Bombay Black

Kivel Records chucks another quality release to the masses with Bombay Black, and their debut Mercy. The CD is rife with heavy guitars, ala Zakk Wylde or even George Lynch, yet crammed full of melodies and harmonies that will make you sing along. The band is so versatile they even have a rap song on Mercy … but that comes later.

Most of the songs on the disk are about relationships, or the end of relationships, be it with loved ones, family, friends, etc. Blasting into your skull is the first track, “Bullet In The Head.” Lead singer Erik Johnson has an ultra-melodic delivery, and doesn’t really sound like anyone else out there. Like all the Kivel bands, you have to be able to sing your ass off to get signed, and Johnson does just that. This song is about love, and about the title, Johnson explains, “You gotta be out of your mind to go after something so variable and unsteady as love, cuz that's what it's like.”

“You for Me” is the first release from Bombay Black, and they have been getting rave reviews all over the planet. On the Classic Metal Show’s “Rocks Hard/Hardly Rocks,” the song set an unofficial record with a 99 percent approval rating. The chorus is catchy as all get out; they definitely picked the right song to announce their entry into the rock world.

Now, the song “Weight of the World” may throw you for a loop if you don’t know the story behind the song. Johnson actually raps, and he admits that he hates rap, but his point is to show how easy it is to do this type of song. Also, it’s a bit of a jab at one of his long-time friends who quit the music business, only to get a break and join one of the most popular nu-metal bands out there today.

When the guys slow it down a bit, like on “Hook,” they still do a great job. This is their admitted “pop,” song, but it’s still heavy with riffing. The lyrics are hilarious as too, with lines like, “She never acts evil, and she never acts tough. And you would never know that she likes it more than a little rough.” The song may remind you of bands like Bowling for Soup.

“Leave Me Alone” may be the best song on the CD, with an a capella beginning, a great hook, strong melodies and smart lyrics. It’s just one of those songs that make you want to crank the amp upwards of 11. Some other strong tracks are the softer “Fade Away” and the pissed off fun of “Get Mad Get Even.”

Bombay Black’s Mercy is a can’t miss CD for fans of melodic hard rock. - Derric Miller

Bombay Black’s debut CD is aptly titled “Mercy” because they are as hot as the July heat in Arkansas. Kivel Records has found another winner along the likes of Adriangale, Damn Cheetah, Pyn Siren and TNA. Bombay Black, are from Central Arkansas and Erik Johnson (lead vocals/guitar & keyboards), Jim Perry (guitar & vocals), Ty Simms (bass & vocals) and Rob McCauley (drums & vocals) all know something about crankin it up … The heat and the music that is!

“Mercy” is burning up with heavy guitars, thumping bass beats and crammed full of big melodic rock harmonies. Tunes that make you wanna tap your toes and bang your head! Very 80’s style hard rock, very much reminding me of early Kiss or Motley Crue and even Lillian Axe, which is a VERY good thing!! High Octane Rock N Roll for your soul.

A few favorite tracks right off were, one and two “Bullet In The Head” and You For Me’ with lots of guitar shredding and upbeat tempos. Tracks number five and eight “Get Out” and “Mission” have a sweet chugging riff going on, thumping bass lines and are thick with heavy harmonies. If you enjoy Ballads then both “Hooks” and “Fade Away” are rich with flowing melodic vocals and crunchy guitar solos. But no one wants to stay mellow, so they get back to kickin ass with “Blue Skies” a power anthem that will make any crowd wave their fist’s in the air and close the CD out with the aggressive “Get Mad Get Even” a for sure in your face attitude song that says “Up Yours”! Twelve hard hitting, well written and expertly mixed and produced songs that will impress even the hardest of critics.

Bombay Black is what hard rocking, head banging is all about. Check them out for yourself or be left behind in their dust! - Strike Up The Bands

This is a full-length album by the band BOMBAY BLACK. They come out of the USA, and they mix up modern rock, and some 80s Classic US Metal. What you get is an interesting set of material. 14 songs are included on the demo CDR , and most of the songs do have some great groovy guitarwork (typical American), but they do not sound like any other band in the Metalscene.

