BLACK STAR RIDERS - The Killer Instinct

It was in 2012 that Black Star Riders was formed by four members of Thin Lizzy – Scott Gorham, lead vocalist/guitarist Ricky Warwick, co-lead guitarist Damon Johnson and bassist Marco Mendoza – plus former Megadeth and Alice Cooper drummer Jimmy DeGrasso. The band’s debut album »All Hell Breaks Loose« was released in 2013, and drew widespread acclaim in Classic Rock, MOJO, Metal Hammer and Kerrang!

Thin Lizzy is in the DNA of Black Star Riders. That much is undeniable: and for Scott Gorham, especially so. In Black Star Riders – in the partnership between Gorham and Damon Johnson – a part of Thin lIzzy`s sound lives on. “That mystical, legendary twin-guitar thing,” as Johnson calls it. But as Warwick says: “We know who we are. We want to move forward and find our own way, our own sound. It’s important to us to retain the spirit and the soul of Thin Lizzy. We’ll always have that because Scott’s in the band.

Gorham puts it very simply: “Black Star Riders is its own thing. You just have to power ahead and write what you write and not have to think about history.”

The Killer Instinct was recorded at Rock Falcon, the studio in Nashville, Tennessee, owned by Nick Raskulinecz. The whole album was cut in 21 days, but after All Hell Breaks Loose was done in just 12 days, that extra time proved beneficial. “But with this album,” Gorham explains, “we could do a basic track, sit back, think about it, work on additional parts, and then lay ’em in there.”

'Soldierstown' is also an example of the depth that Ricky Warwick brings to Black Star Riders in his lyrics. The subject of this song is terrorism – for the Northern Ireland-born singer, a subject of profound personal significance. Warwick says: “The scenario in 'Soldierstown' is one that has happened so many times in history, and it still happens now. Terrorists come to a house and say: ‘Give up your strongest son, he has to go and fight.’ There’s that expression: »you lose a finger to save a hand.«

The album as a whole is a defining statement. Above all else, The Killer Instinct proves that Black Star Riders is a classic rock band in its own right.

“We’ve come a long way in two years,” Gorham says. “And you’ve got to feel good about that. I trust these guys with my life. We’re like brothers, and that’s a big thing in a band. When you have that trust in each other, that’s when you’ve got a fucking great combination.”