Black Star Riders - Bristol Review

As stalwarts of modern classic rock, it is hard to get more authentic than Black Star Riders. While the majority of the band are American, they are a big part of the British rock scene and have been ever since releasing their debut album All Hell Breaks Loose in 2013. The band were formed out of a desire of Scott Gorham's (guitar/vocals) to write new material for Thin Lizzy, who at the time were regularly touring with frontman Ricky Warwick (vocals/guitar) handling the lead vocal duties, but it was ultimately decided that any new material should be released under a new name out of respect of the late Phil Lynott and his legacy. As much as the prospect of a new Thin Lizzy album at the time was an exciting one, I think the decision to morph into Black Star Riders was wise. As a result, the band's material has always been judged on its own merits and the new identity has allowed Black Star Riders to become a successful band in their own right. While the band's setlists usually contained a handful of Thin Lizzy songs, the main focus was always on the band's original material - something that would just not have been possible had All Hell Breaks Loose and the albums that followed it been released as Thin Lizzy records. Black Star Riders have, however, long stepped out of Thin Lizzy's shadow and are already creating a strong legacy for themselves - particularly here in the UK. Thin Lizzy was one of the great British rock bands, so Black Star Riders as Lizzy's spiritual successor has unsurprisingly been accepted with open arms here. It helps that the band have never skimped when it comes to their UK tours. In an era when many bands will just book shows in London, Manchester, and Birmingham; Black Star Riders regularly attempt to cover as much of the UK as they can. I have managed to see the band each time they have toured a new album, with gigs in Bristol, Exeter, and Birmingham coming in 2013, 2015, and 2017 respectively - with a bonus extra show in 2015 when the band opened for Def Leppard and Whitesnake. In order to keep up with their bi-annual tradition of new releases and touring, 2019 saw the release of the band's fourth album Another State of Grace and, true to form, they announced a lengthy UK tour to support it. The Bristol show made the most sense, as it was the closest, and it was also the first night of the tour. First nights of tours are always interesting as they can sometimes feature different setlists from the shows that follow as bands experiment with song choices and arrangements. It would also mean that I would be among a relative handful of people to hear the new Another State of Grace material live - something which was an exciting prospect.

The show was at the ever-reliable O2 Academy in Bristol, and before Black Star Riders took to the stage at 9:30pm the crowd were treated to two strong support slots. The first was from Wayward Sons, fronted by Toby Jepson (vocals/guitars) of Little Angels fame, who are still a relatively new act on the scene. The band's debut album Ghosts of Yet to Come was released back in 2017, and the band have been playing shows (both headline and various support slots) ever since. I saw the band last year opening for Saxon, but only recently started listening to them properly. As such I was looking forward to seeing the band again, and their seven-song set did not disappoint. With the band's second album The Truth Ain't What It Used To Be being released today actually, the band played a 30 minute set that pulled a handful of tracks from each of their albums, which the growing crowed seemed to enjoy. The mid-paced melodic rock of the new tune Any Other Way got the show underway, and included a strong chorus, before some oldies in Don't Wanna Go and Ghost received strong reactions from the crowd - there were clearly more than a few fans in attendance. The band's first album is a raw slab of old-fashioned hard rock, but the newer songs seemed a bit more varied in tone and style. Any Other Way felt a bit more modern, despite the big chorus, whereas Little White Lies felt a little more stripped back and poppy. Jepson's vocals carried everything well however, and Sam Wood (guitar/vocals) did much of the heavy lifting guitar-wise, often launching into bluesy solos to the delight of the crowd. The new single Joke's On You was probably the highlight of the newer numbers, and was the only song in the set to really highlight the keyboard playing of Dave Kemp who impressed with some strong piano playing throughout the piece. His playing was often buried in the mix elsewhere sadly (as indeed is also the case on the band's first album), which was a shame. Following this there was time for one more and Until the End, which is the standout cut on the band's first album for me, rounded everything of nicely. Jepson and Wood teamed up for the song's big riff, and the band even managed to encourage something of a sing-a-long during the chorus. The set was a strong one, and it helped to really set the tone for the rest of the evening. I am looking forward to hearing more from the band, and I will be playing The Truth Ain't What It Used To Be over the coming days. The setlist was:

Any Other Way
Don't Wanna Go
Ghost
Little White Lies
Small Talk
Joke's On You
Until the End

