There are just ten songs on the latest from the Black Star Riders ‘Another State of Grace’, now I don’t know about you but I’d take ten great songs over an overstuffed and overblown offering with hints of filler. I must admit I expected a lot of this record based on past performance and I’m quite happy, after living with this for a few days and giving it multiple listens, to draw the long bow and say that this is the band’s finest moment to date. There I’ve said it…
I expect that any band who has put out three quite exceptional slabs of hard rock 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.
As Warwick says, “We’ve set the bar higher with every album.” It’s hard to not agree when he goes on to add “We wanted to make a big, anthemic-sounding record – high-energy rock’n’roll with heavy riffs and great songs. We have that classic rock element and I’m never going to deny that, but I think the band is very relevant when it comes to attitude and energy and what we have to say.”
And that is exactly what you get – from the Hard Rock meets the (almost) New Wave flair of opener ‘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.
The build and Celtic drum-fueled 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’ would be a class song in anyone’s hands and here it’s one of my early highlights, 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. And with ‘Soldier in the Ghetto’ comes the half-way mark. Just five songs in you feel you’ve already got enough songs to bother an already impressive setlist, it really is that good. It’s got a great groove, and after a few listens it’s irresistible.
Recently of course there have been some line-up changes: in 2014, original bassist Marco Mendoza left for the Dead Daisies and solo pursuits to be replaced by old friend, Robbie Crane, then in 2017, drummer Jimmy DeGrasso was replaced by Chad Szeliga. This year Christian Martucci was brought into the fold after the departure of Damon Johnson who had himself contributed some great songs to the catalogue. But it’s not what you miss that you feel here, it’s that continued growth of the band as a whole.
The ‘second half’ kicks off with ‘Why Do You Love Your Guns’ – the slower number is wrought with emotion and written in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut in 2012. It’s a great change of pace and the fiery ‘Standing in the Line of Fire’ another fine harder rocker just knocks it out of the park.
‘What Will it Take’ is yet another pointer that Black Star Riders are reveling 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 it’s toes in what some might see as Americana, though to me there are even notes of Elvis Costello and Tom Petty in there. 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.
We close with another 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 closer ‘Poisoned Heart’ has a beating heart made to fill stadiums.
Eschewing big names producers Kevin Shirley and Nick Raskulinecz, ‘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 Rides so far. Long may they ride!
BLACK STAR RIDERS IS: Ricky Warwick | Vocals / Scott Gorham | Guitar / Christian Martucci | Guitar / Robbie Crane | Bass / Chad Szeliga | Drums
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