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Certain bands have that Friday-night vibe. It’s 5 pm on Friday, you’ve just clocked off work and are standing in line to get your wage packet, working out how much money you have to put aside, and how much you can spend getting royally fucked-up.
Once the vibe and the good times start to kick in, all the good intentions about pacing yourself go out the window, and carnage awaits.
AC/DC are the ultimate Friday-night band. No-nonsense, blue-collar rock and roll with heaps of hooky melodies to match the grit. Californian rockers Buckcherry are similar. One of those bands that provides the soundtrack to a good time.
Led by livewire rock n’ roll lifer Josh Todd, the two-time GRAMMY-nominated band have been on a roll of late, with previous albums ‘Hellbound’ (2021) and ‘Vol. 10’ (2023) proving there is more to Buckcherry than simply relying on the past, and ‘Roar Like Thunder’ continues that roll.
The title track launches the album, and it’s a drum-fuelled maelstrom of hard, ballsy rock n’ roll, and thanks to the stellar work of Francis Ruiz behind the kit, there is also a British glam-feel here and there (‘Ballroom Blitz’ with an LA snarl, anyone?). Headfirst into ‘When the Sun Goes Down’ and the tempo from the opener never lets up, so much so that it would make sense for this pair to also open the live show. The guitar work from Stevie Dacanay (aka Stevie D.) and the vastly experienced Billy Rowe (formerly of Jetboy, joined Buckcherry in 2020) sizzles, and the pair have all the hallmarks of a killer guitar partnership.
‘Come On’ is as AC/DC as it gets, without being either AC/DC or Airbourne, and is one of those moments where the volume dial might inexplicably start turning skyward. Simple. Raw. Guttural. It brings a stunning opening trio – that doesn’t even hit a combined ten minutes in length – to a headbanging conclusion.
Is it time to mention founding member Josh Todd? Yeah. Fronting Buckcherry for thirty years now, Todd is in great shape and sounds as strong as ever. On the Aerosmith-tinged ‘Blackout’ (musically it has that Aerosmith swagger, especially the guitars), you can almost taste the sneering menace that Todd brings at times.
‘Set It Free’ is less in-your-face, but still packs a sultry punch that makes it perfect for strip clubs worldwide. Strangely enough, for a band who went stratospheric in 2005 with the insanely catchy monster hit ‘Crazy Bitch’, the only missfire on the album is the sex song. ‘Talkin’ Bout Sex’ seems rushed and feels like it was an afterthought added at the last minute. The full-throttle closing pair of ‘Machine Gun’ and ‘Let It Burn’ are better, and get the album back on track.
An album called ‘Roar Like Thunder’ would never be subtle. It’s not going to be quiet; it’s not going to contain ballads; it’s going to do what it says on the tin: it’s going to roar like thunder. And that’s exactly what Buckcherry do with album number eleven. And they sound like they had an utter blast doing so.
Available June 13th via Earache Records, pre-order HERE.
Review – Dave
Portrait photo credit: Tommy Sommers
Live photo credit: Dave Jamieson
