[7/10] You stand a better chance at winning the lottery than getting a second chance in the music business. Since the industry has taken a nose dive, the idea of artist development is a thing of the past. If your record doesn’t hit big immediately, then you find yourself and the record you just put your heart and soul into tossed to the curb like a piece of garbage.

An extreme exception to the rule is Buckcherry. When their sophomore record failed to meet the success of the group’s blockbuster debut, they were tossed aside and forgotten. Then after a couple years of failed solo projects, the group re-formed and was given a second chance with the release of the group’s third album 15. The album would spring the band back into the spotlight and straight to the top of the charts, while becoming one of the most successful rock records of recent years selling well over a million copies.

Now the band is faced with yet again following up the success of a platinum record with the group’s fourth album Black Butterfly. Right away the band waste no time settling into the guitar driven rock grooves that they have perfected in the past. “Rescue Me” quickly kicks the album into high gear with a thunderous stomp in what is definitely one of the album’s brightest points. Other high rocking anthems “A Child Called It,” “Imminent Bail Out” and “Fallout” find Buckcherry at their best.

Its only when Black Butterfly slows down that it begins to falter. Tracks like the weak breezy ballad “Cream” and “Don’t Go Away” do little o keep the momentum of the album and constitute album filler. Meanwhile, the album’s first single “Too Drunk” sounds like the band is trying to replicate the success of the group’s massive single “Crazy Bitch” with subject matter that will appeal to the party crowd looking for an anthem to get annihilated to. The track’s wonky guitars flop around until hitting a sing-along chorus that does little to help bail it out from becoming one of the band’s worst songs. The only saving grace in the ballad department is”Dreams,” a love song anchored by a powerhouse chorus that knocks listeners on their ass.

In the end Buckcherry’s Black Butterfly is an adequate follow-up to 15 that will be embraced by fans and offers a number of tracks that will be welcomed to the band’s live catalog. Whether or not the album will live up to predecessor remains to be seen, but it does showcase Buckcherry’s ability to write good, solid rock records.

www.buckcherry.com