Opener “get mad get even” is a good strong US Power Metal song. However, next tune “Beast inside” is completely different and has a catchy 80s kinda Glam Metal chorus, with harmonyvocals a la DAMN YANKEES, yet a big groovy guitar wall of sound. The variety in styles continues, because “Weight of the world” is reminding me of KING’S X, while the poppy “Everything” is melodic poprock like the last DEF LEPPARD. “Everything” features a deadly catchy chorus.

Almost halfway through the album it is unbelievable how diverse this band really is, because this song “Everything” is really a pure AOR/Melodic Rocksong that could have been on a HAREM SCAREM album. For me this is the best song on the album, and it could easily turn out into a huge hit if it gets promoted. Anyway, the album continues as diverse as before, so a melting pot of Melodic Rock, Power Metal, Glam and traditional Rock/Metal. Highlights among the rest of the songs are “Get out” (very strong uptempo straight-forward rocker), “Hooks” (A very catchy upbeat fun melodic rocker) and “Fade away”.

This is actually a really great act, and it would not surprise me if they get signed someday soon, because they are definitely making diverse quality music. Besides, the production is already very good and the big harmonyvocals all throughout the album are very impressive (sounding like DAMN YANKEES meets DEF LEPPARD), so do check out this band soon! - STRUTERZINE

Bombay Black - PSYCHO MAGNET (Kivel Records)


Bombay Black
PSYCHO MAGNET
Kivel Records

It pains me that bands like Bombay Black get no love at all from commercial radio, while lesser bands like Hinder or even Velvet Revolver get so much attention from the suits that program regular radio. It's a statement to how little radio cares about playing what is good music, and only cares about the interest percentage and how that will equate to holdover value through the commercials. The thing that amazes me is that back in the day, radio stations actually clamored to find the next "big thing". Stations wanted to be the first to really play the shit out of bands, so they could claim that they had launched a band that became the next "Aerosmith". But those days are done. Instead, bands like Bombay Black are left to doing it on the strength of touring, internet radio, and word of mouth. Hopefully for them, that's enough. This very talented band has bounced back from an album that was a bit of a letdown to me with what is, without question, their strongest effort to date.

Over the years, Bombay Black has matured as players and as songwriters. Where their debut album sounded closer to 80s styled Dokken or Lynch Mob, they have grown away from that and into a more straight forward metal band with thick bottom end, big guitars, and cool vocals. Songs like "Psycho Magnet" are where the band puts it all together. The riffs laid in by guitarists "Devil" Jim Perry and Eric Johnson are big, as is the thunderous bottom end created by drummer Rob McCauley and bassist Ty Sims. Perry really is the star on PSYCHO MAGNET. His guitars are far more fierce and searing than anything he's done on the band's previous efforts. Songs like "The Ride" feature some nice old school remnants on guitar, but not enough to label the band as 80s sounding. They will probably always have to fight the hair metal stigma a little because vocalist Eric Johnson doesn't growl or sing through his nose like a whiny bitch. It's a good thing because his voice gives the music like "Knock You Down" a lot of character. While the vocal is distinctive though, it's really the music that does it this time around. Sims' bass lines and even occasional solos are much fatter in the mix than ever before, which just adds to the overall attitude of each and every song.

PITRIFF RATING - 8/10 - They maybe be named after some middle eastern hash, but there's nothing stoned and mellow about the powerful work on PSYCHO MAGNET from Bombay Black. Instead you get a powerful album that'll work for anyone who's a fan of riff oriented metal with big hooks that likes a touch of 80s styling mixed into their metal.



Added: Monday, June 16, 2008
Reviewer: Chris Akin

- Pitriff.com

Bombay Black
Psycho Magnet Kivel Records

by Derric Miller
Staff Writer

Comments: Just in time for failed summer romances, summertime marriage separations and fun-loving pre-Fall adultery comes the next anti-relationship soundtrack from Bombay Black, called Psycho Magnet, their third release. There are few bands today who make so much light of their personal experiences and set it to music with such … bombast. Hilarious, cutting, and most of all infectious, Bombay Black writes truthful lyrics that most bands can only hope to emulate. Psycho Magnet is their next step out of the underground and into mainstream, should the mainstream ever get its head out of its collective ass.

