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Over six previous albums, Kentucky's Black Stone Cherry continued to prove that their hoary hybrid of Southern rock, grunge, post-metal, and hard rock remains vital. The Human Condition underscores their deserved reputation as the brotherhood of Southern swamp metal, but there is immense growth in their creative process. Previously, BSC's recording process always involved cutting basic tracks while playing live on the studio floor. Working in bassist Jon Lawhon's Monocle Studios, the band did a 180: For the first time ever, they meticulously multi-tracked every note and sound. The sonic detail is indeed expansive, but the group sacrificed none of their power or swagger. They also felt a sense of urgency; while recording, the COVID-19 pandemic was spreading exponentially, and they undertook marathon sessions to complete the record. They finished days before the world shut down. The result is a startlingly fresh-sounding BSC album.
Opener "Ringin' in My Head" offers muted feedback and dissonance before a bone-crunching guitar riff introduces the melody. Though written years ago, its lyrics are oddly prescient: "People people, your attention please/I need to tell all y'all about a new disease/it's crept right up from beneath our nose...I got a ringin' in my head/My bones are shakin'...I can feel it in my chest...The whole world's been shaken." The jam welds shattering grunge to metal as vocalist Chris Robertson sounds the alarm. "Push Down & Turn" offers scorching swamp metal. Robertson wails about his struggles with bipolar disorder and the band protects him with a maelstrom of overdriven riffs, chugging bass, and John Fred Young's thundering kick drums. "When Angels Learn to Fly" and "In Love with the Pain" are both exercises in the kind of anthemic AOR stadium rock balladry employed by bands such as 38 Special and the Outlaws. The muscular, dynamic production frames infectious, melodic hooks, vulnerable lyrics, and chiming group choruses. The metallic psych in "The Chain" channels Soundgarden in the best possible way. "If My Heart Had Wings" melds Dobro, electric guitars, piano, synth strings, and majestic processional drumming as Robertson heartbreakingly confesses his shortcomings in a relationship strained to the breaking point. BSC's customary inclusion of a classic cover remains in a noisy, slamming, irresistible read of ELO's "Don't Bring Me Down," offered with impeccable backing vocals and the filthiest bass line Lawhon has yet recorded. On "Devil in Your Eyes," Ben Wells channels Sonny Landreth's slide guitar sound before raging into dark, swirling Pearl Jam-esque hard rock. "Keep On Keepin' On" had to close the set. Despite its fist-pumping riff and hard rock vamp, the lyrical melody and group refrain return us to the tragic uncertainty of the present: "When everything that's good is gone, got to keep on keepin' on." The Human Condition's polished production might startle, but it's key to the band's most adventurous, mature, and finely wrought album to date, hands down.
© Thom Jurek /TiVo
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Black Stone Cherry, Producer, MainArtist - Ben Wells, Composer - Chris Robertson, Composer, Lyricist - John Fred Young, Composer - Jonathan Lawhon, Composer - Henry Clark Music, MusicPublisher - SoundShelterMusic (SESAC), MusicPublisher - Subharmonic Songs, MusicPublisher - StellaSongs, MusicPublisher
2021 Mascot Label Group/Mascot Records 2021 Mascot Label Group/Mascot Records
Black Stone Cherry, Producer, MainArtist - Ben Wells, Composer - Chris Robertson, Composer, Lyricist - John Fred Young, Composer - Jonathan Lawhon, Composer - Henry Clark Music, MusicPublisher - SoundShelterMusic (SESAC), MusicPublisher - Subharmonic Songs, MusicPublisher - StellaSongs, MusicPublisher
2021 Mascot Label Group/Mascot Records 2021 Mascot Label Group/Mascot Records
Black Stone Cherry, Producer, MainArtist - Ben Wells, Composer - Chris Robertson, Composer, Lyricist - John Fred Young, Composer - Jonathan Lawhon, Composer - Henry Clark Music, MusicPublisher - SoundShelterMusic (SESAC), MusicPublisher - Subharmonic Songs, MusicPublisher - StellaSongs, MusicPublisher
2021 Mascot Label Group/Mascot Records 2021 Mascot Label Group/Mascot Records
Black Stone Cherry, Producer, MainArtist - Ben Wells, Composer - Chris Robertson, Composer, Lyricist - John Fred Young, Composer - Jonathan Lawhon, Composer - Henry Clark Music, MusicPublisher - SoundShelterMusic (SESAC), MusicPublisher - Subharmonic Songs, MusicPublisher - StellaSongs, MusicPublisher
2021 Mascot Label Group/Mascot Records 2021 Mascot Label Group/Mascot Records
