Black Country Communion - 2
Anglo-American supergroup Black Country Communion have become a phenomenon since the release of their self titled album last year. After playing only two official gigs late in 2010, their followers have been only drip fed until now. The band is just about to embark on a tour of the US and UK and their second album promises to carry on where the first one left off.
From the opening seconds of the first track, 'The Outsider' there is a much heavier feel than the first album. The dirtier sound and hard rocking riff is complimented by Hughes' immaculate vocals and Bonham's thundering drums. The face off between Bonamassa on guitar and Sherinian's keyboards is almost angry and is very reminiscent of the heavier Deep Purple songs. The darker feel continues on the next track 'Man In The Middle', which again has a thunderous rhythm and is filled with energy; the Black Sabbath style chorus is very nice indeed.
The acoustic guitar intro to 'The Battle For Hadrian's Wall' was a bit surprising and the mood change is very welcoming. Very reminiscent of Led Zeppelin (think 'Hangman', Battle Of Evermore' etc). The sound is layered and rich and the diversion works so well.
'Save Me' has a layered intro and has a drifting mood before the solid drums and hard riffing guitar take over. This heavy rock song sees Hughes booming out lungs full of class and the crescendo to the chorus is simply epic. After the classic hard rock of 'Smokestack Woman' and the Southern influenced 'Faithless' with it's 'Kashmir' feel, the intricate, lighter 'An Ordinary Son' takes over. Here, the lighter intro is soon taken over by high energy, driving rock at its best.
Throughout the album, there is more evidence of Sherinian's keyboards and this leads to a heavier and richer all round sound (as compared to the band's first album). The rest of the band all seam to make equal contributions on every song, thus avoiding any power struggles within.
After another relentless hard rock song, 'I Can See Your Spirit', there is the sublime blues track 'Little Secret'. With Bonamassa at the fore with his immaculate playing and Hughes at his emotional best, the song portrays an excellent mood and the result is pure brilliance. After another hard rock and solid heavy rhythm offering with 'Crossfire', Bonamassa features heavily on the album closer 'Cold'. Here he appears to be straining to keep his guitar under control before unleashing some melodic gymnastics from its fret board. This, coupled with Hughes at his impeccable best, is an almost anthemic song and is just colossal.