This time around, the band brought in Beau Hill to help produce the album, bringing some multi-platinum weight to this musical love-hating platter.

Psycho Magnet starts off with "The Ride," an ode to the kind of woman they'd clearly like to meet. The track is about a "friend with benefits" who "don't want your sweet devotion, she's just in it for the ride." Lead singer Erik Johnson sounds as evilly melodic as always, and one of the trademarks of Bombay Black is that they don't grunt, snarl, bark or sing through their noses. Nope, just straight ahead stellar Rock vocals at every turn. What a concept …

The title track is a three-minute burner, with thumping bass and a foreboding menace throughout. "Psycho Magnet" also allows bassist Ty Sims to steer the song with his intricate leads, some of them a bit funky. Lead guitarist Jim Perry rails into a seething solo here, and like all of their songs, they fall somewhere between Heavy Metal and Hard Rock. This is definitely not Hair Metal by any means. You'll have to dig the lyrics again, as Johnson sings, "If I had any sense at all, I wouldn't see you, I wouldn't even call. But my and my right hand can't seem to get along."

"Knock You Down" is another thumper, with Sims and drummer Rob McCauley starting off this song about a dickhead. The use of effects on Johnson's vocals works, making them somehow more vile before he launches into the chorus about building you up, just to knock you down. It's a cool track, the kind of song that you should listen to right before divorce court.

Now, Bombay Black is actually maturing, whether they want to believe or not, and it comes to light on the track "If Only." Where most of the songs are about escaping an acidic relationship, "If Only" is a mid-tempo rocker that conveys a bit softer side to Johnson's lyrics, as he sings lines like, "All that I want, to be your sun and moon," and "Everything that I have inside of me, all that I am is for you." This could easily be a hit, with its solid music passages that evoke real feelings of loss. Great stuff …

Of course, Bombay Black has to rock the house, specifically the Shag Palace, so they run from "If Only" directly to a good time on "SFCR." In a lot of ways, it's akin to Def Leppard's "Me and My Wine," just a simple anthem about boozing. They even throw in the lyric, "They've got five kinds of whiskey, but I've got my wine." Although they clearly didn't put as much thought into this one as something more complex like "If Only," it's one of the highlights of the CD.

Another song that could wipe those Pop Punk bands off the radio is "Break Up Anthem." Like the band Junior, everything in this song is one huge hook after another. Next time your girlfriend starts whining about your choice of dog shampoo for your chocolate lab, spout back at her lines like, "If there's so many better men, then please knock yourself out, " or "Sometimes I think of crime so I'd get sent away." No, it wouldn't help, but it's awesome that Johnson wrote those words anyway.

Psycho Magnet is proof that Bombay Black is going to be around for a long time. This is their third studio album, and they show no signs of hitting the wall creatively or musically. If anything, they continually improve as songwriters and musicians each time out. There is also a strong focus on guitar leads and solos here - they keep getting harder and longer. (The solos, kids, the solos.) It might take you a bit more listens to get into Psycho Magnet compared to Mercy and Anger Management, but it's worth every psychotic effort.

- Hard Rock Haven

REVIEW FROM HARDROCKHAVEN.NET

April 28, 2006
BOMBAY BLACK : "Anger Management"

When the guys in Bombay Black wrote their new CD, after hearing it in its entirety, the only title they COULD have come up with is Anger Management. Well, there could have been a few other titles, like I'm Pissed Off, or Women Freakin' Suck, or I Have Anger Issues, but Anger Management works best. Only their second release, Bombay Black is already carving out a name for themselves as the best new melodic hard rock band around. These guys will not let the momentum dwindle; they even just got back from a tour of Spain. Keeping that momentum going, they bring you their new release …

Intros are never good on any album. Putting a Bombay Black spin on things, the CD begins with lead singer Erik Johnson calling and leaving a message for his label head John Kivel and telling Kivel that intros are played out and there is no reason to do an intro. It's funny, with some cool effects, and is thankfully its own track, so after you hear it once or twice, you can skip it next time through.

