Buckcherry Bring the Boom with “Roar Like Thunder” — A Raw, Relentless Rock Revival

Review By Glen Parkes

By the time Buckcherry drop their eleventh studio album Roar Like Thunder on June 13, 2025, they’ll have long outlived the hype of their 2006 heyday — and blown straight past it. This latest release is a turbocharged reminder that few bands do sweat-drenched, party-starting, unapologetic hard rock quite like Buckcherry. With their amps cranked and middle fingers raised, Roar Like Thunder is 10 tracks of pure, unfiltered adrenaline — a love letter to loud guitars, primal instincts, and the eternal hunger for the stage.

Frontman Josh Todd remains the band’s firestarter, still packing the vocal snarl and swagger that made 15 a phenomenon. Flanked by guitarists Stevie Dacanay and Billy Rowe, bassist Kelly LeMieux, and the ever-thunderous Francis Ruiz on drums, Buckcherry come off not like a band clinging to past glories, but one redefining what rock resilience really sounds like in 2025.

From the opening title track, “Roar Like Thunder,” the tone is set: it’s a high-octane, pedal-to-the-metal anthem with a rolling riff and a breakneck beat that hits like a storm on wheels. Todd sounds absolutely feral, a rock preacher at the pulpit screaming fire and freedom. It’s a perfect mission statement — and things only escalate from there.

“Come On” delivers the kind of foot-stomping, AC/DC-flavored hook Buckcherry do best, all strut and sleaze with riffs sharp enough to slice steel. “Talkin’ Bout Sex” leans into the band’s signature raunch with enough swagger to make Mötley Crüe blush — sleazy, catchy, and knowingly ridiculous in the best way possible.

“Blackout” slows things just a notch but doesn’t ease off the intensity. Here, the band channels a bluesy grit, dripping in sweat-soaked guitar licks and a sultry rhythm that oozes danger. Then there’s “I Go Boom,” a horn-laced, groove-heavy monster that stands out as one of the most unexpected yet infectious moments of the record — think Buckcherry-meets-Big-Band with a smirk. It’s pure bravado and a little madness, and it works.

Elsewhere, “Machine Gun” lives up to its name, hitting with rapid-fire drumming and razor-wire riffs. “Set It Free” offers a surprising shift in tone — a defiant, uplifting rocker with a soaring chorus that nods toward the band’s more anthemic side. It’s not a ballad, but it has heart, showing there’s more under the hood than just wild nights and power chords.

Perhaps the emotional high point comes with “Hello Goodbye,” a mid-tempo burner that sees Todd reflecting through the rearview mirror with grit and grace. It’s not soft, but it’s vulnerable — a moment of clarity amidst the chaos. As the album moves toward its conclusion, “Let It Burn” brings it all home with a chugging groove and a chorus made for shouting at full volume from festival fields or dive bar floors alike.

Throughout Roar Like Thunder, producer Marti Frederiksen (with his son Evan) once again proves why he’s the go-to guy for big, modern hard rock. The record is polished where it needs to be, raw where it has to be, and bursting with energy. Anthony Focx’s mastering adds a final gloss that ensures this thing sounds massive no matter the speakers.

Lyrically, the themes are unapologetically Buckcherry: sex, rebellion, freedom, lust, frustration, and fire. But even within the clichés of rock’n’roll excess, Todd finds charisma, humor, and enough sharp turns of phrase to keep the tracks from feeling hollow. He sings every line like it’s the last thing he’ll ever say — and that urgency bleeds through every solo, shout, and beat.

In context, Roar Like Thunder isn’t just another Buckcherry record. It arrives on the back of a remarkable second wind: a UK Top 40 album with Hellbound, a victorious Vol. 10, and a celebratory 15 reissue that climbed back up the charts. This new record doesn’t coast on nostalgia — it barrels forward with defiance, as if daring the rock world to catch up.

And while the band might be pushing 30 years since their debut, Roar Like Thunder makes it clear they’re still writing new chapters — and still kicking down the door while doing it.

Final Verdict:
Buckcherry’s Roar Like Thunder is exactly what the title promises: loud, relentless, and bursting with electrified rock’n’roll energy. It may not reinvent the genre — but that’s never been the point. Instead, it reaffirms Buckcherry’s place as one of modern rock’s most enduring live-wire acts. This is no nostalgia trip — it’s a full-throttle statement that proves they’re not just still in the game… they’re still winning it.