Album Review: Phil Campbell – Old Lions Still Roar (Nuclear Blast)

Some people just don‘t need an introduction. And this fine gentleman is high on top of that list: Phil Campbell, Welsh rock titan, Motörhead guitarist for more than 30 years until the bitter end, father of that hard rocking spawn called Bastard Sons, rock and roll luminary. In short: the stuff six string legends are made of.

Slowly but steadily nearing his sixties, Phil Campbell still hasn’t lost his hunger for the noise. Now ready to release his first solo record.

Phil Campbell had this to say:

This is something I wanted to do many years before Motörhead finished. I talked to Lemmy about it many times and he always encouraged me. It just never came about because we were touring so relentlessly. But I kept the odd idea and riff from way back and never abandoned the idea. Now I felt the time was right to do it.

Recruiting a cast of stellar all-star guests to participate on Old Lions Still Roar. The album will be released on October 25th 2019 via Nuclear Blast.

Keeping things rooted in country, the opener Rocking Chair is a weathered acoustic number that starts things off very chilled. Unsurprisingly, a track that features Judas Priest frontman, Rob Halford on vocals is less chilled and lot more metal. Campbell providing the riffs and Halford providing the snarl for an excellent track.

Orange Goblin legend Ben Ward then offers his gruff vocals for Faith in Fire, the groove gets in deep and the guitar solo is on fire! Shock rocker, Alice Cooper follows that by lending his talents for a frantic beast that will get the rock floors bouncing. Before Left for Dead takes things back to a more chilled rock vibe with Nev MacDonald delivering a classy vocal performance.

Varied and exciting, Campbell’s solo effort is very ear-catching and tracks like Walk the Talk with Nick Oliveri, These Old Boots with Dee Snider and Dead Roses with Benji Webbe certainly don’t change that.

With so many different vocalists and talents on other instruments there could be a disconnected feeling to the album. However, thanks to Campbell’s mastery of the guitar it never feels as such. The rockier stuff bleeds nicely into the mellow stuff and vice versa. It’s a well put together release with some of rock and metal’s most talented people involved. That alone should be a major selling point for most.

Phil Campbell – Old Lions Still Roar Full Track Listing:

1. Rocking Chair (feat. Leon Standford (vocals), Todd Campbell (guitar), Will Davies (bass)
2. Straight Up (feat. Rob Halford (vocals), Tyla Campbell (bass), Dane Campbell (drums)
3. Faith In Fire (feat. Ben Ward (vocals), Tim Atkinson (bass), Robyn Griffith (drums)
4. Swing It (feat. Alice Cooper (vocals), Chuck Garric (bass), Dane Campbell (drums)
5. Left For Dead (feat. Nev MacDonald (vocals), Mark King (bass), Danny Owen (keyboard), Tyla Campbell (acoustic guitar), Dane Campbell (Drums)
6. Walk The Talk (feat. Nick Oliveri (vocals, bass), Danko Jones (voc.), Ray Luzier (Drums)
7. These Old Boots (feat. Dee Snider (voc.), Mick Mars (guitar), Chris Fehn (Drums), Todd Campbell (guitar)
8. Dancing Dogs (Love Survives) (feat. Whitfield Crane (voc.), Tyla Campbell (bass), Dane Campbell (drums)
9. Dead Roses (feat. Benji Webbe (vocals), Will Davies (bass), Matt Sorum (drums)
10. Tears From A Glass Eye (feat. Joe Satriani)

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