Black Dog Moon – Hell and Back (2025)
Formed in the wake of musician Conal Montgomery’s previous band, Sweetwater, which toured extensively throughout the UK and Ireland – where they supported the likes of Motorhead and Eric Bell (Thin Lizzy) – Black Dog Moon emerged. If old-school rock and roll were to swagger down the street with a denim jacket and Doc Marten boots on, that would be Black Dog Moon. Unafraid to plaster their influences on the patches adorning the jacket, but equally original as their sound gives you a wink, a smile and flicks cigarette ash to the side.
Drawing together the talents of Daniel Martin (guitar), Dylan Kelly (guitar), Nicky Brown (bass), Steve Glackin (drums) and Conal Montgomery on vocals, the Irish five-some are winning hearts while turning heads. Following a slew of live performances and the well-received 2025 single, ‘Neon Queen’, Black Dog Moon releases their sophomore album, Hell and Back. The group’s sophomore album, the self-titled debut released last year, Black Dog Moon forges ahead with their distinctive style.
From the outset, the group signals their willingness to defy expectations. A venture across varying realms of rock, Black Dog Moon opens with ‘The Prophecy’. Setting you off into a dark, foggy, somewhat eerie, but mystical sonic forest, its slow-burning blues-rock sound dances across your skin like a hand delicately drawing you closer. Sleek, smooth, and a little sexy, the guitar-driven track washes across while Montgomery’s vocals are rich, warm, but gritty in their boldness. The things get heavy.
From the swaggy blues, ‘Neon Queen’ hits you between the eyes with a crash of old-school rock. A pulsating bass hits the ground, while crashing drums entwine with its heavy beat. Throbbing along are the scorching guitars, while the vocals drag a sense of nostalgia through the 70s-inspired hard rock-meets-metal vibe. Riding the sonic rollercoaster that is Hell and Back, Black Dog Moon pushes the hard-hitting rock-tinged tones in ‘Heavy Shot of Love’, ‘1985’, ‘Leaving Town’, ‘Lost My Mind In California’, and the title track, ‘Hell and Back’. Amidst the crash of rock, the band swerves with ‘Leaving Town’, and the cinematic ‘The Ghostly Scots Pine Tree’.
For me, it’s difficult to choose a favourite on Hell and Back, but I’m leaning toward ‘Holy War’ and ‘Black Hearts and Diamonds’. ‘Holy War’ is the journey across a mystical flood of hazy rock before a full thrust into heavier tones; ‘Black Hearst and Diamonds’ – the final track – leads out with a bluesy sound, making the album cyclic as it could easily lead into the opener, ‘The Prophecy’.
Hell and Back is a rollercoaster of sound with each track adding a flavour to the album, but the music is as poignant lyrically and thematically as it is melodically. Celebrating the highs and lows of life, Montgomery and his crew use songs as sociopolitical narratives, but they also explore issues of mental health, nostalgic whispers of “the good ol’ days of shoulder pads and big hair”, and the search for meaning, enlightenment, and empowerment.
Overall, for me at least, Hell and Back is an album that can easily fit along my family’s collection of Uriah Heep, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple. I highly recommend Black Dog Moon for everyone! Trust me, it’s a winner.
Find out more about Black Dog Moon on their Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
This artist was sent to us by Old Crows Promotions.