The music begins with a blasting, heavy rocker called "Without You." Johnson and bassist Ty Sims produced the album and the sound is pure arena rock. It just blares at you, loud and clear, and makes you want to viciously abuse your liver. They lyrics are always something you need to pay attention to with Bombay Black: "Welcome to the Lonely Hearts Club; I'm sure you're in distinguished company. Have a smoke or a drink or a toke or what it takes to forget about me." While the title seems to go the Motley Crue route of a "love song," this is anything but, as Johnson yells, "I've got a better life waiting without you!" They picked the perfect song to begin Anger Management.

"Better Off Dead," is a mellower, '80s sounding groovy rock song. The hook is massive, and Johnson's voice has improved since the first go-around. Like their first CD, they write songs almost bragging about their problems with females. "I could poke out my eye, drink some cyanide, because I'd rather be in Hell than be with you tonight." Johnson is no slouch on the guitar either, ripping up a bluesy and clean solo.

Don't think that these guys are pop, melodic rock though. Listen to the riffs on "Out of Your Mind," for instance. This is an intensely heavy track, with other guitarist Jim Perry blazing through some intricate guitar leads. This guy can shred.

The fun never ends with this album. "Every Time I Miss You" sounds like a bubble-gum pop rock song, but oh no, with Johnson penning the song, it's pure spite. "I think about the time you smiled at me down on another like a two-dollar whore." Dang, hoss. The thing about writing these types of lyrics is that they are inherently memorable and allow you to sing along the second time you hear the track. That's really strength of Bombay Black - their songs are so catchy they can appeal to everyone not deaf.

There is not really a bad song on Anger Management. They keep the quality on high with songs like "Perfect Day in Hell," "Smile" and the hidden track, "You Suck!" You can tell that they are truly a "live band." There are no tricks here, just great songs and great music.

Bombay Black took the sophomore jinx, dumped a bottle of Jim Beam on it, and set it ablaze. Anger Management is better than Mercy, and it'll be a ride to see what they come up with next.




Reviewed by Derric Miller
- Hard Rock Haven

REVIEW FROM FIREWORKS MAGAZINE UK

April 28, 2006
BOMBAY BLACK : "Anger Management"

Wow! I was previously totally unfamiliar with Bombay Black, but having been fortunate in gaining the band's second album to review, I now know what the revellers at the Firefest 3 pre-show party are in for from Bombay Black…no-nonsense, hugely melodic hard rock American-style with a distinctly retro vibe that is absolutely stuffed with melodies and harmonies that totally invite the listener to sing along. Oh, and the Little Rock, Arkansas-based band also have a deliciously wicked sense of humour!

This is so finely demonstrated by the two tracks that bookend the twelve that are actually listed on the back of the CD – 'Intro' and 'U Suck'. 'Intro' is really an anti-intro, with Erik Johnson explaining to label boss John Kivel in a voicemail why he feels the album does not need an intro "it's kinda hard coming up with something that hasn't been done before…" Well, folks, this is it…and it's a hoot. But, my oh my, wait till you hear 'U Suck'. It is absolutely what all of us who have ever been let down by somebody big style would like to present to them: "I must admit I've never met anyone like you. You're so full of shit, your eyes should be brown instead of blue…" and wait 'till you get to the chorus! Yes, they'll be bouncing off the walls at Rock City to this one, I have no doubt whatsoever!

And the twelve songs in between these are all about relationships and the angst and anger they seem to cause, and I absolutely guarantee this will help anyone work through lingering bad memories of failed relationships (well, it has me!!) Just cop a listen to 'Better Off Dead' : "You used to be my sunshine, now you're just like the rain…" or 'Masochistic Love Song': "She calls me her glorious disgrace that's why I let her kick my ass all over the place…" This is just what you need to put a smile on your face (along with a double shot of Jack, of course!)

Look, I could fill the rest of this page of Fireworks telling you what a great party album this is, but just go and get it (especially if you are going to Firefest) and get yourselves ready to rock and sing along.

Messrs Erik Johnson, Ty Sims, Jim, Perry and Rob McCauley I salute you…


Paul Jerome Smith


- Fireworks Magazine UK