With two albums under their belt, Phil Campbell And Bastard Sons set their sights firmly on the future. Critically acclaimed LP’s and festival appearances have provided a springboard for Phil’s post Motörhead life and has provided a vigour that is hard to deny. Album number three, “Kings Of The Asylum” finds them in very rude form with front man Joel Peters joining the family for a record of pure old school rock mayhem.
“Walking In Circles” kicks it all off and just has “big” written all over it. The creeping intro opens up into a slithery riff that eventually punches hard. The feeling of a true sense of band identity is evident. A stinging lead guitar break makes it mark before the greasiness of “Too Much Is Never Enough” that’s straight out of the Motörhead songbook. Guaranteed to get you a speeding ticket, this is a fist pumping rock ‘n’ roll anthem in the making. Gritty, powerful vocals give it an almost Airbourne infused energy. Campbell’s pedigree means that arena sized riffage is ready at hand and the AC/DC sounding groove of “Strike The Match” is a banger. The band is tight without question and they let their front man do the talking. The vocals have grit and an earnest integrity that draws the listener in. While they sound leather throated, each word is audible and made for crowd participation.
The snaking riff of “Schizophrenia” sounds very latter day Motörhead. The vocal delivery reminds me of Corey Taylor in his Stone Sour guise with that impassioned howl before a nice turn into really sleazy blues rock on the title track. Booze soaked lead guitar over moody lyrics provide real atmospherics. The album powers along breathlessly and just when you expect some sort of filler, the second half literally says “you ain’t heard nothin’ yet!” With an opening riff that harks back to “Ace Of Spades”, killer track “The Hunt” would not sound out of place on any classic Motörhead album. Anthem after anthem come right for you on cuts like the war referencing “No Guts! No Glory!” that lyrically feels very Lemmy inspired. However, it’s the final track “Maniac” that’s a good old fashioned rock ‘n’ roll riot with enough expletives to make Ozzy blush. Pure good times head hanging and an ode to the “fuck you” attitude (literally) with a stiff middle finger raised. Turn it on at work when the boss passes by and if you still don’t get it, they even spell it out for you. This could easily be the Anti Nowhere League and one of the best closing tracks I’ve heard in years, it surely has to be an encore live.
A good, old school 40 minutes of filler free hard rock from a veteran and his boys. This is a band where pedigree is obvious but where they’re not simply defined by it. Phil Campbell And The Bastard Sons are a beast in their own right. No frills, this is just solid hard hitting stuff. Do it.
(8.5/10 Johnny Zed)
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