Black Star Riders

About

Black Star Riders grew out of a pretty unusual situation: members of the 2011 to 2012 Thin Lizzy lineup had written a batch of new songs but decided, out of respect for Phil Lynott's legacy, not to put them out under the Thin Lizzy name. So in December 2012 they launched a full time band instead, named after a gang of outlaws from the film Tombstone. Fronted by Northern Ireland vocalist Ricky Warwick alongside Thin Lizzy veteran Scott Gorham, the group blends hard rock with a Celtic rock edge that makes the Lizzy DNA pretty clear without just being a tribute act. Their debut album All Hell Breaks Loose, recorded in Los Angeles with producer Kevin Shirley, came out in May 2013 and set the template: big guitar harmonies, twin lead work, and Warwick's ragged charisma front and center. The follow up The Killer Instinct arrived in 2015, and by the third album Heavy Fire in 2017 the band had cracked the UK Albums Chart top ten. The lineup has shifted quite a bit over the years, but the core drive to keep the music going as a proper band, not a nostalgia project, has stayed constant.