There was a time a few years back when you couldn’t move for seeing Western Sand live. Supporting Black Star Riders and all kinds of other bands, they seemed to be everywhere, and I tipped them for bigger things back then. News that they had re-emerged as Black Water Redemption, then, was welcome.
“I’m not the man I used to be,” sings Adam Chambers on opening track “Stand For Something”, and given that history, you can certainly see the connection. There’s a change here, too. The riffing is dark, not far from metal, and whatever you remember of Western Sand, this feels like a band keen to push on. Tyler Hains’ solo is a beauty, incidentally, and it won’t be the last time you think that.
Then there’s the voice. My goodness, the voice. Chambers has that bombastic Chris Cornell feel, and on “Praying For The Sun” he makes full use of it. This one swaggers, though, and much of that comes from the bass of Dan de Vries. The slower passages allow Hains to take centre stage, and there’s a confidence about the whole thing that makes it compelling.
For all that, they seem to excel when they head towards the more metal end of things. “I Gave It All” is heavy, properly heavy, and drummer Chris Allan sounds like he’s loving life. There’s an enjoyment in the way they attack these songs that comes through just as clearly as the power.
You can hear it again as they roar through “Lightning Strikes”. To be fair to them, plenty of bands would have made this a ballad. Black Water Redemption have other ideas, and the way they throw themselves into it is a large part of its appeal.
The second half does begin with a ballad, however. “Fly Like The Crow” changes the mood, with the piano really driving it. After the weight of what’s gone before, it gives the record room to breathe and shows there’s more here than a collection of riffs.
Hains, who has had a blinder throughout, reckons he was channelling his inner Zakk Wylde on “Ride Or Die” – “Zakk Wylde from Temu, mind you!” as he puts it. He’s selling himself short. It’s one of the highlights here, with the guitar work again demanding your attention.
“All Guns Blazing” follows with one of the catchiest choruses on the record. It almost feels like their mission statement, and you can imagine it sounding absolute class live. They’ve given these songs everything, and this is one you suspect an audience will be only too happy to give something back to.
The acoustics come out for “Walk Beside You”, but once again it’s Chambers who leaves the biggest impression. What a voice he has, and what class there is in the way this builds. It’s a fine way to end a record that knows when to ease back as well as when to let fly.
So yes, this is a debut, but there’s a history behind it. Black Water Redemption sound like the band Western Sand always had the potential to become. I tipped them for stardom back in the day, and on this evidence they remain most certainly ones to watch. For now, their self-titled record is one to thoroughly enjoy.
Rating: 8.5/10