Black Stone Cherry, Producer, MainArtist - Ben Wells, Composer - Chris Robertson, Composer, Lyricist - John Fred Young, Composer - Jonathan Lawhon, Composer - Henry Clark Music, MusicPublisher - SoundShelterMusic (SESAC), MusicPublisher - Subharmonic Songs, MusicPublisher - StellaSongs, MusicPublisher
2021 Mascot Label Group/Mascot Records 2021 Mascot Label Group/Mascot Records
Black Stone Cherry, Producer, MainArtist - Ben Wells, Composer - Chris Robertson, Composer, Lyricist - John Fred Young, Composer - Jonathan Lawhon, Composer - Stephen Styles, Composer - Henry Clark Music, MusicPublisher - SoundShelterMusic (SESAC), MusicPublisher - Subharmonic Songs, MusicPublisher - StellaSongs, MusicPublisher - Stephen Styles Music (BMI), MusicPublisher - Sugar D Music (SESAC)/A Million Moons Music (SESAC), MusicPublisher - Scot Lindsey, Composer
2021 Mascot Label Group/Mascot Records 2021 Mascot Label Group/Mascot Records
Black Stone Cherry, Producer, MainArtist - Ben Wells, Composer - Chris Robertson, Composer, Lyricist - John Fred Young, Composer - Jonathan Lawhon, Composer - Henry Clark Music, MusicPublisher - SoundShelterMusic (SESAC), MusicPublisher - Subharmonic Songs, MusicPublisher - StellaSongs, MusicPublisher
2021 Mascot Label Group/Mascot Records 2021 Mascot Label Group/Mascot Records
Richard Young, Composer - Black Stone Cherry, Producer, MainArtist - Ben Wells, Composer - Chris Robertson, Composer, Lyricist - John Fred Young, Composer - Jonathan Lawhon, Composer - Henry Clark Music, MusicPublisher - SoundShelterMusic (SESAC), MusicPublisher - Subharmonic Songs, MusicPublisher - StellaSongs, MusicPublisher - Them Young Boys Music (ASCAP) admin by BMG/Bug Music, MusicPublisher
2021 Mascot Label Group/Mascot Records 2021 Mascot Label Group/Mascot Records
Blair Daly, Composer - Richard Young, Composer - Black Stone Cherry, Producer, MainArtist - Ben Wells, Composer - Chris Robertson, Composer, Lyricist - John Fred Young, Composer - Jonathan Lawhon, Composer - Henry Clark Music, MusicPublisher - SoundShelterMusic (SESAC), MusicPublisher - Subharmonic Songs, MusicPublisher - StellaSongs, MusicPublisher - Them Young Boys Music (ASCAP) admin by BMG/Bug Music, MusicPublisher - 2020 Internal Combustion Music/Southside Independent Music Publishing/Kickin Grids Music/Music of one77 (BMI), MusicPublisher
2021 Mascot Label Group/Mascot Records 2021 Mascot Label Group/Mascot Records
Jeff Lynne, Composer, Lyricist - Black Stone Cherry, Producer, MainArtist - EMI Blackwook Music Inc., MusicPublisher
2021 Mascot Label Group/Mascot Records 2021 Mascot Label Group/Mascot Records
Trey Bruce, Composer - Black Stone Cherry, Producer, MainArtist - Ben Wells, Composer - Chris Robertson, Composer, Lyricist - John Fred Young, Composer - Jonathan Lawhon, Composer - Henry Clark Music, MusicPublisher - SoundShelterMusic (SESAC), MusicPublisher - Subharmonic Songs, MusicPublisher - StellaSongs, MusicPublisher - Nouveau World Music/Roynet Music (ASCAP), MusicPublisher
2021 Mascot Label Group/Mascot Records 2021 Mascot Label Group/Mascot Records
Black Stone Cherry, Producer, MainArtist - Ben Wells, Composer - Chris Robertson, Composer, Lyricist - John Fred Young, Composer - Jonathan Lawhon, Composer - Marti Frederikson, Composer - Henry Clark Music, MusicPublisher - SoundShelterMusic (SESAC), MusicPublisher - Subharmonic Songs, MusicPublisher - StellaSongs, MusicPublisher - Rock N Out Music (BMI), MusicPublisher
2021 Mascot Label Group/Mascot Records 2021 Mascot Label Group/Mascot Records
Dave Bassett, Composer - Black Stone Cherry, Producer, MainArtist - Ben Wells, Composer - Chris Robertson, Composer, Lyricist - John Fred Young, Composer - Jonathan Lawhon, Composer - Henry Clark Music, MusicPublisher - Know Your Writes (ASCAP), MusicPublisher - SoundShelterMusic (SESAC), MusicPublisher - Subharmonic Songs, MusicPublisher - StellaSongs, MusicPublisher
2021 Mascot Label Group/Mascot Records 2021 Mascot Label Group/Mascot Records
Tracy Chapman, Composer, Lyricist - Copyright Control, MusicPublisher - Black Stone Cherry, Producer, MainArtist
2021 Mascot Label Group/Mascot Records 2021 Mascot Label Group/Mascot Records
Black Stone Cherry, Producer, MainArtist - Ben Wells, Composer - Chris Robertson, Composer, Lyricist - John Fred Young, Composer - Jonathan Lawhon, Composer - Henry Clark Music, MusicPublisher - SoundShelterMusic (SESAC), MusicPublisher - Subharmonic Songs, MusicPublisher - StellaSongs, MusicPublisher
2021 Mascot Label Group/Mascot Records 2021 Mascot Label Group/Mascot Records
Black Stone Cherry, Producer, MainArtist - Ben Wells, Composer - Chris Robertson, Composer, Lyricist - John Fred Young, Composer - Jonathan Lawhon, Composer - Henry Clark Music, MusicPublisher - SoundShelterMusic (SESAC), MusicPublisher - Subharmonic Songs, MusicPublisher - StellaSongs, MusicPublisher
