Black Country Communion 2

Overview

Writing for the album started as early as August 2010 according to Glenn Hughes, a month before the release of the band's debut album, Black Country. As with its predecessor, the songs were recorded at Shangri-La Studios in California and were produced by Kevin Shirley. The first batch of seven songs was recorded in four days according to Hughes' personal Twitter account. Recording was finished on 22 February 2011, and Shirley completed the mastering two days later.

The album's official title and track listing were released on 23 March 2011, with the official album art following on 29 March 2011. On 5 May 2011, the band released the single "The Outsider" for free digital download from their official website. On 8 June 2011, the band released the music video for one of the songs off the new album, "Man in the Middle". The video was directed by Davin Maske and features studio footage of the band intercut with Hughes driving around L.A. in a cherry red 1965 Ford Thunderbird.

Reception

The album received a Metascore of 75 from review aggregrator Metacritic, based on 6 critics, indicating generally favorable reviews.

Allmusic claimed that the album "arguably tops its worthy predecessor as a balanced song set." Thrash Hits lauded the album as "the best classic rock record you’ll hear all year." The Independent noted that the band's growing chemistry had improved upon the band's debut: "The first [album] was a ghastly glued-together assemblage of clichés and show-off playing; this one feels much more like a group searching for a sound together."

Personnel