BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION, the supergroup that includes legendary vocalist/bassist Glenn Hughes (DEEP PURPLE, BLACK SABBATH),guitarist Joe Bonamassa, drummer Jason Bonham (LED ZEPPELIN) and keyboardist Derek Sherinian (DREAM THEATER, ALICE COOPER, BILLY IDOL),kicked off its spring/summer time 2025 European tour final night time (Friday, June 6) at Amager Bio in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The band’s setlist was as follows, based on Setlist.fm:
01. Sway
02. One Final Soul
03. Wanderlust
04. Crossfire
05. Track Of Yesterday
06. Save Me
07. The Outsider
08. Faithless
09. Pink Solar
10. Chilly
11. The Crow
12. Keep Free
Encore:
13. Sista Jane
14. Black Nation
15. Mistreated (DEEP PURPLE cowl)
Fan-filmed video of the live performance will be seen under.
The trek is a mixture of headline reveals within the Germany, The Netherlands, Austria and Czech Republic, in addition to pageant appearances akin to Sweden Rock and Poland’s Rock Legends.
BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION is touring in help of its fifth studio album, “V”, which got here out in June 2024.
Resonating with the band’s signature fusion of onerous rock and soul-stirring blues, “V” stands as a testomony to BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION‘s development and mutual admiration, symbolizing their dedication to producing music that’s genuine, heartfelt, and reflective of their shared experiences and huge musical experience.
“This band permits me to embrace all of it,” feedback Bonamassa. “It is humorous as a result of the 4 musicians up right here — all people brings a sure factor to this that’s very particular. Each half is irreplaceable. For me, it is about enjoying old-style rock guitar, loud.”
Hughes provides: “We make music for the 5 of us. We make music that we love and like, hoping it registers with everybody else. We do not make it for file corporations, or this man or that man.” Sherinian credit producer Kevin Shirley for protecting the band’s inventive energies targeted, including, “We have to present Kevin Shirley huge credit score as a result of he controls. He retains all of it flowing.”
Produced by Shirley, “V” marks a monumental chapter within the band’s storied profession, embodying a renewed spirit and an evolution of their unmistakable sound. Shirley captures the essence of the band’s journey, stating: “For a band that started off as a group of the most effective practitioners of their devices, they in a short time discovered a novel sound. This time round, it has extra goal, the riffs are more durable, and there are hooks! Sure, hooks! It is essentially the most cohesive file, stuffed with soul and grit, and I believe that is the one which’s going to be the benchmark for BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION.” Glenn agrees: “For my part, we had the most effective time recording this file at Sundown Sound in Hollywood, tons of enjoyable and a magical recording. Meet you contained in the music.”
“Keep Free”, the lead single, is a powerhouse observe that blends onerous rock’s uncooked vitality with a heavy dose of blues, channeling the spirit of legends like AC/DC and LED ZEPPELIN. It units the tone for what followers can count on from “V” — a testomony to the band’s dynamic synergy and inventive evolution.
Since their debut in 2010, BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION has delivered a collection of critically acclaimed albums, every showcasing the group’s means to fuse British blues-rock with American soul in a manner that captivates audiences worldwide. Their return with “V” reaffirms their standing as rock royalty and showcases their development as musicians and storytellers.
Shirley‘s perception into the recording course of highlights the distinctive chemistry and camaraderie throughout the band. “Once we convened in 2023 to start out recording the album ‘V’, it actually was like selecting up the day after the newest gig,” Shirley displays. “The camaraderie is straight away evident. As soon as they begin enjoying, everyone seems to be lethal severe, and the music feels like this band, and nothing else sounds prefer it.”
“V” is a milestone that celebrates the journey, expertise, and imaginative and prescient of BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION. Because the band embarks on this new chapter, they invite followers outdated and new to hitch them in experiencing the depth and energy of “V”.
Throughout an look on an August 2023 episode of SiriusXM‘s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk”, Hughes acknowledged concerning the musical path of the brand new BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION materials: “It feels like BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION. There’s not too many left turns, there’s nothing occurring that is weirdly completely different. We adopted a vibe of the primary 4 albums, so it it is an extension, nevertheless it’s actually a development, for those who can name it a development. Everyone’s enjoying out of their pores and skin. The vibe within the camp has by no means been so pleasant and enjoyable. It is a actually, actually nice vibe within the band. And we had a good time at Sundown Sound [studios] in Hollywood. And I can not wait so that you can hear it.”
