BLACK STONE CHERRY's CHRIS ROBERTSON: 'We're A Lot More Than Just A Rock And Roll Band'

In a new interview with "Paltrocast" host Darren Paltrowitz, Chris Robertson of Kentucky rockers BLACK STONE CHERRY was asked how he feels about the "southern rock" tag that is sometimes attached to his band. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We're just BLACK STONE CHERRY, man. We float through so many different stylistic kind of vibes. If you go back through our catalog, there's stuff that could touch on the fence of metal, there's stuff that could touch on the fence of country, and then there's this whole big pot of all kinds of shit that we like to throw together in the middle.

"Yeah, we're southern," he continued. "Listen [to] me. I obviously don't sound like you; it's [people from] New York and Kentucky [talking to each other] here. I think it's an age-old thing, man, of we're a rock band from the northernmost part of the South, essentially. We're in Kentucky; we're more Ohio Valley than South, really.

"Hell, I don't know. I talk like I talk, I'm from where I'm from, but at the end of the day, I like BLACK STONE CHERRY just being classified as good music. If that's what you think, and if you think it's shit music, classify it as that. But it's music for any kind of feeling. At the end of the day, you're putting yourself in a box; it only does that. So we've never said, 'We're this kind of band' or 'We're this kind of band.' At the heart of it, we're a rock and roll band, but we're a lot more than just a rock and roll band at the same time. And there's nothing wrong with being just a rock and roll band. AC/DC is the greatest rock and roll band that ever did exist, and they do it in a way that nobody can fuck with them when they do it.

"I don't know, man," he repeated. "I love the approach when bands do all kinds of different stuff. But then at the same time, I wanna hear METALLICA do '72 Seasons'. Their new record is exactly what we've all been wanting METALLICA to do. But at the same time, what if [LED] ZEPPELIN would have only done '[Led] Zeppelin I' and never experimented and got to 'In Through The Our Door'? You would have never heard 'The Crunge' or you would have never heard 'Fool In The Rain' or any of those iconic songs that were less of a rock song and more of just a great song.

"So, I guess that's a really, really long-winded way of saying we're a band that loves great music."

BLACK STONE CHERRY will release its eighth studio album, "Screamin' At The Sky", on September 29 via Mascot Records. The opus will be available in white solid vinyl, limited edition vinyl boxset, CD and digitally.

Chris Robertson (lead vocals/guitar),Ben Wells (guitar/backing vox) and John-Fred Young (drums/backing vox) are joined for the first time on an album recording by "new" bassist Steve Jewell Jr. (ex-OTIS). The band's fanbase will be more than familiar with Steve, as he has been touring with BLACK STONE CHERRY in 2021.

"Screamin' At The Sky" features all-new material written collaboratively while on tour, but when it came time to record, BLACK STONE CHERRY decided to try something it's always dreamed of doing: tracking an album at The Plaza Theater in Glasgow, Kentucky — a legendary 1020-seat venue built in 1934 that boasts meticulous acoustics.

BLACK STONE CHERRY's last album, "The Human Condition", released in October 2020 was their sixth consecutive No. 1 debut on the U.K. Rock Albums chart.

Photo credit: Jimmy Fontaine