The second album from Black Star Riders is well named. “In life you have to have that killer instinct,” says guitarist Scott Gorham. “That’s a great philosophy and resonated with us all in a big way.”

The titular killer instinct was certainly present for the legendary musician and his BSR henchmen on this stellar second outing, which marks a notable creative shift from its predecessor, All Hell Breaks Loose.
 “The debut album was intended to be released under the Thin Lizzy banner and you can almost hear that,” he explains. “With this record the shackles have been released. We just take off in another direction. At least I hope you can hear that!”
The collection was originally intended to have Def Leppard man Joe Elliott on production. It instead features Nick Raskulinecz of Foo Fighters, Rush and Mastodon fame.
“When Joe found out we were going to do a second album he came to us to say he’d love to produce,” says Scott. “But not long afterwards Def Leppard got a brand new record deal and I think with Vivian being ill and all that, they needed to get the album done so there was a schedule clash. There were no hard feelings though. We still send each other Christmas cards!”
Once again the album showcases the wonderful songwriting abilities of Ricky Warwick, so similar to Lynott in his craft.
“I really think songwriters have stopped telling stories and are more interested in a catchphrase and then finding a really cool rhyming scheme,” opines Gorham. “Ricky won’t do that. For him, to have not told a story he would feel like he was cheating the listener. He’s very similar to Phil in that respect.”
Gorham confirms the ghost of Phil is omnipresent for the outfit, whose live show is split between new material and Lizzy classics.
“I learned so much from Phil, it’s ridiculous. Phil always stays with me – when we are in the studio he is floating around somewhere.”
With a slew of glowingly reviewed festival appearances and sold-out headline shows under their belt, the band are keen to kick-start another live adventure. The forthcoming outing sees them team up with Scandinavian rock royalty Europe for a double-headline tour.
“Actually the idea came from our manager who looks after Europe too,” explains Gorham. “Both bands know each other really well. I got up with Joey and the boys at Sweden Rock just last year and did a song. All those guys grew up on Thin Lizzy. It’s a great match.”
Unbelievably, January 4, 2016 will mark the 30th anniversary of the passing of the iconic Lizzy frontman. How would Gorham like to see him celebrated?
“I’m hoping that we can put a Thin Lizzy extravaganza together in honour of Phil,” he enthuses. “Obviously this all has to be talked about and worked out to see what, when and how we can do all this, but it’s definitely on my radar so we’ll see what we can actually come up with!”