Old rockers find their own identity

Black Star Riders,The Tramshed, Cardiff

THE Black Star Riders’ pedigree as a heavy rock band is pretty impressive, understandably so with former members of great and iconic bands such as Thin Lizzy, Ratt, Megadeth and Alice Cooper to name a few.

The Thin Lizzy influence has been very evident on the previous albums with some of the members reforming Lizzy for a special tour to mark 30 years since their lead singer and front man Phil Lynott’s death.

Well established on the scene since 2012 and on the release of their third album Heavy Fire, Black Star Riders visited Cardiff’s Tramshed on the first night of the tour.

The question is, can they move forward from their amazing rock legacy and influences to create their very own formula?

The band opened with the title track to the album Heavy Fire and continued with the heavier sounding Bloodshot.

The catchy Dancing with the Wrong Girl was a standout, as well as the brilliant Testify.

For those Thin Lizzy fans amongst the crowd they were treated to a thunderous version of the classic The Boys are Back in Town along with a couple of Lizzy-sounding originals, Kingdom of the Lost and Bound for Glory.

The packed-out crowd of mainly older fans responded well and very enthusiastically to the dual guitar playing of Scott Gorham and Damon Johnson, while Ricky Warwick commanded the stage, commenting on the loyalty of their fans and encouraging them to purchase the new album rather than streaming it, a nod to the increasing demand in old-school vinyl rather than boring downloads and the Spotify generation.

Black Star Riders play a solid 90 minutes of rock, showing every aspect of their talents. They are not just a band like Thin Lizzy, but with more depth and experience and with a hit album and a full venue it’s very evident to fans young and old that they have found their own identity with a set of melodic, powerful rock songs that establish them well and truly as an excellent band in their own right.

Tony Woolway