BLACK OAK COUNTY

Those who love the straight-ahead, anthemic rock sounds of bands such as NICKELBACK and SHINEDOWN have a new hard rock band to try in BLACK OAK COUNTY. The Danish group makes rollicking, in-your-face hard rock with lots of melody and catchy hooks, so it's radio-ready, much like the aforementioned bands. Their third studio album, appropriately titled "III", takes the group in a more commercial direction than before with its slick production and enduring rock songs.

"III" begins with the angsty "Crossed the Line", offering a guttural, powerful vocal delivery from lead vocalist Niels Beier, thick walls of guitars from Jack Svendsen and heavy rhythms per bass player René Kristensen and drummer Mike Svendsen. The song switches between choppy, rhythmic verses and more melodic, anthemic choruses, which recalls bands such as SEVENDUST, but this is more rock than metal.

Those looking for a SHINEDOWN-like power ballad will find it early on "III" in the heartfelt crooner "Camouflage". Here, Kristensen sings emotively about being in "camouflage" and hiding parts of his broken heart from the world. He almost sounds like Brent Smith of SHINEDOWN with his soaring vocal delivery, and that's a good thing, because the song certainly fits that vocal style.

As the album progresses, BLACK OAK COUNTY's penchant for mixing rhythmic verses with melodic, tuneful choruses continues with "Save Your Breath", "Fire Inside" and "www.Lies". "Boom Boom Baby" is more of a Southern rocker with a definite swag and some resemblance to early BLACK STONE CHERRY and SAVING ABEL.

While "III" is more of a meat-and-potatoes rocker than anything heavy metal, some songs lean on the heavier side, such as "No More" and "Point of No Return", which employ extremely dark and heavy guitars and some of Beier's more abrasive singing.

"Timebomb" sounds like something that could fit on a NICKELBACK record, with huge, catchy guitar riffing, rousing chants and a danceable beat. One of the album's most endearing moments is with closing track "Broken Window", a delicate piano ballad which sees Kristensen emotionally trying to build up and motivate a friend to move forward, or take chances, in life.

While BLACK OAK COUNTY certainly draw influences from arena rockers of the 2000s, they have their own sound and have a slightly rawer, more lo-fi style on "III" than those musical comparisons. As with any budding band, it will be interesting to see what how they develop and evolve into a sound that's all their own.