Black Star Riders; who are they? Well, it’s pretty much Thin Lizzy with a new name. They formed in 2012 from the modern touring Thin Lizzy, after the band members decided not to use their new material under the original title. The 5-piece includes Ricky Warwick (The Almighty, ‘new’ vocalist and guitarist for Thin Lizzy), Scott Gorham (Thin Lizzy), Damon Johnson (Alice Cooper), Marco Mendoza (Blue Murder) and Jimmy DeGrasso (Y&T, Alice Cooper). With a whole heap of experience throughout the band, only big things could be expected.
Despite the efforts of Scott Gorham trying to make this a new band, they still sound extremely Thin Lizzy-ish. The stand out tracks on the album are surprisingly the most Lizzy-esque tracks, such as ‘Bound For Glory’. Disappointedly, the least impressive tracks are those that step furthest away from the Thin Lizzy sound, like ‘Kingdom Of The Lost’, with it’s folk influence riddled throughout. Saying this, it’s not a bad album at all. There’s a clear hard rock influence track after track, packed with riffs and classic solos.
Opening track, ‘All Hell Breaks Loose’, is laid back with a bluesy sound and classic hard rock chorus. As openings songs go, Black Star Riders have done a pretty good job as it shows the band off at their best.
It is hard to not compare Black Star Riders to Thin Lizzy and it can’t really be blamed. With the band having toured for years as Thin Lizzy, it would be near impossible for them to carry some traits across with them. It’s not necessary a bad thing, after all, there’s plenty of Lizzy fans out there craving more music like them. Over all, it’s a staple rock album.
