The Killer Instinct | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | February 20, 2015 | |||
Recorded | September 2014 Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. | |||
Genre | Hard rock | |||
Label | Nuclear Blast | |||
Producer | Nick Raskulinecz | |||
Black Star Riders chronology | ||||
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Singles from The Killer Instinct | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Exclaim! | 8/10 [1] |
Classic Rock | 9/10 [2] |
The Killer Instinct is the second studio album by hard rock band Black Star Riders, released on February 20, 2015. Black Star Riders evolved from the touring version of Thin Lizzy, assembled by guitarist Scott Gorham after the death of Thin Lizzy's leader Phil Lynott. The band's first album, All Hell Breaks Loose , was released in 2013.
Recording for the band's follow-up to All Hell Breaks Loose was first announced during late 2013, [3] and on 27 January 2014, it was announced the band's second album would be recorded in Dublin in October, and would be produced by Def Leppard vocalist Joe Elliott. Elliott had previously worked on vocalist Ricky Warwick's solo albums, and also with Scott Gorham on archival Thin Lizzy releases. However, Elliott pulled out of the project in August 2014 due to conflicts with Def Leppard's schedule. [4] He was quickly replaced by Nick Raskulinecz, and recording took place in Nashville, Tennessee in September.
The Killer Instinct is the first Black Star Riders album to feature former Ratt and Lynch Mob bass guitarist Robbie Crane, who replaced founder member Marco Mendoza in June 2014. [5]
When the album title was announced on 21 November 2014, Warwick explained the name: "Life's not fair. Never has been, never will be. Sometimes you have to live with a killer instinct just to survive in the pursuit of happiness. Nobody can do for you what you should be doing for yourself." Guitarist Damon Johnson praised the album's producer Nick Raskulinecz, stating, "He patiently walked through the full song list with the entire band, and made sure we focused on the material to best represent Black Star Riders in 2015." [6]
The first single from the album was the title track, which received its first airplay on 15 December 2014, on Ken Bruce's mid-morning show on BBC Radio 2 in the UK. On the same day, a lyric video was released, and the single was released the following day. [7]
The follow-up single was "Finest Hour", which was again given its first UK radio airplay by Ken Bruce on BBC Radio 2, and which subsequently became the station's "Record of the Week". [8]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "The Killer Instinct" | Ricky Warwick, Damon Johnson | 3:32 |
2. | "Bullet Blues" | Warwick, Johnson | 4:54 |
3. | "Finest Hour" | Warwick, Johnson | 3:56 |
4. | "Soldierstown" | Warwick, Sam Robinson, Scott Gorham, Johnson | 4:50 |
5. | "Charlie I Gotta Go" | Warwick, Johnson | 4:14 |
6. | "Blindsided" | Warwick, Johnson | 6:00 |
7. | "Through the Motions" | Warwick, Johnson | 3:47 |
8. | "Sex, Guns & Gasoline" | Warwick, Gorham, Johnson | 4:00 |
9. | "Turn in Your Arms" | Warwick, Gorham, Johnson | 3:50 |
10. | "You Little Liar" | Warwick, Johnson | 7:08 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Gabrielle" | Warwick, Johnson | 3:22 |
2. | "The Reckoning Day" | Warwick, Johnson | 3:38 |
3. | "The Killer Instinct" (acoustic) | Warwick, Johnson | 3:19 |
4. | "Blindsided" (acoustic) | Warwick, Johnson | 5:15 |
5. | "Charlie I Gotta Go" (acoustic) | Warwick, Johnson | 4:06 |
6. | "Finest Hour" (acoustic) | Warwick, Johnson | 3:44 |
with
Chart (2015) | Peak position |
---|---|
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [9] | 98 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [10] | 172 |
French Albums (SNEP) [11] | 126 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [12] | 23 |
Irish Albums (IRMA) [13] | 29 |
Scottish Albums (OCC) [14] | 11 |
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [15] | 29 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [16] | 39 |
UK Albums (OCC) [17] | 13 |
UK Independent Albums (OCC) [18] | 2 |
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC) [19] | 2 |
Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Thin Lizzy initially consisted of bass guitarist, lead vocalist and principal songwriter Phil Lynott, drummer Brian Downey, guitarist Eric Bell and organist Eric Wrixon, although Wrixon left after a few months. After Bell left at the end of 1973 the band soon switched to twin lead guitarists: Scott Gorham, who remained with the band until their break-up in 1983, and Brian Robertson, who was replaced in 1978 by Gary Moore. Moore was replaced in turn by Snowy White in 1980, and John Sykes in 1982. The line-up was augmented by keyboardist Darren Wharton in 1980. The singles "Whiskey in the Jar" (1972), "The Boys Are Back in Town" (1976) and "Waiting for an Alibi" (1979) were international hits, and several Thin Lizzy albums reached the top ten in the UK. The band's music reflects a wide range of influences, including blues, soul music, psychedelic rock and traditional Irish folk music, but is generally classified as hard rock or sometimes heavy metal.
William Scott Gorham is an American guitarist and songwriter who is one of the "twin lead guitarists" for the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy. Although not a founding member of Thin Lizzy, he served a continuous membership after passing an audition in 1974, joining the band at a time when the band's future was in doubt after the departures of original guitarist Eric Bell and his brief replacement Gary Moore. Gorham remained with Thin Lizzy until the band's breakup in 1983. He and guitarist Brian Robertson, both hired at the same time, marked the beginning of the band's most critically successful period, and together developed Thin Lizzy's twin lead guitar style while contributing dual backing vocals as well. Gorham is the band member with the longest membership after founders Brian Downey (drummer) and frontman and bass guitarist, Phil Lynott.
