Black Dog Moon – Hell and Back 2025

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Sometimes you get to hear an unknown band and it’s like, ‘’What the heck was that?!’’ – but in a good way. And the more you listen to it, the more evident it is you have something special on your hands (and ears). That’s the case with County Down, Ireland classic rockers BLACK MOON DOG and their jsut released album “Hell And Back“.
Formed in wake of singer Conal Montgomery previous band Sweetleaf, who clocked in thousands of miles touring Ireland and the UK, playing with the legendary Motorhead and Eric Bell (Thin Lizzy) along the way, Black Moon Dog emerged as a fully realised band a decade ago with a sound characterised by riffing dualling guitars, thunderous drums, rumbling bass, and Conal’s inimitable voice.
There’s great big thick slabs of Thin Lizzy all over the place. In that wonderful way where not only is it a homage, but an integral part of not only their sound and stained into their very souls. Oh and add Rory Gallagher into the equation as well.
But BLACK MOON DOG are not one trick pony. You have to be brave to open the album with a lilting ethereal, rock blues drenched number (‘The Prophecy‘). But that’s what Black Dog Moon have done. And it’s that good, it works.
Just when you think you have got their musical identity, track two, ‘Neon Queen‘ has all the heavy hallmarks of early W.A.S.P… I kid you not! It easily could have been on Blackie and Co’s debut album. Conal’s vocal delivery is eerily close to Mr Lawless.
Then you have a track titled ‘1985’, and it’s pure melodic hard rock from that era yet wrapped by fuzzy guitars and insane catchiness. Does this mix of styles works on the whole album? Definitely yes!

One of the favorite aspects of the whole record is that every once in a while, you get a song that really does give you this vintage tonality. The guitars can be drenched in reverb effect; the whole thing just feels old school, and they really nail that soundscape when they want to.
To say BLACK MOON DOG are a ‘blues-based classic rock band’ just doesn’t do them justice.
For us, they are quintessentially a rock band. Their sound harks back to the late 70s and the ’80s, but you have to be able to deliver songs in spades to actually carry this off. And BLACK MOON DOG have done that with aplomb here.

‘Heavy Shot of Love‘ is closer to ‘Neon Queen‘ in spirit and will surely be a live staple. The guitar interplay on album closer ‘Black Hearts and Diamonds‘ is sublime.
It’s when BLACK MOON DOG ease off the pedal, you get to see the full picture and textures that the band possesses. Whether it’s the entirety of ‘Ghostly Scots Pine Tree‘ and ‘Leaving Town‘, the beginning of ‘Holy War‘ or ‘Lost My Mind in California‘, these musicians are not boxed into a style by any stretch.
Yet when they rock, they do so in a controlled, coordinated way.

The production only adds to the era experience on offer here. Clear, warm and sounding like an analogue vinyl, it ticks all the right boxes. Conal, Nicky, Stevie, Dylan and Daniel have made a body of work here that begs your indulgence.
I’ll be surprised if this distinctive sounding band aren’t destined for bigger things if they keep stretching their musical wings and muscles.
Highly Recommended

Well done lads.

Tracklisting:
The Prophecy
Neon Queen
The Ghostly Scots Pine Tree
1985
Heavy Shot Of Love
Leaving Town
Holy War
Gratitude
Lost My Mind In California
Hell and Back
Black Hearts and Diamonds

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