Black Butterfly

The resurrected Buckcherry

The American hard rock command Buckcherry was formed in 1995 and initially was titled Sparrow. The musicians were a success in their native California, playing hard rock and glam metal with the slant to the classical rock'n'roll and soon after the formation they signed to the DreamWorks Records. However, a little later they received a lawsuit letter from the recording label Sparrow and were forced to change the title. According to some sources, they called the band in the honor of Chuck Berry, although the artists themselves told that they were acquainted to a person named Buck Cherry, whose name they used in the title. In 1999, the performers released the debut Buckcherry, which received the gold status and gave life to such hits as Lit Up, Check Your Head and For The Movies. When they finished the supporting tour with Lenny Kravitz, the Buckcherry members came back to the studio to record the second attempt Time Bomb. Unexpectedly, in 2002, the band was dissolved, and its former members went in for their side projects and solo activity. It seemed that there was no hope for the resurrection of the band, but in 2005, Buckcherry came back in the new lineup - they were re-united by old-lineup soloist Josh Todd and guitarist Keith Nelson. They recorded the album 15, which became platinum, and spawned the hits Crazy Bitch, Everything and Sorry, while the band itself was nominated for Grammy. This year Blackcherry came back with the disc Black Butterfly.

Black Butterfly: hard rock in all its glory

The album Black Butterfly proves that Buckcherry did not lose their originality and gorgeousness from the release of 15. Their texts are filled with the same charming brutality of the bag guys and proclaim the old, although not good, formula of sex, drugs and rock'n'roll. The disc is opened with the excellent rock composition Rescue Me. The track Tired Of You is the wonderful demonstration of Josh Todd's vocal ability, who has one of the most recognizable and penetrating voices of the today's rock world. In the aggressive and hard song A Child Called "It", the artists dwell upon the uneasy and shocking theme of child abuse. The fact that Buckcherry touch upon such a serious and causing their concern question shows their personal growth - they are not those careless fun-lovers, which they were in 90's. The guitar rock single Too Drunk... became the wonderful continuation of the traditions of the hit Crazy Bitch, on which Buckcherry members open the topic of sex and alcohol - or, better say, the impossibility of sexual relations after being too drunk. The rock ballad Dreams with the cute pop tune became the marvelous decoration of the disc, it goes about a girl that a man is afraid to lose, and Todd's voice is extremely tender on it. The lyrical melody Don't Go Away grasps with its sincerity and the heat of the passion in Josh Todd's vocals. The outstanding semi-ballad track Cream with the sexual content became the beautiful and powerful end of the album - it is definitely one of the strongest compositions on Black Butterfly.

For Buckcherry rock'n'roll is still alive and sound

The sounding style of Buckcherry was formed in 90's of the twentieth century and includes the emotional, powerful vocals by Josh Todd, greasy guitar play, memorable riffs and energetic rhythm section. The sound in its entirety is the re-incarnation of the rock of 70's, when such bands as The Rolling Stones, The Who and Aerosmith were the etalons on the world scene. On the disc Black Butterfly, they have openly gorgeous tracks and such compositions, which can be called filling tracks - but only in the comparison to the brightest works on the long-play. Taken by themselves, they are also at least good. On this disc, the musicians went on developing their favorite topics. Black Butterfly is an original and daring record, devoted to the bad habits and love for women, and thematically it is an integral unit. As for the sound, the rockers united their best qualities under the cover of Black Butterfly. From the earlier releases, they borrowed the hard, almost metallic sound, grinding riffs and combined them with the original and poppy tunes of the platinum full-length 15. The songs from Black Butterfly would be heard on the rock radio waves for a long time for sure, while the album itself is the ideal decision for a night in a bar or an active rest at home - both alone and with the friends. Their music is so infectious and energetic that the lovers of hard rock will include the disc into their regular list and will not take a notice that soon they will shout out their lungs together with Josh Todd.