Album Review – Black Buffalo by One Bad Son

I don’t know what’s gotten in Canada’s drinking water in recent years, but I keep discovering amazing rock bands from our frozen lands. Bands like Monster Truck, Glorious Sons, Last Bullet and now One Bad Son are all making a splash and bringing back good old dirty rock ‘n roll music. The band from Saskatoon has just released its fourth album since 2004, Black Buffalo, and it’s a scorching piece of rock music.

Right from the opener, “Vinyl Spin Burner” (this album would sound great on record), with its catchy riffs and intense vocals, it’s obvious the guys came here to rock, and rock they do. Their earlier material is good too, but this album shows them elevating their songwriting to a new level. I’ve tried to find an adequate comparison for their music, and the best I can come up with is that if you like Slash’s solo stuff, you should like One Bad Son. At times their music also shows a healthy dose of 80’s hard rock influence. Prime examples are the title track and “Year of the Wolf”, two tracks that would not have been out of place on an L.A. Guns record or from any of the bluesier acts of that era.

The album is remarkably solid all the way through, and their cover of Talking Head’s “Psycho Killer” is really good (I prefer it to the original even). The album ends on a nice smooth vibe, with a cool track named after a Clint Eastwood western, “The Outlaw Josey Wales”. (Their previous album had a track named “True Grit” so it’s probably safe to assume the guys are fans of old westerns)

“Black Buffalo” is a solid, down to earth, rock record, with cool guitar riffs, creamy solos and great melodies. Highly recommended for rock fans.

One Bad Son will be opening for Airbourne and Glorious Sons this fall.

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Jean-Frederic Vachon

By day, Jean-Frédéric is Head of Development Services at videogame developer Behaviour Interactive. Rock journalist by night, Jean-Frédéric fills every waking moment of his life with music. Diary of a Music Addict is the little corner of the Internet he's claimed for himself to share his passion with the world.

He's also a regular contributor at the excellent news site Montreal Rampage

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