{"id":35081,"date":"2015-08-21T00:00:22","date_gmt":"2015-08-21T00:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=35081"},"modified":"2015-08-22T17:26:41","modified_gmt":"2015-08-22T17:26:41","slug":"album-review-buckcherry-rock-n-roll","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-buckcherry-rock-n-roll\/","title":{"rendered":"BUCKCHERRY – Rock \u2018N\u2019 Roll (2015) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

BUCKCHERRY
Rock \u2018N\u2019 Roll<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nF-Bomb (2015)<\/span>
Rating: 9\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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After the riotous Fuck EP<\/em><\/a> (2014), I was once again left gagging for another dose of Buckcherry; one of the only modern rock \u2019n\u2019 roll bands I can actually tolerate. Indeed, of all the contemporary rock bands I\u2019ve loved, Buckcherry remains one of the only ones still intact; Brides Of Destruction, Young Heart Attack and Beautiful Creatures all fizzling out to make way for the tepid strains of Sixx A.M. and the like.<\/p>\n

Downright raw, raucous rebellion seems to be the one ingredient missing from the current scene, with countless bands eager to ape the past but bereft of energy, passion and attitude. And so it\u2019s always good to get slapped round the face by another Buckcherry record, Rock \u2018N\u2019 Roll<\/em> being the seventh full-length chapter in this band\u2019s well-inked and sweaty career.<\/p>\n

If ever there\u2019s a band that can serve up an air of familiarity and get away with it, then it\u2019s this Californian troupe. You know that Josh Todd\u2019s voice is going to shred the ears, and you know that the twin guitar attack of Keith Nelson and Stevie D. are going to be equally sleazy, but Buckcherry has that ability to churn out fiery, fizzing and above all solid rock \u2019n\u2019 roll \u2013 something sorely missing in a world of pretenders.<\/p>\n

And so with \u2018Bring It On Back\u2019 Buckcherry introduces its new composition, but instead of immediately going for the throat, they grind slow, deep and hard. \u2018Bring It On Back\u2019 is akin to entering a strip club bathed in red lights where the girls are slowly swirling and jigging. The riff is slow and heavy, the drums nod with edginess and as a whole the band are prowling like a caged animal awaiting to burst from its shackles as Josh Todd tells us \u201cI know the outcome, I\u2019ll be the first one at the end\u201d<\/em>. And he\u2019s right, because it doesn\u2019t matter what straight down the line, balls to the wall rock \u2019n\u2019 roll formula Buckcherry comes up with, we\u2019ll always be by their side like a salivating customer returning to his favourite lap-dancer. \u2018Bring It On Back\u2019 has a sprawling, anthemic chorus built upon a foundation of Kelly LeMieux\u2019s bass, Xavier Muriel\u2019s hammering percussion and the other tried-and-tested ingredients which so many bands would kill for.<\/p>\n

Of course, there will always be those \u2013 including myself \u2013 gagging for the days when \u2018Crazy Bitch\u2019 (from 2005\u2019s 15<\/em><\/a>) had us partying until the cows came home, but the quintet must have known what we were thinking because \u2018Tight Pants\u2019 just happens to be the sequel to \u2018Crazy Bitch\u2019. Strewn with horns it\u2019s a funked-up, soulful and above all danceable tune which will no doubt come accompanied by a controversial video, because when Todd barks, \u201cI like the way that you bust at the seams when you wiggle that thing\u201d<\/em>, one can only envisage some curvaceous female soul cavorting to the latest Buckcherry classic.<\/p>\n

For me, this is a band whose spirit and energy epitomises everything rock \u2019n\u2019 roll should be about. Brimming with cheekiness, sexuality, arrogance and of course attitude, Todd and company inject all of these qualities into a batch of excellent rock songs. With \u2018Tight Pants\u2019 there\u2019s almost a hint of Aerosmith with extra balls, and yet with \u2018Wish To Carry On\u2019 we find the band emotionally abrasive; again offering up a sprawling sound of pensive percussion and aching guitar harmonies.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no contemporary band better than Buckcherry at marrying soulful and hard-edged rock, and nowhere is this more apparent than with the sublime \u2018The Feeling Never Dies\u2019; an aching, melancholic semi-ballad where Todd\u2019s usual bark is replaced by a sensitive, hurting baying. The music is simple; reflective with that hint of organ and nodding drum. Todd wears his heart on his sleeve \u2013 it\u2019s paraded along with the many tattoos \u2013 but such is the sincerity of the songwriting and musicianship that even when the band becomes reflective it\u2019s still edgy and simmering, and this of course just prepares us for another slab of sleaze.<\/p>\n

However, the mid-section of the opus decides to keep us waiting because \u2018Cradle\u2019 is another brooding number which builds slowly and is threaded by a killer lead. Todd\u2019s vocals are raspier than ever before, leaving one to wonder how his throat can stand the strain. But there\u2019s no respite for the mercurial frontman as the straight up rocker \u2018The Madness\u2019 struts with the confidence we\u2019ve come to expect from the band. Meanwhile, the more subtle \u2018Wood\u2019 is like a calmer sister to \u2018Tight Pants\u2019 but as equally sexual as Todd rasps, \u201cYou\u2019re giving me wood, I really hope you\u2019re in the mood\u201d<\/em>; and as always with Buckcherry we\u2019re always in the mood.<\/p>\n

The combo whips us up into frenzy with the stomping \u2018Sex Appeal\u2019, which follows the gorgeous shuffle of the bluesy \u2018Rain\u2019s Falling\u2019. And with the cascading riff and solo of \u2018Get With It\u2019 stirring us once again, Buckcherry brings us to the sort of climax we just don\u2019t get off any other musical partner.<\/p>\n

It sure is only rock \u2019n\u2019 roll… but we like it, like it, yes, we do.<\/p>\n

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

BUCKCHERRYRock \u2018N\u2019 Roll F-Bomb (2015)Rating: 9\/10 After the riotous Fuck EP (2014), I was once again left gagging for another dose of Buckcherry; one of the only modern rock \u2019n\u2019 roll bands I can actually tolerate. Indeed, of all the contemporary rock bands I\u2019ve loved, Buckcherry remains one of the only ones still intact; Brides […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[492],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-buckcherry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35081","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\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35081"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35081\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35100,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35081\/revisions\/35100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}