Black Swan: Generation Mind

Generation Mind is the second album by up-and-coming supergroup Black Swan. The band comprises of Robin McAuley (McAuley Schenker Group), Reb Beach (Winger/Whitesnake), Jeff Pilson (formerly of Dokken), and Matt Starr (Ace Frehley). The band stylistically throws back to hard rock of the 1980’s, especially reminiscent of groups like Scorpions and Dio. While they have a vintage feel, the band still sounds refreshing, and shows that they truly understand what made classic hard rock great. There are memorable riffs, catchy choruses and harmonies, and tight and accessible songs.

When this album first started, I got a bit nervous. I started to hear the riffs on the second track, “She Hides Behind�, and my initial judgement was that the group would be bland and derivative, sounding like every 1980’s glam metal band. I realized shortly after that I was completely wrong with this assumption. As I alluded during my introduction, this whole album is so well crafted. The riffs are spectacular, the verses and choruses are all hooky, while still being relatively heavy (except the ballads), and the performances are top notch. More than anything, this band reminds me of Scorpions, and if the latter group hadn’t released a masterpiece with Rock Believer, I would say that this album filled my craving of great Scorpions material, since we hadn’t gotten any in close to 40 years. What makes both albums special is that even though they have a vintage feel, they also have a certain amount of modernity in both the production and songwriting. This keeps the material fresh, and not the same thing that we’ve heard time and time again. My favorite song on this album is “Eagles Fly�. It has a brutally heavy riff, but it is also so hooky and groovy. I also think that McAuley gives his best vocal performance on the album here. The chorus is super catchy, and he tears through it with his tremendous range. Some of my other favorite tracks are “Miracle� and “Crown�. The production on this album is also spectacular. There is perfect separation between all the instruments, and the guitars and vocals especially create a humongous and powerful sound.

Overall, this is an album that you can’t miss. If you are a fan of 1980’s hard rock and metal, then this will fill the need for new content that has the same spirit but is still of its own. I honestly don’t have any complaints about the album at all. It’s super fun, catchy, and well written/performed. I look forward to hearing future works by the group, and I am going to go back and listen to the first album as well. Highly recommended!

Black Swan is:
Robin McAuley: Vocals
Reb Beach: Guitars
Jeff Pilson: Bass
Matt Starr: Drums

Track Listing:

1. Before The Light
2. She Hides Behind
3. Generation Mind
4. Eagles Fly
5. See You Cry
6. Killer On the Loose
7. Miracle
8. How Do You Feel
9. Long Way Down
10. Crown
11. Wicked The Day
12. I Will Follow

Added: June 14th 2022
Reviewer: Ryan Gavalier
Score:
Related Link: Band Facebook Page
Hits: 821
Language: english

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