Wrong Side of Paradise | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | January 20, 2023 | |||
Recorded | October 2021 | |||
Genre | Hard rock | |||
Length | 41:06 | |||
Label | Earache | |||
Producer | Jay Ruston | |||
Black Star Riders chronology | ||||
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Singles from Wrong Side of Paradise | ||||
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Wrong Side of Paradise is the fifth studio album by hard rock band Black Star Riders, released on January 20, 2023.
It is the first Black Star Riders album to feature drummer Zak St. John, and the last to feature guitarist/songwriter Christian Martucci, who left the band in the summer of 2022. It is the first Black Star Riders album to be recorded without founding member Scott Gorham, who left shortly before the recording sessions.
On June 6, 2022, the band announced the album would be released on January 20, 2023. [1] [2] The album was announced alongside a new track and video "Better Than Saturday Night", as well as a 10th Anniversary UK tour for February 2023. Scott Gorham and Jimmy DeGrasso rejoined the band for the UK tour dates as part of the 10th Anniversary commemorations. [1] [2]
Wrong Side Of Paradise is available on multiple different formats, including limited coloured vinyl (green, blue, red and black/white split), black vinyl, signed CD, cassette and digital download. A special edition of the album containing two bonus tracks can be found on CD (which comes with a 24-page booklet) and USB stick formats. Various collector bundles are also available. [3] [2]
Warwick said of the new album: "I am very proud of this record, Black Star Riders fifth release and the first with our new and exciting relationship with Earache Records. As with all BSR albums, "Wrong Side Of Paradise" is an anthemic statement of intent, driven by ferocious guitars and thundering drums. I can only write about my own personal experiences, my families, my friends and how I see a world that is unravelling and changing faster than we can comprehend. That being said, I’m a firm believer in the power of positivity, something that echoes throughout this album." [1] [2]
"Better Than Saturday Night" was premiered globally via Planet Rock Radio. In discussing the song and its accompanying video, Warwick said: ""Better Than Saturday Night" is a feel-good, uplifting tune about staying strong in the face of adversity, being true to yourself, and the power of positivity. I wrote it for my kids, but subliminally I think I also wrote it for myself and everyone for those days when we need to find a little bit of extra strength. We wanted to reflect the positivity, power, attitude and strength to endure sentiment in the lyrics of the song. And no better way to do that than Black Star Riders rockin' out with the Los Angeles Roller Derby Dolls.” [1] [2]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Wrong Side of Paradise" | Ricky Warwick, Christian Martucci | 3:44 |
2. | "Hustle" | Warwick | 3:27 |
3. | "Better Than Saturday Night" | Warwick | 3:40 |
4. | "Riding Out the Storm" | Warwick | 3:51 |
5. | "Pay Dirt" | Warwick, Martucci, Todd Schofield | 3:45 |
6. | "Catch Yourself On" | Warwick, Martucci | 4:18 |
7. | "Crazy Horses" | Alan Osmond, Merrill Osmond, Wayne Osmond | 2:24 |
8. | "Burning Rome" | Warwick | 3:49 |
9. | "Don't Let the World (Get in the Way)" | Warwick, Martucci | 3:48 |
10. | "Green and Troubled Land" | Warwick, Martucci, Sam Robinson | 4:50 |
11. | "This Life Will Be the Death of Me" | Warwick | 3:30 |
Total length: | 41:06 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
12. | "Cut 'n' Run" | Warwick, Martucci | 3:30 |
13. | "Suspicious Times" | Warwick, Martucci | 4:05 |
Total length: | 48:41 |
Chart (2023) | Peak position |
---|---|
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [4] | 23 |
Scottish Albums (OCC) [5] | 2 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [6] | 24 |
UK Albums (OCC) [7] | 6 |
UK Independent Albums (OCC) [8] | 2 |
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC) [9] | 1 |
Rollins Band was an American rock band formed in Van Nuys, California. The band was active from 1987 to 2006 and was led by former Black Flag vocalist Henry Rollins. They are best known for the songs "Low Self Opinion" and "Liar", which both earned heavy airplay on MTV in the early-mid 1990s.
Thin Lizzy is 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. Bell left at the end of 1973 and was briefly replaced by Gary Moore, who himself was replaced in mid-1974 by twin lead guitarists: Scott Gorham, who remained with the band until their break-up in 1983, and Brian Robertson, who remained with the band until 1978 when Moore re-joined. Moore left a second time and was replaced by Snowy White in 1980, who was himself replaced by 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.
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Earache Records is a British independent record label, music publisher and management company founded by Digby Pearson in 1985, based in Nottingham, England, with offices in London and New York. The label helped to pioneer extreme metal by releasing early grindcore and death metal records between the late 1980s and mid-1990s. Its roster has since diversified into more mainstream guitar music, working with bands such as Rival Sons, the Temperance Movement, Blackberry Smoke, Scarlet Rebels and the White Buffalo. The company also hosted the 'Earache Express' stage at Glastonbury Festival in 2017 and 'The Earache Factory' at Boomtown 2018. The label's logo is a homage to Thrasher magazine, as Pearson was a skateboard culture enthusiast.
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.
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