Blacktop Mojo – “Burn The Ships” [Album Review]

It was just a year ago when I was standing in a bar room in small town Texas waiting for Drowning Pool to come out, when this local band took center stage and played a few songs before the main event. I honestly wasn’t paying too much attention at first; I had a drink in my hand, but then, this guitar riff caught my ear and I thought, “that is a catchy drum beat, hey, the bass player looks pretty cool,” and then bam, that voice. I was blown away the first time I heard Blacktop Mojo.

Hailing from Palestine, Texas, these southern gents know how to put on a show; they rock hard and are on a steady rise to fame, but, it has not been easy. So here comes their new album, Burn The Ships, which releases on March 10th via Cuhmon Records.

The title of the new album is inspired by a story dating back to 1519 when Captain Hernán Cortés landed in Veracruz to begin his great conquest. Upon arriving, he gave the order to his men to burn the ships. That was done so there would be no way out, they had no room for failure. And the band slapping that name on the new album shows not only their will to make it in the music scene, but it is also the their outlook on their collective careers… there is no room for failure. And there is nothing failing when it comes to this new album.

Burn The Ships is thirteen songs of nothing but kick-ass tunes. This helping of music is a bit harder, slightly more rigid than their first record.

Blacktop Mojo hits the listener with heavy sounds on some tracks (“End of Days”, “Sweat”), throw down a little heavy bluesy grit on “Pyromaniac” and their rendition of Aerosmith’s “Dream On” will leave you in awe. They even get down hard on the power ballad “Make a Difference” and one of my favorite songs on the album, “Prodigal”.

I am going to be totally honest here, there is absolutely no bad song on this album. Burn The Ships is quality music you can clearly hear, but also feel. If you weren’t a BTM fan before this, you will be now. And if you have been a fan of their earlier music, you will not be let down in any shape, form or fashion. This is a solid album, and these guys are proof that rock is not dead.

Burn The Ships Track Listing:

01. Where The Wind Blows
02. End Of Days
03. Burn The Ships
04. Prodigal
05. Shadows On The Wall
06. Sweat
07. Pyromaniac
08. 8000 Lines
09. Dog On A Leash
10. Make A Difference
11. Chains
12. Dream On
13. Underneath

Run Time: 51:75
Release Date: March 10, 2017

Check out the title track “Burn The Ships”