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Album Reviews : Phil Campbell And The Bastard Sons – The Age Of Absurdity

By on February 6, 2018

Following the tragic passing of Lemmy in late 2015, it was intriguing to know what Phil Campbell and Mikkey Dee would get up to following the end of Motörhead. Mikkey joined Scorpions, while Phil was joined by his sons and vocalist Neil Starr in Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons, and when their debut album was announced it was always going to be interesting what would come to light, following the self-titled EP released in 2016.

The result for their debut album is a slick sounding straight up rock and roll record.  From the first track ‘Ringleader’ its evident how polished the production with each instrument standing out in its own right. The gallop throughout the song brings a classic Motorhead feel to the track. Which immediately brought the Motörhead classic ‘We are the Road Crew’ to mind.

The album flows nicely along with each song full of catchy hooks and it is not just Phil who’s musicianship is first class. Check out the Bass intro on ‘Gypsy Kiss’, its punch riffs and chugging bassline providing my personal highlight on the album, think Danko Jones crossed with Motörhead.

The moody and bluesy ‘Dark Days’ wouldn’t feel out of place as the soundtrack when walking into a smoky bar in the deep south of the USA. This provides a nice mid-tempo break from the pacier earlier tracks.

The album gets better as it goes along, with the second half feeling more varied than the first, with Starr’s soaring vocals really standing out on ‘Dropping the Needle’.  Penultimate track High Rule providing a bit of social commentary to the corrupt politicians of the world, ‘Welcome to the Age of Absurdity’. Once again, with a really nice bass intro bringing the track to life.

Its a really solid album, with ‘Gypsy Kiss’ and ‘Step into the Fire’ really standing out with the lead riff in the latter bringing ‘Spoonman’ by Soundgarden to mind, showing the different elements Phil and the guys have been able to bring together, producing a slick modern rock album while retaining a classic edge. Phil’s lead work as shown with Motörhead for over 20 years is superb throughout, but the whole band contributes to the whole feel of the record. Definitely worth checking out for any fan of Phil’s previous work, but laced with a modern polish perfect for blasting out through early 2018.

Band: Phil Campbell And The Bastard Sons
Album: The Age Of Absurdity
Year: 2018
Genre: Hard Rock
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Origin: USA

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