Album Review: Black Stone Cherry- Magic Mountain

Black Stone Cherry are a band on the rise although to be honest I have been saying this for years. In the UK at least it looks like 'Magic Mountain' is the album that will send them over the top.

Released: May 6th 2014
Chart Peak: 5

Black Stone Cherry are a band at an extremely crucial point in their career. Their extremely loyal following in the UK has assured that they have become THE must see rock act every time they tour. Their Download 2013 headline set on the second stage surely solidified them as future headliners of the whole damn thing. However there's some grumbling in the background as to whether the band have somehow lost their way. The first two albums (their self titled debut and 2008's 'Folklore and Superstition') were laced with heavy southern riffs and some great storytelling lyrics. Some fans were disappointed with the direction of their third album (2011's 'Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea') when the band traded the deep and meaningful tracks like 'Rain Wizard' and 'Ghost of Floyd Collins' for radio ready tracks like 'White Trash Millionaire' and 'Blame It On The Boom Boom'. 'Magic Mountain' has the unenviable job of pleasing the hardcore, old school BSC fans while continuing to challenge for the title of 'Greatest Rock Band on the Planet'. For this Black Stone Cherry fan at least I can happily report that anything and everything I could possibly want from this band is all represented on 'Magic Mountain'.

 If there's one thing that Kentucky's favourite sons do well is pick the perfect track to set the tone for their albums. 'Holding On... To Letting Go' is heavy. The harmonies are there and Chris Robertson's vocals are stronger than ever. You get the sense straight away that you're in safe hands. 'Peace Pipe' and 'Bad Luck & Hard Love' follow in the same trend. However it is 'Peace Pipe' and lead single 'Me And Mary Jane' that highlight a bone of contention some fans have had with this album. Many of the tracks on this album allude to or are blatantly about smoking weed. Those same fans who loved the old fashioned story telling of the first two albums certainly won't or indeed don't enjoy the green smoking, partying version of Black Stone Cherry. Many have unfairly compared them to Nickelback who dropped their early grungy sound in order to sing about shagging and drinking everything in sight. I'm afraid I can't sit in the same camp as these fans when the music is THIS good! 'Me & Mary Jane' is undoubtedly one of the greatest singles in Black Stone Cherry history. Since when did every song written need to have some powerful, meaningful message? Tracks like 'Me & Mary Jane' and 'Fiesta Del Fuego' are the sound of a band having a shitload of fun! It's a band not taking themselves too seriously. Here's a question for you. Why do bands like Black Stone Cherry or Nickelback (hell even Kiss) write songs about rocking out, getting drunk and generally having an awesome time? Because they're ROCKSTARS! Now they're famous all over the world, they're going to enjoy the fruits of their labour and that's what's going to come through in their material.

 Rant over! Anyway the pace is unrelenting with the title track and 'Never Surrender' upping the ante further. It's not until ballad 'Sometimes' that things start to slow down. While 'Runaway' earlier in the album would have fitted quite nicely on their last album, 'Sometimes' sits on this album perfectly and seem perfect for an acoustic section on their live show. It has the poignancy of fan favourite 'Things My Father Said' and could be a showstopper on the next UK tour if they choose to include it. The aforementioned 'Fiesta Del Fuego' is simply awesome but is strictly for the fan who 'blames it on the boom boom'. 'Dance Girl' is somewhat of a sequel of 'Let Me See You Shake' from the previous album at least in terms of lyrical content but 'Hollywood In Kentucky takes more from 'White Trash Millionaire'. The cynicism of 'Millionaire' combined with the laid back BBQ vibe of Nickelback's 'This Afternoon' make this one of the more memorable tracks on the album.