Bad Reputation is the eighth studio album by the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy, released in 1977. As the front cover suggests, most of the tracks feature only three-quarters of the band, with guitarist Brian Robertson only credited on three tracks. He had missed most of their previous tour, following a hand injury sustained in a brawl, and this album turned out to be his last studio effort with Thin Lizzy. On 27 June 2011, a new remastered and expanded version of Bad Reputation was released.
Black Rose: A Rock Legend is the ninth studio album by Irish rock band Thin Lizzy. Released in 1979, it has been described as one of the band's "greatest, most successful albums". It was the first time that blues rock guitarist Gary Moore remained in Thin Lizzy long enough to record an album—after previous brief stints in 1974 and 1977 with the band. The album peaked at No. 2 on the UK charts-- making it the band's highest-charting album in the UK. It was their fourth consecutive album to be certified Gold by the BPI.
Chinatown is the tenth studio album by Irish band Thin Lizzy, released in 1980. It introduced guitarist Snowy White who would also perform on the next album as well as tour with Thin Lizzy between 1980 and 1982; he replaced Gary Moore as permanent guitarist. White had previously worked with Cliff Richard, Peter Green and Pink Floyd. Chinatown also featured eighteen-year-old Darren Wharton on keyboards, and he joined Thin Lizzy as a permanent member later that year.
Thunder and Lightning is the twelfth and final studio album by Irish hard rock band Thin Lizzy, released on 4 March 1983. Guitarist John Sykes was hired to replace Snowy White after 1981's Renegade, and Sykes helped to provide a heavier sound and guitar tone than Thin Lizzy had used on previous albums. However, the bulk of the songwriting was completed before he joined the band. Keyboard player Darren Wharton also offered a stronger musical influence to Thin Lizzy's final studio album, co-writing many of the tracks including "Some Day She Is Going to Hit Back", and the final single "The Sun Goes Down". A farewell tour followed the album's release, followed by the live album Life. The group's co-founder, frontman and bass player Phil Lynott died in 1986.
Life is a double live album by Irish rock band Thin Lizzy, released in 1983. This double album was recorded during their farewell tour in 1983, principally at the Hammersmith Odeon in London, UK. Phil Lynott had felt reluctantly that it was time to disband the group after the 1983 tour and to mark the occasion, former Thin Lizzy guitarists Eric Bell (1969–73), Brian Robertson (1974–78) and Gary Moore joined the band on stage at the end of these gigs to do some numbers. This was called "The All-Star Jam".
Greatest Hits is a double-CD compilation of Thin Lizzy songs released in 2004.
Ricky Warwick is a Northern Irish musician and the lead singer of the rock bands Black Star Riders and Thin Lizzy. He is also the frontman for the Scottish hard rock band The Almighty, with whom he achieved chart success in the UK throughout the 1990s. Warwick has released several solo albums and performed with a variety of other bands and artists, and also fronts his own band, The Fighting Hearts, to showcase his solo material.
Brian Michael Downey is an Irish drummer. He was a founding member of the rock band Thin Lizzy and the only other constant in the band aside from leader Phil Lynott until their disbandment in 1983. Downey also co-wrote several Thin Lizzy songs. Allmusic critic Eduardo Rivadavia has argued that Downey is "certainly one of the most underrated [rock drummers] of his generation".
Wild One: The Very Best of Thin Lizzy is a 1996 compilation album by Irish rock band Thin Lizzy. It was released ten years after the death of frontman Phil Lynott in 1986 as a tribute to him.
Darren Leigh Wharton is a British keyboardist, singer and songwriter. He has fronted his own band, Dare, since 1985, but first came to attention as a member of Thin Lizzy. In 2023, Wharton launched a second band alongside Dare, Darren Wharton's Renegade. His son, Paris, is also a musician.
Damon Rogers Johnson is an American guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter, currently a solo artist, a member of Brother Cane and guitarist in Lynyrd Skynyrd. In the 1990s he co-founded Brother Cane, and later joined Alice Cooper's band as lead guitarist. He became a member of Thin Lizzy in 2011 and was also the lead guitarist and co-songwriter for hard rock group Black Star Riders from 2012 to 2018. Johnson has also released several solo albums and his songs have been recorded by many artists including Stevie Nicks and Carlos Santana.
"Waiting for an Alibi" is a song by the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy and the first single from the band's 1979 album, Black Rose: A Rock Legend. Black Rose was the only Thin Lizzy album recorded while Gary Moore was a member of the band, and he left soon after.
Black Star Riders is a hard rock band formed in December 2012. The band began when members of the 2011–2012 line-up of Thin Lizzy decided to record new material, but chose not to release it under the Thin Lizzy name. While Thin Lizzy continues on an occasional basis, Black Star Riders is a full-time band, described as "the next step in the evolution of the Thin Lizzy story". The band's first album, All Hell Breaks Loose, was released on May 21, 2013, and the follow-up album, The Killer Instinct was released on February 20, 2015. The band's third album, Heavy Fire, was released on February 3, 2017, and reached number six on the UK Albums Chart.
All Hell Breaks Loose is the debut studio album by hard rock band Black Star Riders, released in May 2013. Black Star Riders evolved from the touring version of Thin Lizzy, assembled by guitarist Scott Gorham after the death of Thin Lizzy's leader Phil Lynott.
Heavy Fire is the third studio album by hard rock band Black Star Riders, released on February 3, 2017. Black Star Riders evolved from the touring version of Thin Lizzy, assembled by guitarist Scott Gorham after the death of Thin Lizzy's leader Phil Lynott. The band's first two albums, All Hell Breaks Loose and The Killer Instinct, were released in 2013 and 2015 respectively.
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команда Скотта Горэма метко стреляет на альбоме номер два (Scott Gorham team shoots well on album number two)