BLACK ROSE
“WTF”
Album Review by Iron Mathew

9/10

Black Rose are a heavy metal band from the UK forming in 1980, right at the start of the NWOBHM evolution. The band released two albums during the mid eighties – ‘Boys Will Be Boys’ (1984) and ‘Walk It How You Talk It’ (1987), before splitting up in 1989. Reforming to play at the 2011 Cradle Of Rock Festival, the band released their third album ‘Cure For Your Disease’ in 2012. With the four piece band now featuring three of its original members – Steve Bardsley (vocals, guitars), Kenny Nicholson (guitars) and Paul Fowler (drums), along with bass player Kiko Rivers – Black Rose will unleash their fourth album ‘WTF’ in 2022…

…an incredible thirty eight years after their debut! Clocking in at nearly an hour in length, ‘WTF’ is twelve songs of traditional, British heavy metal. Black Rose launch the album with the heavy bluster of ‘Crazy Mental Bad’, an atmospheric and tension building intro leading into a mid tempo mid paced foot stomp – or so the band would have you believe! For a change of gear sees ‘Crazy Mental Bad’ power on at a fair rate of knots, planting feet firmly on the monitor. And the sound of traditional heavy metal blended with the iconic NWOBHM is, and always will be, a damn glorious sound. An energy boost suddenly resonates from the album, with ‘Devils Candy’ marching on with a much heavier feel than the previous song – Black Rose pounding the pavement with enough force to open a massive crack in the concrete, tarmac, asphalt, brick, or whatever substance is used these days! It doesn’t really matter, ’cause the band will break through whatever obstacles stand in their way!

Now, the title song ‘WTF’ – I really doubt it stands for “Wednesday, Thursday, Friday”, “where’s the food”, or indeed “where’s the fire”. It’s more likely to stand for “what the fuck”, which the band prove me right with a glorious sing a long come chant style chorus. So if you don’t like vulgarity, turn off now – otherwise, join me in chanting (very loudly) “what the fuck”. The band ploughing on with their brand of infectious and heavy, highly melodic, old school flavoured heavy metal. ‘WTF’ (the song) is so catchy, you’d place it alongside bands such as Saxon, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden (and yes, I do realise I have chosen all British bands). Even catchier is ‘Pain’, an up tempo swagger of foot on the monitor metal that’ll attract many hard rock fans to the album, Black Rose creating a party style atmosphere across the chorus break. Such sing a long ability is insane! An almighty anthemic foot stomp descends on the album as ‘Innocence’ marches on with a majestic purpose and intent. And the glorious guitar sound of the iconic NWOBHM evolution – which the band were a part of remember – makes its weighty presence felt. Black Rose not forgetting their roots.

With an upturn in both pace and tempo, the band explode into life with ‘Detonator’ – a high speed heavy metal assault, yet manage to lose none of their massive melodic edge. ‘Detonator’ proving the band can speed down the highway as well as leisurely drive around the country. Oh the sound of old school traditional metal is a fantastic sound, with the guitars for ‘Under My Skin’ straight outta the eighties. ‘Under My Skin’ maintains the recent upsurge in pace and tempo, mixing in the glory and epic styles of metal to produce a sound akin to what the offspring of a Saxon, Sabaton affair would sound like! ‘Twist The Knife’ becomes the fastest song on offer, the band kicking the tires and lighting the fires for an extra burst of speed – ‘Twist The Knife’ a cracking slice of fast paced traditional, heavy metal. With a title more associated to the glam/sleaze metal genre, ‘Tattoos & Lipstick’ is a chunky rampage of high energy heavy metal with an infectious level that is simply off the charts. Black Rose laid the foundations at the albums beginning with high levels of energy, oomph and bombast – and as ‘WTF’ (the album) has progressed, these levels have just got higher and higher. The band not relenting with their unabashed, and unashamedly old school approach.

Introducing elements of hard rock and boogie – yes, you read that right – the band rock ‘n’ roll on with the delightful ‘Never Take Me Alive’, spreading the bands sound to a much wider audience than ever before. But I’m so impressed by the up front and in your face intensity that Black Rose have imposed since the album began – it’s just incredible! And for the first time, the band deliver a more modern sound with ‘Broken’. Deviating a little from the classic sound of traditional metal, ‘Broken’ wanders perilously close to genres such as rock, classic rock, and err, ahem, Grunge! But even though you can detect the change in the bands sound, ‘Broken’ doesn’t sound out of place, just progression and growth, which is as natural as breathing. So kudos Black Rose, kudos. The final song on offer ‘Armageddon’, is a return to the all out pace and power of the bands root sound – foot on the monitor styled traditional heavy metal. With a very high melodious intent, ‘Armageddon’ is insanely infectious, with the most energised sing a long nature of any song on offer. What a great ending to a very good album.

Overall, straight out of the top drawer, Black Rose deliver traditional heavy metal with gusto and high levels of energy.

TRACKLIST

Crazy Mental Bad
Devils Candy
WTF
Pain
Innocence
Detonator
Under My Skin
Twist The Knife
Tattoos & Lipstick
Never Take Me Alive
Broken
Armageddon

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