DOOMRIDERS

DOOMRIDERS is a project consisting of Nate Newton (CONVERGE, OLD MAN GLOOM),Jebb Riley (THERE WERE WIRES, DISAPPEARER),Chris Pupecki (CAST IRON HIKE),and Chris Bevalaqua (HALLRAKER). You're probably thinking to yourself, "just what we need, a hardcore/noisecore super group". Well, guess again because "Black Thunder" is diesel-fueled hard rock and metal for long-haired, whiskey drinkin' hell raisers, most of whom have owned a MOTÖRHEAD shirt at some point in their lives. The badass cover art should have given you some indication that "Black Thunder" is not made up of breakdowns and dissonant chords.

Heavier than your standard "hard rock" album (however one may define it),"Black Thunder" is powered by Kurt Ballou's smoke-belching, blast furnace of a sound mix that brings to mind any number of ENTOMBED albums, as well as HIGH ON FIRE's "Blessed Black Wings". I didn't know he had it in him. The steel-belted treatment gives these songs an extra dose of whup-ass. Right off the bat, the title track comes barreling down the tracks with a combination of old school MOTÖRHEAD spiced with THIN LIZZY twin-guitar harmonies. As a matter of fact, you'll hear those LIZZY leads on several tracks. The highlights are many. "Ride or Die" is an up-tempo rocker with a killer shout chorus that hits when the instrumentation drops out, while "Midnight Eye" is a bit more tuneful with a DANZIG vibe (mostly the vocal parts). The MOTÖRHEAD action returns on speedster "Worthless". A frantic mix of punk anxiety and southern sludge/doom groove hits with quick decisiveness on the deeply philosophical "Fuck This Shit". Blues slivers are embedded in a few tracks (namely "Voice of Fire"). The album closes with a slower, stoner-esque tune called "Sirens".

Here's one to show the Hot Topic kids what a big boot up the ass feels like. Now wipe off that eyeliner and give this one a listen.