Gorham formed Black Star Riders at the tail-end of 2012, initially as a way to create a distinction between his work touring with a reformed Thin Lizzy and material written for new studio albums. Whilst admitting the records would ‘always sound like Thin Lizzy’, BSR established a reputation of their own with each of their four Nuclear Blast released records placing in the Top 30 of the UK charts.
Discussing their departure from the label, Warwick says, “[We] had an amazing eight years with Nuclear Blast and I want to thank everyone there for their commitment and dedication during this time, but it was time to part ways and Earache have well and truly stepped up to the plate! We can’t wait to start the new relationship with the great team there.”
While Earache made their reputation in the 80s and 90s with their roster of extreme metal bands, in recent years they have assembled a number of hard rock groups including Blackberry Smoke, Buckcherry and Massive Wagons.
Gorham’s departure means his last record with the band was 2019’s Another State Of Grace, as the band will enter the studio on October 14th to start recording the follow-up with long-time producer Jay Ruston (Stone Sour, Steel Panther, Uriah Heep). The band will not be replacing Gorham and will remain a four-piece going forwards, with guitar duties split between Ricky Warwick and Christian Martucci.
The band’s fifth record is not expected until early 2023 with live shows expected to be announced closer to release.
Martucci comments: “We have decided to let the abundance of rescheduled shows in 2022 blow over so we can come back in full force in 2023 without any distractions. We can’t wait to see all our fans and followers again after what seems like an eternity off the road and we appreciate no end their continued support and loyalty to BSR.”
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