You can tell that BLACK WATER RISING is getting older. Why in heaven’s name would I say that? Because instead of the normal waiting period of four years between albums we now had to wait some eight years for “The Edge”, doubling the period of silence by the band. These New Yorkers, who have been together since 2006, have now released this one as their fourth endeavour. The first three, “Black Water Rising” from 2009, “Pissed And Driven” from 2013 and “Electrified” from 2017 have never graced my stereo system, so are unknown to me. But if you are wondering, musically these guys play a kind of music that combines their main ingredient Stoner Rock with Heavy Rock and a little bit of Heavy Metal, making them accessible from many an angle.

And I do have to say that the way that BLACK WATER RISING approaches their music making is right up my street. I wouldn’t call myself a Stoner Rock lover or connoisseur, but I do love old fashioned Rock and Metal, and even with the contemporary sound that is to be found on “The Edge” I hear enough that makes me travel back in time when everything was done manually, all those expensive and complicated gadgets weren’t available. Yes, I do mean the end of the seventies and early eighties, as that is where the focus of this BLACK WATER RISING music has originated. Do I mind? On the contrary, I love the feeling that this band is radiating on “The Edge”.

As for the songs, I have a difficult time finding anything I don’t like. They all have that kind of an underbelly rhythm that will have you tapping your foot or feet, that will have you nodding your head and that will cause you to stop what you are doing, even if it just for a second, to listen to what BLACK WATER RISING has thought of next. And that, my friends is a sure-fired way of telling that an album has your attention. That is when you realise that you are intrigued by what you are hearing. To me the feeling that “The Edge” is giving me is one of familiarity, of recognition and of joy. The latter because I am very happy that there are still bands out there who don’t need all kind of gizmos to make their music work. Thank you, BLACK WATER RISING, for “The Edge”.