{"id":24716,"date":"2015-02-20T00:00:54","date_gmt":"2015-02-20T00:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=24716"},"modified":"2015-06-30T16:54:15","modified_gmt":"2015-06-30T16:54:15","slug":"album-review-black-star-riders-the-killer-instinct","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-black-star-riders-the-killer-instinct\/","title":{"rendered":"BLACK STAR RIDERS – The Killer Instinct (2015) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

BLACK STAR RIDERS
The Killer Instinct<\/strong><\/span>
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\nNuclear Blast (2015)<\/span>
Rating: 5\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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In 2013, Black Star Riders \u2013 formed out of the ashes of Thin Lizzy \u2013 released their decent All Hell Breaks Loose<\/em><\/a> debut. I enjoyed it for what it was, but couldn\u2019t understand why at times it ventured too much into Lizzy territory to the point of rip-off. Unfortunately, it\u2019s no different with this sophomore effort.<\/p>\n

While I understand that guitarist Scott Gorham was an integral part of that classic Thin Lizzy sound and the nucleus of Black Star Riders used to literally pay homage to the great band, I see no reason for them to continue with this mimicry, and as a separate entity they really should be doing their own thing.<\/p>\n

With the opening title track, it\u2019s clear that the band is more than happy to sound like Thin Lizzy. The groove and especially the lead vocal has the late, great Phil Lynott down to a T, and yet oddly I don\u2019t recall The Almighty frontman Ricky Warwick sounding like this prior to joining the modern touring incarnation of Thin Lizzy in 2009, so for me the obsession has gone just a touch too far. I\u2019m all for bands taking influence from some of the great bands of the past, but if I wanted Thin Lizzy then I\u2019d piss off home and slap on Johnny The Fox<\/em> (1976) or Black Rose: A Rock Legend<\/em> (1979) for entertainment, and I certainly wouldn\u2019t be attracted to a sub-par imitation \u2013 and that\u2019s exactly what Black Star Riders are becoming.<\/p>\n

Although Black Star Riders incorporate a nice, slick and oily charm into some of their songs, I feel like I\u2019m sat there waiting for the next Lizzy imitation. \u2018Finest Hour\u2019 has an okay mid-tempo groove which somehow reminds me of a strange mix of The Clash and Elvis Costello \u2013 proof that Warwick and company can stand on its own two feet as a separate entity. There\u2019s also a hint of AC\/DC thrown in the mix; and that\u2019s fine, as I almost expect that with a majority of heavy metal bands. However, when it comes to aping the vocals I tend to lean towards the cringeworthy.<\/p>\n

The Killer Instinct<\/em> is certainly not an improvement on their steady debut album. It\u2019s best moments are good, solid rock \u2019n\u2019 roll numbers, as in the steady \u2018Bullet Blues\u2019 which features some excellent percussion from Jimmy DeGrasso, although there\u2019s still that Lizzy tone throughout.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, the most notable treats are the bluesier toughness of \u2018Charlie I Gotta Go\u2019, which has an AC\/DC fizz at times, while \u2018Blindsided\u2019 is an evocative ballad blessed with some nice acoustic drums. For the most part this is an album all too eager to pinch from Thin Lizzy though, and I\u2019m almost tired of saying it let alone hearing it.<\/p>\n

The Celtic swagger of \u2018Soldierstown\u2019 does have a punk swagger to its Lizzy sway, and so this is also a track that succeeds. The funky \u2018Through The Motions\u2019 sees Warwick once again ape the great Lynott however, and in doing so completely ruins any hint of a decent song, while \u2018Sex, Guns & Gasoline\u2019 fuses the expected traits with Led Zeppelin<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For me, Black Star Riders didn\u2019t have to be original to impress, but so intent are they on continuing the Thin Lizzy legacy that I\u2019m wondering if it might have been better if they\u2019d stuck to the total tribute act scenario. The Killer Instinct<\/em> doesn\u2019t live up to its title; in fact, apart from the actual wording, the mimicry suggests a band now almost completely bereft of cutting edge which has been sacrificed for hero worship. I don\u2019t get it.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BLACK STAR RIDERSThe Killer Instinct Nuclear Blast (2015)Rating: 5\/10 In 2013, Black Star Riders \u2013 formed out of the ashes of Thin Lizzy \u2013 released their decent All Hell Breaks Loose debut. I enjoyed it for what it was, but couldn\u2019t understand why at times it ventured too much into Lizzy territory to the point […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[584],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-black-star-riders"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24716","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24716"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24716\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33115,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24716\/revisions\/33115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}