice shift in thought process from the laid back 'Cold War Love' to the heavier 'Testify or Say Goodbye' which is one of the finest songs on the album. The latter bears the magnificence of classic rock in elements like its traditionally composed chorus.
'Thinking About You Could Get Me Killed' starts with an epic bass line and is rhythm-wise wonderful. 'True Blue Kid' further demonstrates versatility within the magnitude of heavy rock while 'Letting Go of Me' provides a perfect finish to the album by leaving a hard-hitting impact.

The Limited Edition includes the atmospheric 'Fade', another great piece of finest melodic hard rock with a feel that brings to mind guitarist Gorham days with 21 Guns.

Just like the Thin Lizzy of old, Black Star Riders rely heavily on the glorious power of their twin guitar attack, but play with a greater sense of sustained urgency than their former incarnation tended to do.
As a result they have produced an album that is certain to prove fervently popular when they hit the stage this year – every song is designed to get you out of your seat and have you leaping around.


Rating: 10/10

BLACK STAR RIDERS - The Killer Instinct [Deluxe Edition] (2015)

Genre - Hard Rock / Classic Rock

Label - Nuclear Blast

 

Track listing:

01. The Killer Instinct
02. Bullet Blues
03. Finest Hour
04. Soldierstown
05. Charlie I Gotta Go
06. Blindsided
07. Through The Motions
08. Sex, Guns & Gasoline
09. Turn In Your Arms
10. You Little Liar

Bonus CD:
01. Gabrielle
02. The Reckoning Day
03. The Killer Instinct (Acoustic)
04. Blindsided (Acoustic)
05. Charlie I Gotta Go (Acoustic)
06. Finest Hour (Acoustic)

By God does this guy ever stop! Not only has Black Star Riders frontman, Ricky Warwick, written recorded and released (via Pledge music) two brand spanking new solo album over the past few months, he has over seen the re-issue the his first bands, The Almighty, first two albums and managed to find the time to write and record a brand new album with Black Star Riders. Damn this guy likes to keep busy, and thank god he does!
After their critically-acclaimed Top 30 debut album, Black Star Riders return with the long-awaited follow-up, "The Killer Instinct". The band formed around the last of incarnation of Thin Lizzy and featuring guitar legend Scott Gorham (ex- 21 Guns), Damon Johnson (guitar, ex- Alice Cooper), Jimmy DeGrasso (drums, ex- Megadeth), Robbie Crane (bass, ex- Ratt, Vince Neil) and fronted by Belfast-born, ex-The Almighty vocalist Ricky Warwick, are back with vengeance.
All Black Star Riders members reportedly sat in debate over whether or not to make "The Killer Instinct" a Thin Lizzy influenced album. The end result is part Thin Lizzy and part something original as the band reaches for its own kick. Pooled together, this album is a winner.
The title track brings to mind Lizzy, straight down to Ricky Warwick's replication of Phil Lynott's choky swoons and slides, only an octave lower. The guitar solo is crisp and the riffs are tight and sweaty, giving the necessary verve behind the edict 'you have to die a little to survive'.
"Bullet Blues" afterwards is a tougher, slightly heavier, though no less melodic rocker with chucked-down bridges and dirty, blistering tag guitar solos.
The stunning "Finest Hour" just drew me in straight away, a simple melodic gem that’s knee deep in classic American rock. The first real sniff of Lizzy comes with "Soldierstown", where the trademark Celtic guitar licks are as resolute as always. If ever there was a song that announced Ricky Warwick as the singer in Black Star Riders, and not the guy that sings Thin Lizzy songs, "Charlie I Gotta Go" is it. Vocally, Warwick always delivers, but lyrically he tells his story with gritty poetic honesty.
Acoustic is not a word that was ever associated with Thin Lizzy, but BSR are continuing to grow their own identity, and with the sumptuous "Blindsided", they take their versatility to a new level. But like it or lump it, the Lizzy association is still the fulcrum of the band, and "Through The Motions" incorporates a lot of that classic sound.
"Sex, Guns & Gasoline" is a belter. A dirty, greasy rocker that’s drenched in sin. The band are firing on all cylinders here, especially the mean rhythm section. Drum assaulter Jimmy DeGrasso has without doubt filled the massive void left by the legendary Brian Downey. And new guy, former Ratt bassist Robbie Crane, seems to have slotted in effortlessly following the departure of Marco Mendoza.
Once again the Gorham/Johnson partnership is five star on the swaggering "Turn In Your Arms", with a Native American tale, Warwick once again displays his A level lyrical intelligence. "You Little Liar" closes the album with an epic thump. The songs climaxes with an apocalyptic guitar solo that hasn’t served it’s purpose if your ears aren’t ringing.
This "The Killer Instinct" Limited Edition 2CD Digibook Version is a must, as the bonus CD is fantastic. Features two great extra tracks in the sweet "Gabrielle", and a melting melodic rocker on "The Reckoning Day", plus earthy acoustic versions from the main album best songs.
Overall, this is an terrific blend of melodic rock anthems combined with classic rock sounds like Thin Lizzy used to make. It’s not hard to imagine this band being four of the five former members of Lizzy, yet Black Star Riders have done an awesome job of modernizing their sound to what melodic hard rock and classy metal fans want to hear in 2015.