By the time you reach 'Remember Me' I'm sure you'll have made your mind up on 'Magic Mountain'. In some ways they've achieved quite the balance. Tracks like 'Bad Luck & Hard Love' or 'Sometimes' hark back to the Black Stone Cherry of old while 'Me & Mary Jane' and 'Fiesta Del Fuego' show us where the band are now four albums in. No matter whether you like what they write about these days or you don't there is no denying that the band sound as tight and heavy as ever and benefit heavily from Joe Barresi's production. 'Magic Mountain' is the closest the band have ever come to replicating just how amazing they are live and it personally makes me very excited to see them for a 5th time in October this year on their first ever headline tour. Judging that this album broke into the Top 5 in the album charts back in May indicates that 'Magic Mountain' is a rousing success and that when I get to the Motorpoint Arena in Sheffield that the place will be packed to the rafters. Black Stone Cherry have made it and I couldn't be any happier.

9/10

Best Track: Fiesta Del Fuego

Welcome!

Hi all and welcome to the first ever post here at Norris Approved; my latest attempt at a blog. My name is Mike Norris and I live in Durham in the North East of England. It's a pretty awesome place and when I'm not working or generally busy I tend to write. What about? Well anything really... I'm currently attempting to write my first novel which has been in the pipeline for a year or so now. I'm sure I'll find the time to discuss that soon. But when I'm not deep in a world that I created I have a lot to say about certain passions in my life. If you have even a passing interest in any of the following things then maybe you'll get something out of my blog... MUSIC Music (like many of us out there) is my first passion. While I wish to high heaven I could play an instrument I have to make do with simply listening and loving music wherever I can get it. While most people in my neck of the woods splurge all their money on getting pissed every Saturday night, I would be much happier at a live show watching one of my favourite bands. Pretty much anyone who knows me knows that I'm a pretty major Queen fan. Seriously I tend to think I'd do pretty respectable on Mastermind with Queen as my specialty subject. Outside of Queen I sit very much in the hard rock/metal camp. Some of the bands I love and have been lucky enough to see at festivals and gigs include legends like Metallica, AC/DC, Kiss along with future headliners such as Black Stone Cherry, Steel Panther and Airbourne. So what qualifies me to have a blog about music? Well not a fat lot. I had a blog back in 2010 called 'Definitive Hysteria' but I didn't really keep it up as I was training to be a counsellor at the time. Four years later, I'm qualified and that creative part of my brain is flowing again. It helps that 2014 is seeing a huge resurgence in the music I love. Needless to say if you are a fan of rock/metal then this blog is for you. I will sometimes deviate from that but rock will always be my first love. WRESTLING Yes I'm a 28 year old man and I watch wrestling. Yes I'm aware that it's all planned out in advance. That's the joy of it! Do you like 'House of Cards' or 'The Big Bang Theory'? Guess what? They're 'planned out' too. Wrestling when done right is the most exciting thing you can watch live or on TV. Even in the knowledge that WWE is 'fake' (I HATE that word! More on this another time) they can still have me on the edge of my seat with the stories they tell in and out of the ring. Having said that when it's bad it can be excruciating! I have no problem calling WWE/TNA on their cheesy moments too! Some of you may have stumbled upon this and remember that I used to write for Divas of Destruction a few years back; a website dedicated to women's wrestling in WWE, TNA and beyond. Among various bits and bobs I used to review TNA Impact Wrestling (back when the Knockouts rocked) and NXT Season 3 (AJ Lee and Kaitlyn started out here) so it'd be fun to share my thoughts on wrestling once again. MOVIES/TV I graduated from uni in 2007 with a degree in TV and Radio Production. I haven't really done anything with this qualification since then but that doesn't mean I won't touch on film/TV a bit now and then. If I'd had this blog set up a couple of weeks ago I would have had a lot to say about the 'How I Met Your Mother' finale for example. So yeah I'll no doubt touch on this too. So thst's what to expect from Norris Approved Album Reviews. I may even post a video or two. The dream would be a podcast but we'll start here. Needless to say please spread the word and more importantly let me know what you want to see here. If there's anything you want me to talk about; email me. If there's something you want my views on; tweet me @norrisapproved. If there's a gig you want to hear about buy me tickets... I'm only half joking about that gig thing. So whether this lasts 5 posts or 5000 let's ride this out and rock on! Mike