Black Oak County – Black Oak County

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BLACK OAK COUNTY is a Danish hard rock quartet, whom, even though I’ve been living in Denmark for 5 years now, I’ve never heard of. Nonetheless, I am always on the lookout for ‘new talents’, and when they are from the main land as I am, all the better.

 “Someone Else” has a classic rock start; fast paced guitars and hard-hitting drums that make your legs go nuts. That’s how the entire album holds itself, one pound after another, not letting the pace down even for a second. “Enough On My Plate” is full of energy and the guitar solo is right down perfection-alley in my book. Sometimes it reminds me of NICKELBACK, and before you start judging, this is a good thing, I am talking about the good part in NICKELBACK. Jesus….I can already hear the complaints.

The first release of the album was “Mad Dog”, and much like the first track it starts with a punch and it keeps you entertained throughout the entire 4-something minutes. “Rated R for Redneck” should be one of the 2017 hottest hits, hell.. make it the soundtrack of 2017. MAKING 2017 GREAT AGAIN! No, leaving politics behind, this is one of the funniest and well-delivered song I have listened to lately. Niels performance is spot on; I literally can’t say anything bad about this guy, he can actually sing.
“If you Only Knew” which you could swear is from NICKELBACK is a slow, radio-friendly (as someone called it) must have ballad. Which isn’t something negative, it’s just more on the commercial side as far as their style is to be concerned. And again, damn, Niels can sing.

To be honest, what ‘shocks’ me about this album, is that it doesn’t feel like a debut, if I would put it for someone who doesn’t know about them, I am pretty sure he will think we are talking about a VOLBEAT or D-A-D size of a band. This self-titled album exhumes confidence; the guys know exactly what they are doing, and by putting together thick riffs, catchy choruses and frontman Niels Beier’s powerful voice into the mix, there you have it, a 10 piece crowed pleaser. BLACK OAK COUNTY delivers a masterpiece of an album, and mark my words, you will see them performing on some of the biggest stages soon enough.

Songwriting: 10
Originality: 9
Memorability: 10
Production: 10