Buckcherry
Black Butterfly

Campus Correspondent Review By Hunter Embry,
Indiana University Southeast


Since 1999, Buckcherry has released four solid rock albums that vibe an early Guns N’ Roses, combining 70’s hard rock and punk with blues based riffs – sex, drugs and rock n’ roll. They have developed their own sweet brand of rock n roll with aggressive drums, adrenalized guitars and bitchin’ vocals.

The band’s latest release Black Butterfly (Atlantic) is familiar Buckcherry. In the track “Talk to Me,” expect raspy, screaming vocals around a crown of thick, but sharp Les Paul tones. “Tired of You” is lustful ‘80s guitar rock with a taunting, aggressive vocal lines and gutty drums. “Imminent Bailout” comes close to resurrecting the ghost of vintage GNR, with a crash-riding drum beat and several snarling guitars.

Several tracks from Black Butterfly reminisce of older albums in the fact that they are up to their ears in attitude rock, but Buckcherry has also used their past project to display their other, slower side- moved by careful melodies made of sincere lyrics and rich guitar tones. Other than “All of Me,” a bubbly, acoustic love song about devotion, the slower tracks lack the sincerity and originality expected from the band. “Dreams,” for example, sounds familiar with its strummed tremolo-ed guitar and pouncing bass line, but there’s no emotional hook.

Similarly, the group stumbles with the first single, “Too Drunk…,” a funky riff-based song about being too drunk to get it on. Buckcherry obviously took note of what types of visions “worked” and this probably led to the idea for the track, though it turns out as a mess of vulgar, over-the-top lyrics that just don’t seem to flow. (Think “Crazy Bitch” gone Hollywood). While Black Butterfly lacks some spirit, it’s still a decent depiction of what Buckcherry is all about and one could think of twenty albums less worthy of purchase.