Black Country Communion Announce Release Of New Album 'Afterglow'
Thursday, 30 August 2012
Written by Jon Stickler
Black Country Communion, the Anglo-American rock group comprising vocalist/bassist Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple, Trapeze), drummer Jason Bonham (Led Zeppelin, Foreigner), Derek Sherinian (Dream Theater, Alice Cooper, Billy Idol) and blues-rock guitarist/vocalist Joe Bonamassa, are to release their third album ‘Afterglow’ via Mascot Records on Monday October 29th.
Like its two predecessors, ‘Afterglow’ was produced by Kevin Shirley, whose catalogue of hit records for Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Aerosmith and the Black Crowes has made him the hottest producer that rock music has to offer. Shirley – who had the idea of putting Hughes and Bonamassa together in a band after seeing them jam onstage back in 2009 – is the group’s unofficial ‘fifth member’.
The additions of Jason Bonham, esteemed son of Led Zeppelin’s John, who took his father’s place when the legendary group made musical history by reuniting at London’s O2 Arena in December 2007, and the in-demand Derek Sherinian, makes BCC a force to be reckoned with.
Both BCC’s previous offerings (2010’s eponymous debut album and 2011’s '2') have gone straight in at Number 1 on the official UK Rock Album Chart. Embraced by the UK’s music press, Black Country Communion were voted “Best New Band” by the listeners of Planet Rock Radio and won “Best Breakthrough” at the prestigious Classic Rock Magazine Roll Of Honour Awards in 2011.
In terms of content, ‘Afterglow’ expands upon the progression that took place between ‘BCC’ and ‘BCC2’. Rich in hooks, melodies and choruses, it’s nonetheless another of those highly rewarding albums that bears additional fruit with repeated spins.
“I wanted this album to have more acoustic moments than the previous two,” explains Hughes. “I wanted to hear more of Derek [Sherinian] and I wanted the more angelic voice of Glenn as well as the more aggressive one which is there on songs like ‘Crawl’ and ‘Midnight Sun’. Above all, I wanted more drama.”
Hughes shares lead vocals with Bonamassa on the song ‘Cry Freedom’. “The vocal sound that Kevin got on this record is second to none – it’s his best work yet with BCC,” believes Hughes. “We butted heads a little on the first and second albums, simply because we’re both control freaks, but this was the record on which Kevin and Glenn became friends.”
Indeed, Hughes speaks of Shirley in the most glowing terms. “Kevin only needs three hours of sleep per night; he’s hyper and super-intelligent. He cracks the whip but he also knows exactly what he’s talking about when it comes to music.”
Black Country Communion hope to tour ‘Afterglow’ at the start of 2013.
'Afterglow' tracklisting is as follows:
Big Train
This Is Your Time
Midnight Sun
Midnight Run
Confessor
Cry Freedom
Afterglow
Dandelion
The Circle
Common Man
The Giver
Crawl
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Like its two predecessors, ‘Afterglow’ was produced by Kevin Shirley, whose catalogue of hit records for Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Aerosmith and the Black Crowes has made him the hottest producer that rock music has to offer. Shirley – who had the idea of putting Hughes and Bonamassa together in a band after seeing them jam onstage back in 2009 – is the group’s unofficial ‘fifth member’.