The second of the two support acts was Stone Broken, a band who's star is really on the rise. I first saw the band in the smaller upstairs room at The Asylum in Birmingham back in 2016 opening for The Treatment, and they have come on in leaps and bounds since then. Last year I saw the band headline the opening day of the Steelhouse Festival in Wales, and since then I have become something of a fan. While the band have too much of an American post-grunge influence for me personally, Stone Broken are no doubt a great band and deserve all of the success and plaudits that they are currently getting. The band's nine-song set here was a perfect showcase of their modern hard rock sound, with many of the tracks coming from 2018's strong Ain't Always Easy. The set opened with Stay All Night however, from the recently re-released All in Time, and the hard rocking piece set the tone for the next 40 or so minutes. Rich Moss (vocals/guitar) has a strong voice, and he led the four-piece through a powerful set that showcased most of their best tunes. Heartbeat Away was an early highlight, with a driving riff from Moss and fellow guitarist Chris Davis, while the big emotional chorus of I Believe certainly showcased the influence that bands like Shinedown have had on Stone Broken's music. It was bassist Kieron Conroy's birthday, so Moss led the crowd through a mid-set celebration of this fact - but on the whole there was little room for chat and the band let their music do the talking. The slightly sleazy Let Me See It All was another strong offering, with Robyn Haycock (drums/vocals) setting the strip club groove perfectly, but perhaps the highlight of the latter portion of the set was Wait for You. It is one of the band's signature pieces, and much of it saw Moss alone on the stage armed only with an acoustic guitar. As was the case with Wayward Sons, there were clearly a lot of Stone Broken fans in attendance, as the crowd really helped Moss out with the song's choruses - and even sung one alone which was great to see a support act managing to make happen. The band joined Moss again for the last chorus, and by this point the band had truly won everyone over. There were two songs left, Worth Fighting For and Not Your Enemy, and both were hard-hitting riffy pieces that whipped up some late set energy that helped carry Stone Broken to the finish line. It was a great set from a band who are really going places, and with a bit more of a push and hopefully a stellar third album I would not be surprised to see Stone Broken headlining Academy-type venues in the future. The setlist was:

Stay All Night
Doesn't Matter
Heartbeat Away
I Believe
Let Me See It All
The Only Thing I Need
Wait for You
Worth Fighting For
Not Your Enemy

It is always good when you have had a great night before the headline act even starts their set, but Black Star Riders were about to take things to the next level. Entering the stage with relatively little fanfare, the five-piece instantly roared into the title track of their latest album, and from this point on the energy never let up. Christian Martucci (guitar/vocals), playing his first show with the band, teamed up perfectly with Gorham for the song's twin-guitar harmonies; with Warwick belting out the folk/punk of the chorus perfectly. The band played straight through, without an encore break, and steamed through eighteen songs with ease. Even Gorham having quite a lot of trouble with his guitars and gear did not seem to phase the band, as the energy of the songs and Warwick sometimes turning up his guitar to compensate kept everything going. All four of the band's albums were featured heavily throughout the set, with a good mix of songs being played. The Killer Instinct and All Hell Breaks Loose were impressive early looks back at the band's past; but an early highlight was the strutting Tonight the Moonlight Let Me Down from the new album, with Gorham ripping into a great solo in place of the saxophone offering on the album version. I have enjoyed all of the previous Black Star Riders shows that I have been to, but this was the best of the bunch. The band's current line-up just oozes energy, with relatively-new drummer Chad Szeliga laying down groove after groove and Martucci really attacking his guitar throughout and harmonising well with Warwick vocally. The older songs seemed to be given a new lease of life, with Hey Judas sounding weightier than usual, and Soldierstown racing past like The Pogues/Thin Lizzy mash-up that it is - with Warwick even commenting afterwards on the pace of the piece. There were quieter moments however, with the delicate Why Do You Love Your Guns? from the new album that saw Warwick armed with his acoustic guitar and some excellent soloing from both Gorham and Martucci, which was then followed up by the gorgeous Blindsided. Blindsided is probably my favourite Black Star Riders ballad, and it was great to hear the song live again. It really showcases Warwick as a singer and lyricist, and Martucci's soaring solo was the perfect compliment to his talents. These two songs made for a nice mid-set change of pace, but the hard rocking energy was soon back in force with the tough riffing of Gorham's Bloodshot and the newer Ain't the End of the World kicking things up to the next gear. The end of the set was approaching at this point, so it was time for the real favourites to be wheeled out. Dancing With the Wrong Girl, one of the best efforts from 2017's Heavy Fire, impressed again with its laid-back grooves, before then anthemic Finest Hour drew a big cheer from the crowd. It was left to two songs from the first album to finish things off however, with the hard rocking folk of Kingdom of the Lost and the band's debut single Bound for Glory really ending thing on a high. These two songs felt like something of a victory lap after the powerful set that had preceded them, and the band took their bows to huge cheers at the end. It was a stunning set, and hopefully the band will take this energy with them throughout the rest of the tour. The setlist was:

Another State of Grace
The Killer Instinct
All Hell Breaks Loose
Testify or Say Goodbye
Tonight the Moonlight Let Me Down
Ticket to Rise
Hey Judas
In the Shadow of the War Machine
Soldierstown
Why Do You Love Your Guns?
Blindsided
Bloodshot
Ain't the End of the World
When the Night Comes In
Dancing With the Wrong Girl
Finest Hour
Kingdom of the Lost
Bound for Glory

After the show the guys from Stone Broken did a signing at the merch desk, so I got my copy of Ain't Always Easy signed which was nice. I also broke and decided to buy a Black Star Riders shirt. I had not planned to, as I have bought a few new shirts recently, but the show was so good that I decided I needed the shirt to go with it! It was a stunning set from the band, and one that made up for missing them last year when I bailed early on the Steelhouse Festival due to the horrendous weather. Interestingly, there was not a Thin Lizzy track in sight during the band's set and, now four albums in, that is how things should be.