BLACKRAIN

HOT ROCK TIME MACHINE

REVIEWER – GRAEME WRIGHT

Those with long memories will remember me raving about BlackRain’s previous album ‘Untamed’ back in 2022. It ultimately ended up on my top five list of the year and I’ve really been looking forward to the release of their follow up album ‘Hot Rock Time Machine’. The big question would be could they match the quality of that release which was jam packed full of great songs. Well, wonder no more because this is another crackerjack record full of gloriously huge feel-good songs in the style of all the bands you know and love from the eighties. The ace in the hole for me with regard to this band is frontman Swan Hellion. His voice is pitch perfect for this kind of music and he is totally unlike any other vocalist in the genre.

There are ten songs on display here and there isn’t a duff one amongst them. From opener ‘Overloaded’ which drips with the sweat of eighties excess through to album closer ‘Dead Boy’ with it’s heavy bass line and a huge chorus this album is one hell of a ride. The production is absolutely top drawer, never more so than on ‘Baby Shot Me Down’ which is an intense and heavy piece of work that had me punching the air on first listen. ‘Wild Wild Wild’ is further evidence that these boys not only have their finger firmly on the pulse of this style of retro music, they have the ability to drag it kicking and screaming into the twenty first century.

‘She’s In Love’ starts off sounding like an early era Poison record while ‘Nobody But You’ is a classic Rock ballad that starts beautifully and builds to an amazing climax. ‘Dancing On Fire’ sounds like the kind of song I’d be listening to while knocking back shots of Jack Daniels in the Viper rooms, while ‘Young Blood’ is a pitch perfect clap-along commercial monster. ‘Shining Down On You’ is reminiscent of ‘Keep The Faith’ era Bon Jovi, while ‘Revolution’ is easily my favourite song on the entire record, with a massive hook and chorus all wrapped up with some spaghetti western style whistling that left me with a huge grin on my face.

I utterly love this record, I’m a huge fan of this band and the modern day production style that they are now using fits this outfit like a glove. A little bird tells me they are playing a gig in the UK soon and I for one will be freeing my diary in an effort to get out and see them play live. This band are the real deal and deserve your support for flying the Heavy Rock flag proudly with no regret.

BAND

Swan Hellion – Vocals, Guitar

Max 2 – Guitar

Math – Bass

Frank F – Drums

ALBUM TRACK LIST

1. Overloaded

2. Baby Shot Me Down

3. Wild Wild Wild

4. She’s In Love

5. Nobody But You

6. Dancing On Fire

7. Young Blood

8. Shining Down On You

9. Revolution

10. Dead Boy