2021 Mascot Label Group/Mascot Records 2021 Mascot Label Group/Mascot Records
Richard Young, Composer - Black Stone Cherry, Producer, MainArtist - Ben Wells, Composer - Chris Robertson, Composer, Lyricist - John Fred Young, Composer - Jonathan Lawhon, Composer - Henry Clark Music, MusicPublisher - SoundShelterMusic (SESAC), MusicPublisher - Subharmonic Songs, MusicPublisher - StellaSongs, MusicPublisher - Them Young Boys Music (ASCAP) admin by BMG/Bug Music, MusicPublisher
2021 Mascot Label Group/Mascot Records 2021 Mascot Label Group/Mascot Records
Black Stone Cherry, Producer, MainArtist - Ben Wells, Composer - Chris Robertson, Composer, Lyricist - John Fred Young, Composer - Jonathan Lawhon, Composer - Stephen Styles, Composer - Henry Clark Music, MusicPublisher - SoundShelterMusic (SESAC), MusicPublisher - Subharmonic Songs, MusicPublisher - StellaSongs, MusicPublisher - Stephen Styles Music (BMI), MusicPublisher - Sugar D Music (SESAC)/A Million Moons Music (SESAC), MusicPublisher - Scot Lindsey, Composer
2021 Mascot Label Group/Mascot Records 2021 Mascot Label Group/Mascot Records
Tracy Chapman, Composer, Lyricist - Copyright Control, MusicPublisher - Black Stone Cherry, Producer, MainArtist
2021 Mascot Label Group/Mascot Records 2021 Mascot Label Group/Mascot Records
Album review
Over six previous albums, Kentucky's Black Stone Cherry continued to prove that their hoary hybrid of Southern rock, grunge, post-metal, and hard rock remains vital. The Human Condition underscores their deserved reputation as the brotherhood of Southern swamp metal, but there is immense growth in their creative process. Previously, BSC's recording process always involved cutting basic tracks while playing live on the studio floor. Working in bassist Jon Lawhon's Monocle Studios, the band did a 180: For the first time ever, they meticulously multi-tracked every note and sound. The sonic detail is indeed expansive, but the group sacrificed none of their power or swagger. They also felt a sense of urgency; while recording, the COVID-19 pandemic was spreading exponentially, and they undertook marathon sessions to complete the record. They finished days before the world shut down. The result is a startlingly fresh-sounding BSC album.
Opener "Ringin' in My Head" offers muted feedback and dissonance before a bone-crunching guitar riff introduces the melody. Though written years ago, its lyrics are oddly prescient: "People people, your attention please/I need to tell all y'all about a new disease/it's crept right up from beneath our nose...I got a ringin' in my head/My bones are shakin'...I can feel it in my chest...The whole world's been shaken." The jam welds shattering grunge to metal as vocalist Chris Robertson sounds the alarm. "Push Down & Turn" offers scorching swamp metal. Robertson wails about his struggles with bipolar disorder and the band protects him with a maelstrom of overdriven riffs, chugging bass, and John Fred Young's thundering kick drums. "When Angels Learn to Fly" and "In Love with the Pain" are both exercises in the kind of anthemic AOR stadium rock balladry employed by bands such as 38 Special and the Outlaws. The muscular, dynamic production frames infectious, melodic hooks, vulnerable lyrics, and chiming group choruses. The metallic psych in "The Chain" channels Soundgarden in the best possible way. "If My Heart Had Wings" melds Dobro, electric guitars, piano, synth strings, and majestic processional drumming as Robertson heartbreakingly confesses his shortcomings in a relationship strained to the breaking point. BSC's customary inclusion of a classic cover remains in a noisy, slamming, irresistible read of ELO's "Don't Bring Me Down," offered with impeccable backing vocals and the filthiest bass line Lawhon has yet recorded. On "Devil in Your Eyes," Ben Wells channels Sonny Landreth's slide guitar sound before raging into dark, swirling Pearl Jam-esque hard rock. "Keep On Keepin' On" had to close the set. Despite its fist-pumping riff and hard rock vamp, the lyrical melody and group refrain return us to the tragic uncertainty of the present: "When everything that's good is gone, got to keep on keepin' on." The Human Condition's polished production might startle, but it's key to the band's most adventurous, mature, and finely wrought album to date, hands down.
© Thom Jurek /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 19 track(s)
- Total length: 01:08:00
- Main artists: Black Stone Cherry
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Mascot Records
- Genre: Pop/Rock Rock
2021 Mascot Label Group/Mascot Records 2021 Mascot Label Group/Mascot Records
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