When the Black Star Riders emerged from Thin Lizzy in December 2012, skepticism was called for: Would the last Lizzy version - minus drummer Brian Downey and keyboarder Darren Wharton, but with original Lizzy Scott Gorham and songwriter team Damon Johnson/Ricky Warwick - exist as an independent band? "All Hell Breaks Loose" (2013) wiped away all concerns in May 2013. Not denying the band's origin, the riders created a hookline-saturated hard rock album. "The Killer Instinct" (2015) finally made it clear that they weren't a flash in the pan. It was the first collaboration with producer Nick Raskulinecz. After Gorham, Johnson and Warwick had devoted themselves to their passion Thin Lizzy again last year with Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton, Judas Priests Scott Travis and Darren Wharton, they have now recorded "Heavy Fire" with Raskulinecz and the proven BSR rhythm team Jimmy DeGrasso (dr) and Robbie Crane (b).
eclipsed: Another new album? Damon Johnson: We formed the band to release new songs, so here they are.
Scott Gorham: Unlike the other guys in the band, I'm a lot older, so you should take your chance [Gorham turns 66 in March, while the rest is between 48 and 53 years old; note].
eclipsed: The quality level is amazingly high on all three BSR albums. You didn't do that even with Lizzy, did you?
Gorham: (browsing through the Lizzy chapter of the current third eclipsed "ROCK" book) I'm thinking about which category our BSR albums would fit into. But that's fortunately your job, we deliver what we think are the best tracks, and that's that. But in contrast to the turbulent Lizzy times, which meant that not every one of our LPs at that time reached the top level, we are much more focused these days, so the quality of the albums is more constant.
eclipsed: Does it continue to be that you and Ricky write the songs and Scott nods off what he thinks is good enough?
Johnson: As a rule, yes, but now all members provide ideas. Gorham: The most important thing about "Heavy Fire" is that it's a real group album.
