ALBUM REVIEW: The Human Condition – Black Stone Cherry

BLACK STONE CHERRY’s brand of Southern rock and blues is often a breath of fresh air for those in the rock world as a lot of their sound and style comes from their Kentucky surroundings and history with other bands and artists surrounding this style. There’s an interesting system that the band has with their albums, usually at least one cover amongst their many original songs. So, how do the band make each album feel unique from their others and like a fresh listen every time someone hits play, especially with this outing, The Human Condition?

Impressively, to say the least. It feels like the band takes another step forward when making new music, but still within that blues/Southern hard rock style that BLACK STONE CHERRY are known for. There’s a lot of variety that the band plays around with throughout the whole album, and it’s fun to hear something new and interesting within the next track, leaving you excited for more, even at the very end. Even with the difference in the songs, it isn’t jarring to go from one song to the next, so it is a good smooth experience to listen to. 

From Ringin’ In My Head to Keep On Keepin’ On, it’s just an absolute jam throughout, like with When Angels Learn To Fly, the vocals are very sweet and soulful, very fitting with the lyrics sung and the ethereal and soft backing music. The same with If My Heart Had Wings, the band do the same with a ballad. It’s definitely a sad but also stunning song. Even the upbeat songs like with Again and Live This Way show the heavy and harsh side to the band’s music with the fantastic guitar riffs, strong drum patterns and rhythms, and brilliant vocals to match the theme and tone of the lyrics.

Even their cover of Don’t Bring Me Down, originally released by ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA, is brilliantly done. The band have done their version with love and respect to the original version, but also managed to make theirs stand out and unique from ELO’s version. For a cover, it’s one that deserves to exist alongside the original. 

Overall, The Human Condition is a brilliantly well done album, a joy to listen to front to back, mixing blues and rock, turning up that strength and heaviness, and delivering this in all 12 tracks. Whilst a few were mentioned, all are worth jamming out to for days on end, and it’s worth spinning many a time. BLACK STONE CHERRY’s outing with The Human Condition is an excellent album, within rock, within Southern blues, and feels like a needed listen for 2020.

Rating: 9/10

The Human Condition is set for release October 30th via Mascot Label Group. 

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