Black Star Riders – All Hell Breaks Loose

Nuclear Blast

2013

On 28th of May 2013, Black Star Riders, the new hard rock band formed of former ThinLizzy, Megadeth and The Almighty members released their debut album to generally favorable reviews. The beginnings of Black Star Riders could be traced back to the reformed Thin Lizzy who toured successfully throughout 2011 and much of 2012. Former The Almighty frontman, Ricky Warwick was entrusted with filling the, frankly, unfillable shoes of Phil Lynott and it was a task which Warwick pulled off admirably. Suddenly, the Warwick fronted Thin Lizzy were playing sold out venues around the globe and earning rave reviews for their live performances with the Lizzy name rightly thrust into the public conscious once again. Lizzy guitarist Scott Gorham even confirmed in 2012 that the band felt so energised that they would be entering the studio to record that most unlikely of things; a new Thin Lizzy record in nearly thirty years. Minus Phil. That idea was, rightfully in this reviewers eyes, later shelved. Gorham, announcing the band’s decision not to record new music under the Lizzy name stated that; “Out of respect to Phil Lynott and the legacy he created we have decided that we should not release a new album under the Thin Lizzy name… we have written 20 songs that we all feel very strongly do the band and Thin Lizzy name credit”. So with material having been recorded and following the decision of Brian Downey and Darron Wharton to step away from touring for a while the remaining members of the 2012 version of Lizzy namely Warwick, Gorham, bassist Marco Mendoza and guitarist Damon Johnson decided to release the new material under a new name and band to be titled Black Star Riders a name that Vocalist Ricky Warwick came up with himself as he sated in a 2013 interview with 100percentrock.com that; “we are great lovers of westerns and stuff like that, so we thought of Black Star we thought of Riders… I kind of went through a lot of westerns went through a lot of names from westerns and stuff like that and threw names down on the floor and Black Star Riders landed together… it’s like the last gang in town… it kinda reflects what we do”. However all that being said All Hell Breaks Loose is, essentially, an unofficial Lizzy record. That is both a positive and a negative for the record as we will see later on. Nevertheless, the record does contain some quality moments of writing and it certainly maintains the tried and true Lizzy sound.

All Hell Breaks Loose kicks off with the title track of the record, and it is apparent straight away that this track has Lizzy written all over it. Beginning with the instantly recognizable twin guitar attack before leading into a classic Lizzy verse with Warwick extolling the lot of the down and out before leading into a gloriously triumphant chorus section which then features a rollicking solo from Gorham. The track evokes Brian Robertson era Lizzy but it would be unfair to relegate Black Star Riders as just a Lizzy knockoff; the spirit of Thin Lizzy is there,for obvious reasons, but this is also a band that can rock by itself. That is largely due to the excellent lyrics and vocals of Warwick which lands to the persona of the band and so far, All Hell Breaks Loose is off to a great start.

The Lizzy vibes continue with “Bound for Glory” perhaps the most Thin Lizzy sounding tune on the record (The verse riff is very reminiscent of the verse riff contained in “Got To Give It Up” for example). The track is a memorable one with yet another Guitar Hero solo from Gorham who is clearly having fun on this record. However, it does sound somewhat samey and in all truth is nothing really new to what has come before. That changes with the next track “Kingdom of the Lost” and it is a Celtic love letter to the auld Emerald Isle. I can’t take this song seriously, I know all meant well in its writing and execution but the track is very cliché. The inclusion of traditional Irish instruments such as Irish whistle, Uilleann pipes and the Bodhrán are worthy additions and are played beautifully but the track is too cartoon Irish for me personally and I’m an Irish man.

“Bloodshot” is another Celtic infused rocker with a sing along chorus section which almost evokes Dropkicks Murphys in its execution, as such this is the first taste of a Black Star Riders song proper and it’s quite good if a little generic. “Kissin’ the Ground You Walk On” is next and it’s an excellent tune beginning with a dissonant guitar before being joined by the rest of the band in full on ‘rawk’ mode with an insanely catchy chorus. Warwick channels his inner Lynott and the track evokes leather, bikes and unfaithful women and it’s all the better for it.

“Hey Judas” follows and it’s another excellent rocker with brawny dual guitar harmonies and Warwick’s storytelling lyrics of misplaced love. The track could have easily found a place to live on Lizzy’s Fighting record and at this stage it’s easy to pick out the tracks that were written solely with Lizzy in mind and those that were reworked for Black Star Riders. Overall a very memorable tune. The remarkable “Hoodoo Voodoo” follows beginning with a snaking guitar riff complete with Warwick’s excellent knowing lyrics (I’m just a low paid Paddy singing high price blues) and vocals punctuating throughout; it is easy to see why Warwick, a veteran of 90’s punk rock band The Almighty was picked for the Lizzy job on recommendation of Joe Elliot, the man can sing and write a mean lyric and it fits seamlessly with the music. The track breathes and waves in rock n’ roll union and is, to this reviewers ears, is the best track to be found on the record.

Next up is “Valley of Stones” with an opening guitar riff straight from Metallica’s Load/Reload era (“Fuel” anyone?) before leading into a semi cosmic chorus section. The track is fairly throwaway which is a shame because the song has some good ideas, but yet the track also sounds somewhat unoriginal. Every Thin Lizzy record had its knowing pop song and “Someday Salvation” is no different. Sadly the track is awful, completely forced and at odds with the excellent material we heard earlier. I know that may be harsh, be the track simply doesn’t work; it’s like a lullaby for bikers! Thankfully normal service is resumed with “Before The War”, beginning with military snare from drummer Jimmy DeGrasso and Warwick’s excellent retelling of a young man who found peace in war before leading into a defiant chorus and a hugely satisfying bridge section leading into another stone dead guitar solo. The track is a definite highlight of the record as is All Hell Breaks Loose‘s closer “Blues Ain’t So Bad” a poignant yet defiant tune beginning with grooving bass from bassist Marco Mendoza before being joined by moody guitar leading into a determined chorus section ending out in uncertain terms with a longing for home and the past, an excellent way to end a what has been, for the most part, a very enjoyable debut album.

All Hell Breaks Loose is a very fine hard rock album steeped in history and with a certain legacy to protect. I don’t know how this record would rank if it were released under the Thin Lizzy name and in a lot of ways it is unfair to judge the album under those set of circumstances. The material is interesting if not a tad generic in places and pretty consistent minus one or two bad decisions and critics at the time were of much the same opinion, giving the record mostly favorable reviews. Black Star Riders continue to tour and record with a new album due sometime in the new year and followed up this record with The Killer Instinct and Heavy Fire in 2015 and 2016 respectively, although I never felt compelled to seek out those works, I suppose I was mostly curious to see how the 2012 version of Thin Lizzy would sound on record and I was not disappointed whilst also taking away the fact that this was a new band in its own right that could stand on its own two feet. If you never gave the record a listen do give it a spin and if you are Thin Lizzy fan you will find plenty to like here. Phil would approve.

Works cited:

Thin Lizzy Thin Lizzy announce ‘farewell’ to touring and new album: http://www.thinlizzyband.com/news.cfm

Pinnegar, Shane., (2013, April) Interview Ricky Warwick- Thin Lizzy/Black Star Riders, 100percentrockmagazine.com