My wife said it herself, Black Stone Cherry haven’t been so special of late – I know what she means.
I’m looking for what brought them to the table, OK, I’m looking for some ‘Blame It On The Boom Boom’ action, that big friendly chorus with a bit of Hard Rock crunch around it.
This album provides it. Most of the time.
Credit; MetalTalk
Almost…
‘It’s called ‘Screamin’ At The Sky’ (dig that dropped G) and has a cover which portrays a face made of flowers screaming, sorry, screamin’, amid a stormy background. So far, so interesting.’It’s called ‘Screamin’ At The Sky’ (dig that dropped G) and has a cover which portrays a face made of flowers screaming, sorry, screamin’, amid a stormy background. So far, so interesting.
And when the album starts, the world’s of Steve Beebee at Kerrang seem to ring true, he said it;
‘…recalls the grungy heft of their classic 2006 debut while simultaneously sounding like something utterly of its own time.’
You see, when the title track opener boasts a serrated riff with a sweet vocal and then reveals a chorus completely at home on Rock radio allied to an angular solo, things seem very exciting in the BSC world.
Black Stone Cherry don’t stay there, they never have, and there are Country calm verse after some judicious banging in ‘Nervous’, with another of those stupendous commercial choruses butting up against a giddyup verse and some riffs for which the word ,’roiling’ was invented; that’s ‘When The Pain Comes’.
And the apotheosis (cor, what a jaw-cracking word) of that Black Stone Cherry appeal is R.O.A.R, which, whisper it, might look into Pop Parade, then think better of it and bop down Country Close.
Melodic Rock might have the best of ‘The Mess You Made’ and there’s nothing wrong with that, but some of the rest is as hard as nails and when it flows into a rather metallic solo, smiles ensue.
Did You Say ‘Almost’…
As the album progresses, Black Stone just seem to conform a little. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, it’s actually very popular because its well liked, that’s the basis of popularity, isn’t it?
Credit; Planet Radio
‘Here’s To The Hopeless’ has that big bag of air at its middle, an aimless but aspirational chorus which just doesn’t go anywhere.
And it’s almost as if the sudden excellent involved solo is trying to lift ‘You Can Have It All’ out of the torpor of a radio chorus we’ve heard many times before.
Nearly
You can’t have it all – where would you put it? And Black Stone Cherry nearly bring back the things that brought them to the table in the first place. Marc Dorian at Rock And Blues Muse, in a positive review, tells us;
Screamin’ At The Sky’ highlights the band’s commitment to their continued evolution.’
An almost great album, Black Stone Cherry. Screamin’? With delight and frustration.