AWESOME.
Rating - 10/10

 

The players:

Ricky Warwick (The Almighty) - Vocals
Scott Gorham (Thin Lizzy) - Guitars
Damon Johnson (Alice Cooper) - Guitars
Robbie Crane (Ratt, Lynch Mob) - Bass
Jimmy DeGrasso (Megadeth, Y&T) - Drums

Ricky Warwick (The Almighty / Black Star Riders) - When Patsy Cline Was Crazy (And Guy Mitchell Sang The Blues) (2014/15)

 

Genre - Hard Rock / Classic Rock

Label - Pledge Music

 

Track listing:

01 - The Road To Damascus Street

02 - Celebrating Sinking

03 - When Patsy Cline Was Crazy (And Guy Mitchell Sang The Blues)

04 - Toffee Town

05 - That's Where The Story Ends

06 - Johnny Ringo's Last Ride

07 - Gold Along The Cariboo

08 - The Son Of The Wind

09 - If You're Not Gonna Leave Me

10 - Yesteryear

This is the second of the two brand spanking new albums released by Ricky Warwick, with this - When Patsy Cline Was Crazy (And Guy Mitchell Sang The Blues) - being the full blown rock album.



Again Ricky has enlisted the help of many of his celebrity friends to assist him with this album including the likes of:
Robbie Crane, Gary Sullivan, Andy Cairns (who also co-wrote Celebrating Sinking), Billy Morrison, Nathan Connolly, Mark Gemini Thwaite, Sam Retzer, Ginger Wildheart (who co-wrote Johnny Ringo's Last Ride), and Richard Fortus.
One of the first things that you will notice is that this album has more in common sonically with Black Star Riders than The Almighty with its rather polished production.
The album kicks off with a great mid-tempo rocker, The Road To Damascus Street which sets the scene for the rest of what is to follow. Celebrating Sinking follows, which slows the tempo down a little yet great song that was co-written with Andy Cairns of Therapy? fame. When Patsy Cline Was Crazy (And Guy Mitchell Sang The Blues) is up next and proves to another great mid-tempo ed rocker. So far so good!
Toffee Town is the next track and what a song it is. The tempo quickens for this fun track that really is one of the albums highlights that kind of brings to mind the Just Add Life era Almighty.
That's Where The Story Ends is up next, and my favourite track on the album, with its spaghetti western feel. This is destined to become a Ricky Warwick classic I'm sure!
Next we get Ricky's collaboration with one of my favourite artists, Ginger Wildheart, in the form of Johnny Ringo's Last Stand. The song which is a corker by the way, has Ginger written all over it whilst at the same time retaining all of Ricky's trademarks. Another album highlight.
The tempo slows a little for  Gold Along The Cariboo which proves itself to be another solid song, whilst The Son Of The Wind is a great song driven along by its drum beat and guitar riff. I do feel that this would of have made a great Almighty track with a rougher production, as I feel that the albums polished production does rob this song of a little of its power!
If You're Not Gonna Leave Me has a real Thin Lizzy / Black Star Riders vibe whist album closer is a real stonker of a track.
With When Patsy Cline Was Crazy (And Guy Mitchell Sang The Blues) Ricky Warwick has delivered a great album that has many highlights (especially when taken together with the albums sister acoustic album Hearts On Trees!) despite writing and recording a brand new Black Star Riders
album and beinf heavily involved in the planned re-issue of The Almighty's back catalogue, (which is set to include copious amounts of bonus material!).
Ricky has been really busy as of late and 2015 is looking to be a huge year for him, and deservedly so!

Very Highly recommended!

Rating - 10/10