Bonamassa instructed “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk” concerning the new BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION album: “The factor about BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION, whether or not you want the way in which we sound or not, after we all get collectively, it has a really particular factor that it does. Everyone brings a really particular factor to the desk, and it is a particular band.”
Based on Joe, he introduced the BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION members again collectively to make the follow-up to “BCCIV”, which was launched in September 2017 and marked BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION‘s first studio effort since 2013’s “Afterglow”. “I used to be the one which form of initiated the textual content, be, like, ‘Hey, is there anyone thinking about doing a fifth one?'” he stated. “And Derek received again to me. Jason received again to me fairly rapidly. And Glenn referred to as me and stated, ‘I can not do something till this DEAD DAISIES state of affairs goes a technique or the subsequent.’ And I stated, ‘Truthful sufficient.’ So when Glenn left THE DEAD DAISIES [in 2022], that was form of the inexperienced mild for us to get again collectively.”
Concerning the songwriting course of for BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION‘s fifth album and the way it in comparison with that on the band’s earlier efforts, Joe stated: “This was the identical. I went over to Glenn‘s home about six instances and we hashed out some concepts — fairly tough, free concepts. Nothing in stone. And so I had a playlist on my telephone, voice memos, BCC 1 by 10. And that was it. So, so day one, we simply [said], ‘Okay, let’s begin with BCC 1.’ And we sat within the courtyard at Sundown Sound — they’ve this very nice courtyard with a bunch of chairs — and we sat on the market with an acoustic guitar and a few issues and we simply bashed out the association. We had been, like, ‘Okay, that is cool.’ We went in, performed it three or 4 instances and that was it. No one charted something; we simply form of memorized it and did it. And we might go into the management room, pay attention a bit of bit, possibly tweak one thing, however as soon as it fired up and after the second day, we actually hit our stride, going, ‘Okay, the band’s again.’ ‘Trigger we hadn’t performed collectively in six years.”
As for the recording course of for the brand new BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION disc, Joe stated: “There’s not quite a lot of overdubs. I hardly ever double the guitars, ‘trigger Glenn‘s bass sound is so massive and distorted, you understand what I imply? It is, like, why do I have to double the guitar? Similar factor with Derek. It is nearly like enjoying within the band FREE. All of the sound comes from the 4 of us. And Jason takes up an enormous quantity of bandwidth; he is such a giant drummer.”
In a September 2022 interview with Andy Corridor of the Des Moines, Iowa radio station Lazer 103.3, Bonamassa acknowledged about what it’s a few “band state of affairs” that appeals to him, contemplating he has spent most of his profession as a solo artist: “I like nothing greater than to be a member of a band and enjoying guitar. I haven’t got to entrance it; I haven’t got to sing on a regular basis. And it is rather a lot much less strain than being the entrance particular person. Being the particular person in entrance is a particular skillset. It’s a must to be an entertainer. You’ll be able to’t simply sit up there and stare at your guitar and go, ‘Wow. Look, I can play guitar fairly good.’ That is not gonna fill the theater. It’s a must to placed on a present. And to placed on a present requires being an entertainer. So being in a band, the sum of the components is larger than the one entity. So this factor the place Glenn co-fronts BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION, I can simply sit again and play rhythm guitar and watch him do his factor. He is a legend. After which conversely, Glenn does not must sing all night time; I am going to sing three or 4 [songs]. So we form of unfold out the entire workload a bit of bit.”
BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION‘s inception passed off when Hughes and Bonamassa fused their kinds on stage in Los Angeles for an explosive efficiency at Guitar Heart‘s King Of The Blues occasion. With the assistance and steering of Shirley, they additional added to their rock lineage by recruiting Bonham and Sherinian.
In a 2017 interview, Hughes talked concerning the chemistry between the BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION members, particularly since all of the musicians have had profitable careers previous to launching the group.
“This band was meant to be,” Glenn stated. “It was fashioned out of a friendship with Joe and I. We received the [other] guys to come back in, and it is at all times been a powerful brotherhood. And we’re simply very fortunate and lucky to have met. I’ve identified Jason since he was [a kid]. I simply suppose that these 4 guys on this band are the fitting guys to play within the band.”
Press photograph in tour poster by Rob Bondurant
