Blood of the Sun smoked my cerebellum

Blood Of The Sun's latest release Blood's Thicker Than Love keep's the intensity comin' from the initial drop of the needle all the way through the final run-out.  While the band didn't lay down as many tracks on this new album, with six, as they did on 2013's Burning On the Wing's of Desire, eight, the run time is extended by three minutes, 38 minutes then vs. 41 minutes now, so we're treated to longer, meatier jams this time out.  And those jams do not disappoint.

The opening track may be the most memorable, simply for it's title and chorus, "Keep the Lemmys Comin'."  Of course, on January 12, 2016, after Ian Fraser Kilmister, or "Lemmy" died on December 28, 2015, Food and Beverage magazine officially named the Jack and Coke "The Lemmy."  This song obviously honors the spirit both literally and sort of piously.  It's a dirge to the shit faced lifestyle:

"I gotta Keep drinking/I can't stop thinking/ready to hit the floor/Keep the the Lemmys Comin' All night long/ ready to lose control."

And the next morning:

"looking in the mirror/nothing seems clearer/what was the name of that girl?/Cutting through the fog/get the hair of the dog/and I'm ready to rock and roll/Keep the Lemmys comin' all day long and I'm ready to lose control"

All set to a blistering guitar and some smokin' keys, played by Dave Gryder, on top of a driving rhythm section.  This is a hell of a lot of fun and it's just the opening track.

Now I've got to admit, the title of the second song didn't catch me, at all... "My Time."  But after about 1:59 I was really starting to get into it.  "If you don't like it hit the road," indeed.  About the three minute mark the guitar just takes over this song completely, and man, I was ever wrong about this one.  Do not judge a song just because it may have a title that doesn't catch your eye.  This guitar solo fucking SMOKES!!!  And the organ does just enough to compliment it.

"Livin' For the Night," an epic eight minute jam is up next.  It's so easy to praise the guitar and organ work on every song, and the vocals, belted out by Sean Vargas, are solid, they're cleanish, gruff, but clean delivery style, the rhythm section kind of gets lost in the shuffle.  But on this tune in particular the bass, handled ably by Roger "Kip" Yma, and drums, played by Henry Vasquez, chug right along at a thunderous pace.  They just lay down such a powerful bottom end you can really feel it in the pit of your stomach with any volume of appreciable levels at all.

The twin guitar attack of Wyatt Burton and Alex Johnson is brutal.  Their playing on the "Air Rises As You Drown" is nothing short of an aural assault.

My favorite vocal on the album belongs to the fifth track, "Stained Glass Window," a tune about a bad relationship.  It also has some of the more unique keyboard work, not necessarily the best, but certainly different than what appears on much of the remainder of the album.  It's got almost a church hymnal like sound, which may be the point.

"Blood Off the Road" closes the album.  I LOVE the keyboard work to open this one. It is reminiscent of Deep Purple and many of their "hard driving tunes."

Basically this album fucking blew me away and I didn't expect that.  I was familiar with Blood of the Sun's body of work and while I had enjoyed it, I was NOT prepared for a slab of rock and roll this smoking hot.  Honestly, released this late in the year, it has to make me re-evaluate my current list of albums I was assembling for my year end Top 25 Releases From 2018, because it may earn a slot.

I rate this album a damn near perfect 95/100. 

An early November release, I certainly look for this one to make next month's Doom Chart.
You can get a copy of Blood of the Sun's new album here.
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