Black Dog Moon Release Sophomore Album ‘Hell and Back’ (Irish Blues/Hard Rock)
Black Dog Moon are the culmination of the long and storied career of Conal Montgomery. A 5 piece blues-infused rock and roll band that proudly wear their influences on the backs of their denim jackets but bring their own unmistakable swagger and perspective to their sound. Self-titled debut album was released in June 2024 with follow up single ‘Neon Queen’ dropping in September this year. Both releases caught the sharpened ears of Hot Press, Pure M Zine, The Sounds Won’t Stop, Buzz Slayers, Ragged Cast, Uber Rock, Rock n Load, theBeat.ie, Belfast Music Recommends playlist and BBC radio show Precious Metal. Now, less than 18 months later, following a slew of live dates, the band return with their sophomore album ‘Hell and Back’. There is no ‘difficult second album’ to be found here, across the albums 11 tracks the band demonstrate why they stand apart from their contemporaries. From bluesy slow burners, to ferocious heads down assaults with amps dimed to 11 and everything in between ‘Hell and Back’ is exhaustive in its exploration of ideas, giving the band licence to go where they may and return from hell unscathed.
Black Dog Moon – Holy War (Focus Track Spotify Link)
Formed in wake of Conal’s previous band Sweetleaf, who clocked in thousands of miles touring Ireland and the UK, playing with the legendary Motorhead and Eric Bell (Thin Lizzy) along the way. Black Moon Dog emerged as a fully realised band, with an ambitious debut album to introduce themselves to the world. The band are completed by the dual guitars of Daniel Martin and Dylan Kelly, Steve Glackin on drums and Nicky Brown on bass. With a sound characterised by riffing dualling guitars, thunderous drums, rumbling bass, and Conal’s inimitable voice.
Black Dog Moon – Hell and Back (Spotify Album Link)
The song writing process for the album, for the most part, begins with Conal and an acoustic guitar, as he carves out song structures and melodies before giving the band ‘the acoustic version’ of the track. The band then bring their respective hammers to anvil, forging the song in the fire of Black Dog Moon, working their special alchemy to produce the tracks. Having spent considerable time playing live shows to promote the previous album, the band carried this momentum through into their song writing. Tracks came easy for ‘Hell and Back’, which sees the first song writing efforts from Daniel, penning Neon Queen, Shot of Love and Hell and Back, with Nicky and Daniel contributing lyrics to tracks as well. This expanded contribution makes for a richer, more diverse album.
Opening track ‘The Prophecy’ doesn’t come snarling out of the gate like you might expect but rather eases us into the album with a slow burn bluesy number. It feels and sounds like after midnight, as the guitar becomes a vessel for emotional exorcism. Laden notes ring out as Conal sings of a prophesised end of the world. There are lyrical nods to dangerous blind faith and mankind’s sense of entitlement to the world. Not the opener you’d expect but all the more powerful for it.
Lead single, ‘Neon Queen’ wastes absolutely no time in letting you know what you’re in for, crunchy guitars, riffs and huge drums are the order of the day. The next 5 minutes are a relentless heads’ down assault as the dual guitars of Daniel Martin and Dylan Kelly dish out riff after riff.. The rhythm section keep things locked down as guitars spiral around each other. Conal’s vocals soar over the considerable roar of the band, as he narrates the tale of the ‘Neon Queen’.
Another change of pace as Conal visits ‘The Ghostly Old Scots Pine’, a sombre and poignant tale of a close friend of his who, while struggling with his mental health, planned to take his own life at the pine tree in his garden. After a storm the tree was uprooted and lay in his garden. This became a turning point in their lives. The track is reflective of the tumult of the situation, the relative calm of the acoustic intro that gives way to a torrent of wild guitars, the bass snakes a melodic counter point to Conal’s vocals. There’s a hint of Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds here.
‘1985’ opens with some speaker shredding guitars which provide the canvas for a nostalgic look back at days marked by stone washed jeans, big hair and questionable fashion choices, all while falling in love (at least for the weekend). Think Summer of 69 but if Thin Lizzy wrote it. Unfathomably catchy.
Approaching the halfway point ‘Heavy Shot of Love’ is the meaner, heavier cousin of ‘1985’. The adolescent sweetness has been replaced by sweaty rock clubs, leather jackets, drinks thrust in the air and a hint of Sunset Strip for good measure. The chorus demands to be sang back by crowds in the aforementioned sweaty rock clubs.
Sixth in the running order ‘Leaving Town’ brings us back down to reality with a bump. Daniel and Dylan’s guitars compliment each other perfectly, acoustic chords under a wailing distorted lead adds depth to the track, helping emphasise the emotion in lyrics. Conal sings of generational struggles with limited prospects as people look elsewhere for that greener grass. The track builds to a crescendo morphing from the quiet intro into a full blown distortion fuelled catharsis as Conal intones ‘Looking back is easy, And leaving town is hard‘.
‘Holy War’ feels like a classic 80’s rock track, ala Sabbath or Maiden, that brings a metal lilt to addressing the frustrations felt by that community in relation to yet another religious conflict tearing the world apart. A senseless waste of human life over imaginary lines. Heavy both musically and in subject matter.
This is balanced out by the more uplifting ‘Gratitude’. A subject lesser explored by hard rock bands, mostly concerned with the darker side of the human condition, this song turns those conventions on their head as the band give thanks for all that’s great. All driven by an ever present wailing Wah pedal, with some wah-leads that would make even Kirk Hammet jealous.
They say the best songs come from experiences you’ve lived, ‘Lost My Mind In California’ is true of that, two-fold. While the band hammer home a galloping rhythm, Conal recalls an encounter while visiting California, with someone struggling with addiction and ready to give up on life. Mirroring his own struggles with addiction the track becomes all the more poignant, as he seems to sing to the protagonist and his past-self.
Title and penultimate track ‘Hell and Back’ finds the band firing on all cylinders. With amps dimed to 11 the band tear through a rip-roaring, neck snapping track, thunderous drums and multiple finger shredding solos in check. No neck is safe. Written spontaneously in the band’s practice space, it came to be after the album was finished but deemed too good to disregard it became the title track for the record.
For album closer ‘Black Hearts and Diamonds’ the band reach back into their blues rock influences. Call and response passages between Conal and the guitar give way to Jimmy Page-esque extended solos. While Steve’s drums add bullet hole punctuation marks to the flurry of notes and Nicky’s bass keeps the track anchored letting Dylan and Daniel trade licks like the cards in the song. The song tells the story of two young lovers living and surviving on the road.
Production was handled by Steve Fearnley at Narrow Water Studios in Warrenpoint, bringing a contemporary approach while perfectly capturing that 80’s classic rock sound and the smokiest of blues clubs.
‘Hell and Back’ is the sound of a band comfortable and confident in their sound, not content to dine out on past glories the album finds them push themselves into new sonic territory. Unafraid to bring a wide array of sounds and songs to a genre that vastly relies on an agreed palette. Conal pulls from fact and fiction for inspiration, pulling on the blues influences means he brings a story tellers approach to hard rock that gives him freedom beyond the typical genre troupes. Often a bands second offering means a misstep as they look to evolve while retaining their fanbase. There are no such issues here as Black Dog Moon take us to hell and back with a bitchin soundtrack.