Writing an album recommendation for the latest Black Star Riders album seems a bit absurd and probably a bit pointless. “Heavy Fire” which was released on 3rd February via Nuclear Blast Entertainment ended up at number 6 in the UK album charts as well as topping the rock charts and hitting number 3 in the vinyl chart. Chances are therefore that most people reading this will already have a copy of the album! But just in case...here we are!!
On the Friday NI Rocks Show on 3rd Feb there was a short promo interview with the band that was provided to me. I’ve also played the tracks “When The Night Comes In” (25th Nov, 16th Dec, 3rd Feb), “Testify or Say Goodbye” (13th Jan, 3rd Feb) and “Heavy Fire” (10th Feb). You can guarantee that more will be featured very soon.
“Heavy Fire” is the third album from Black Star Riders, following on from “All Hell Breaks Loose” in 2013 and “The Killer Instinct” in 2015. The origins of the band and association with Thin Lizzy are well documented. With each album, the Black Star Riders have fortified their own particular sound. The Thin Lizzy influence will always be there, and why would you want it not to be?! But ultimately the Black Star Riders sound is the product of all the members. Listening to the album, there are a couple of tracks that you could imagine Phil Lynott singing, but more that you couldn’t. No doubt there’ll be a few social media music experts / trolls who will continue to criticise, but I imagine that the band pay them little heed!
Black Star Riders are Ricky Warwick on vocals and guitar, Scott Gorham and Damon Johnson on guitar, Robert Crane on bass and Jimmy DeGrasso on drums.
There are 10 tracks on the album – in addition to the three that I’ve already included on the Show, my favourites would include “Dancing With The Wrong Girl”, “Who Rides The Tiger” and “Cold War Love”.
Check out the website at http://blackstarriders.com/
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The band are on tour in March, playing 16 dates across the UK & Ireland. For the first five dates they are supported by Scottish rockers Gun and The Amorettes. For the remaining shows it is Swedish band Backyard Babies with Gun on the remaining 11 shows.
Dates for Black Star Riders 2017 UK & Ireland Tour are:
W/ Gun and The Amorettes (below)
Thursday 2nd March Tramshed, Cardiff
Friday 3rd March William Aston Hall, Wrexham
Saturday 4th March Academy, Dublin
Sunday 5th March Limelight, Belfast
Tuesday 7th March Ironworks, Inverness
W/ Backyard Babies and Gun (below)
Wednesday 8th March O2 ABC, Glasgow
Thursday 9th March O2 ABC, Glasgow
Friday 10th March O2 Academy, Newcastle
Saturday 11th March O2 Academy, Leeds
Sunday 12th March O2 Ritz, Manchester
Tuesday 14th March Rock City, Nottingham
Wednesday 15th March UEA, Norwich
Thursday 16th March O2 Academy Bristol
Friday 17th March O2 Kentish Town Forum, London
Saturday 18th March O2 Institute, Birmingham
Sunday 19th March O2 Academy, Bournemouth
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About “NI Rocks Recommends”
The simple idea behind “NI Rocks Recommends” is to acknowledge and promote some of the great music being submitted to Rock Radio NI. I'll not be giving marks or ratings or analyzing the tracks in great detail; just telling you something about the artist and the album. It’s a personal recommendation to go check something out, not a traditional “review”!
My musical tastes cover most things rock; from the not too melodic to the not too heavy. The albums that I’ll be recommending are those that you’ll hear me playing tracks from on my shows on Rock Radio NI.
Check out NI Rocks on Facebook – www.facebook.com/NIRocks or Twitter - www.twitter.com/NIrelandRocks
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