Review: Black Diamonds - Destination Paradise

Review: Black Diamonds – Destination Paradise

Metalopolis Records (May 31^st, 2024)

Reviewer: Jason Hopper

Black Diamonds are back to rock your face off with the follow up to their excellent studio album ‘No-Tell Motel‘. This band has grown stronger with every release and that last album made my Top 3 albums of the year back in 2021, so there were high expectations here. Could this release overtake what I consider to be the band’s best album? Would the band continue their upward trend?

It certainly starts with a blast! Opener ‘Through Hell and Back’ is a scorcher and is the best song the band has ever recorded! Let me spend some time just explaining the majesty of this track. It has a fantastic riff, a chorus that utilizes vocables, reverb, and spacing so effectively I was in awe of what I was hearing. Just when you think it cannot get any better, lead singer Mich Kehl lets out a belter of a scream just as the guitar solo begins, a what a solo it is! More on that later.

While that song stands out for me, truth is there are so many great tracks here that I could discuss at length. I’ll just sum up various individual songs to give an overall feel for the album. I love the lyrics and nostalgia of ‘Yesterday’s News’ and its Poison-esque vibe. Mid-tempo lead single ‘After the Rain’ was a surprise for me when I first heard it. I expected them to start with something stronger, but I cannot deny it has commercial viability and a great hook. ‘Run With Us’ forgoes a bridge and goes right to the chorus, with electronic tom drum fills that add a synthwave element. There’s high energy songs about drinking with ‘Bottoms Up’, a throwback 70s rock sound with ‘Rock N’ Roll is My Religion’ and the soulful piano-based ballad about moving on from hard times with ‘Only for a While’. All these tracks are different from each other and make for great diversity.

While it is not my favorite song, I must say that ‘Leave a Light On’ was the chorus that stuck in my head in between listening sessions. That track features Maverick singer David Balfour on co-lead vocals. It’s a light and airy pop rock track that has a sing-along chorus that sticks with you. These guys understand the feel that 80s bands had and channel their essence well.

The addition of lead guitarist Chris Blade Johnson has upped the game of the band. His solos here are incredible, full of equal parts frenetic energy and melody. His speed is impressive, but he remembers to also hold back at all the right times and complement the melody, rather than overtake it. As I briefly discussed earlier, his solo on ‘Through Hell and Back’ is one for the ages. It’s been a long time since a solo hit me as hard as that one did.

I’ll admit that I did not notice bassist Andi Barrels sang on ‘Bottoms Up’ and ‘Nothing’s Gonna Keep Me from You’ until I read the press release. I just figured Mich lowered his register slightly for those tracks. The way their voices sound similar and mesh together during choruses is remarkable.

The only song that didn’t connect with me was ‘Everyday Heroes’. The song has a pop rock feel to it and is well performed, it’s the lyrics that I found to be cringe worthy. Lines like “We wrote this song for the everyday heroes” is just too schmaltzy for my liking. It’s a personal bias, but any song that has a “We are the World” vibe is a hard pass for me.

Is this album as good as their last one? It’s a tough call but I will go with their last album by just a hair. The opening track and guitar playing almost made this the better album. That is still high praise as their last effort was a tremendous release with this one coming close. Fans of their last effort will love this one at least as much or perhaps more, so let the debate begin. Stream or grab this release the day it comes out. It will make a bunch of Top 10 lists for sure.

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