# Album of the Week: The Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s ‘Specter At The Feast’

- Link: https://indierockcafe.com/2013/03/album-of-the-week-the-black-rebel-motorcycle-clubs-specter-at-the-feast/
- Published: 2013-03-21T22:30:51-04:00
- Author: Max Hammer

[[
 _by J. Hubner_

The track, “Fire Walker,” opens quietly. It’s like opening a long forgotten book
and beginning what would be many incredible chapters. “Fire Walker” is the opening
sentence to a band’s reawakening. **Robert Levon Been** doesn’t come out swinging,
but swaying ever so lightly. Tension and sadness permeate his voice as he sings 
lines like ‘Your soul was only yours to keep/It’s buried in me now/A bullet from
the shell it leaves/It strips it to the ground’. The song never gets above a masterful
solemnity, and that’s how _Specter At The Feast_, released on Monday, begins a new
chapter for **Black Rebel Motorcycle Club**, one of their best albums in years. (
MP3 version only $5 at Amazon; CD is $8.99).

[“Fire Walker”](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/firewalker-brmc.mp3)–**
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club** from _Specter At The Feast_

Then comes the rock. That familiar fuzzy bass, the straining guitar squalls, and
the tribal drums return in full bombast form on “Let The Day Begin,” an instant 
BRMC classic. It encapsulates all the things BRMC have used to build their sound
since forming in 1998; tension, gutter grime, and a fist-pumping bravado. At the
heart of this leather-clad band, there is a straight-up rock ‘n roll band that wants
nothing more than to make an arena filled with fans scream at the top of their lungs
and sing along. They’re the **U2** of the black leather jacket union. They’re the
saviors of the freaks and geeks.

A song like “Returning” is a scratched and bleeding open hug for the disenfranchised.“
Lullaby” has the feel of a lost classic. Been has never sounded this earnest and,
well, lovely. The death of Robert Levon Been’s father in 2010 has given _Specter
At The Feast_ an ample amount of heartache and reflection that – for good or bad–
has never been so present on any previous BRMC album. “Returning,” “Lullaby,” “Some
Kind Of Ghost,” and “Sometimes The Light” bring an air of remorse, introspection,
and ultimately redemption to this record.

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[“Let The Day Begin”](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/let-the-day-begin-brmc.mp3)–**
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club** from _Specter At The Feast_

[“Returning”](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/returning-brmc.mp3) –**
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club** from _Specter At The Feast_

Listen to the full album on Spotify.

There’s also still plenty of fire and grime in tracks like “Hate The Taste,” “Rival,”
and the excellently **Jesus and Mary Chain**-like “Teenage Disease,” one of the 
best rock ‘n roll screeches you’re likely to hear this year. I hear a song like “
Teenage Disease” and I can’t help but be reminded of **New York** by way of **Detroit**
punk metal rockers **Warrior Soul**. Though only prominent for maybe a five-year
span, Warrior Soul’s **Korey Clarke** had a voice that sounded battered, bruised
and bloody, yet still retained a soul and power that kept you enthralled. Robert
Levon Been has that same ability. Check out 1991’s _Drugs, God, and the New Republic_
for proof of Warrior Soul’s short-but-sweet moment of rock ‘n roll glory. _Specter
At The Feast_‘s closer “Lose Yourself” is a long and bittersweet goodbye, with a
melancholy sound that hints at early British band **Straitjacket Fits**.

“Teenage Disease” – **Black Rebel Motorcycle Club** from _Specter At The Feast_

After a mid-2000s lull with albums like _Howl, Baby 81_, and the straight up bizarre
_The Effects of 333_, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club seemed to be on the road to healing
with 2010’s _Beat The Devil’s Tattoo_. With _Specter At The Feast_ BRMC have proven
to us once again they are one of the best rock ‘n roll bands working today. Robert
Levon Been has also proven the best way to healing is through songs. This is a raucous
rock ‘n roll comeback, and a bittersweet goodbye. The best kind of book.

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_8 out of 10 – J. Huber is a freelance music writer and music fanatic_