CD Review - Blue on Black - "Suckin' Out Venom"

Blue on Black describe themselves as purveyors of "Weapons Grade Rock and Renegade Blues" and I might have regarded this as arrogance had it not been for the sleeve note on the CD insert from Ian Gillan (yes, *that* Ian Gillan, the Deep Purple one) which said "Damn These Guys Are Good". So by the time I pressed play on my CD player my expectations were high and I can tell you that I was not disappointed.

The album opens up with the fast paced "Wrecking Ball" and moves smoothly into "Angel on Hold" - after just two tracks I am really enjoying the crisp, clear production of the album with instruments very distinct and the vocals are well up in the mix. I like to be able to hear lyrics clearly and they combine with a great sound that I would describe as "Southern Blues Rock Boogie" just in this case not from Texas but from Cornwall. The CD booklet has the lyrics which are mostly penned by the lead singer and guitarist Keith Howe. I also enjoyed the short comment about each song, nice to get that insight into the ideas and influence behind the song.

The band has recently had a line-up change with a new drummer Chris Edmondson and new bassist Paul Arnott. Their clearly happened at different points during the recording of the album. Paul's bass style is distinctly different to the previous bassist Steve Jones - both very good, but I have to admit to having a personal preference to Paul's style. In particular, it makes the tracks "Slow Fuse" and "Sweet Little Bucket Seat" my favourites on the album. The former is an instrumental and moves seamlessly into the latter, they could almost be one track just with a long intro!

Keith's guitar and vocals are strong and varied throughout the whole album. Quite simply, this is a band with a great sound and if you have never heard them then if you like bands like ZZ top, Thin Lizzy, Gary Moore then you will love Blue on Black.

I think the description the band use themselves - Weapons Grade Rock and Renegade Blues - is accurate and in places this album does deliver some very profound explosions. At the same time, it delivers blues rock more subtly, for example, "Yankee Dollar" and "Pacific Coast Highway" the latter being a superb instrumental. I can only imagine that live Blue on Black are explosive - they've supported Deep Purple and many other big names. This is one band I will definitely make the effort to go and see - luckily I have extended family in Wadebridge, Cornwall where they seem to play quite often.

Simon J. Gledhill - for www.stillgigging.com - 14th Feb 2010

Blue on Black's website addresses are www.blueonblack.co.uk and on myspace they are blueonblackuk