Album Review: Buckcherry – Roar Like Thunder (Earache)

Buckcherry, the beloved rock band, are back with their eleventh album, ‘Roar Like Thunder’, out via Earache on June 13th, 2025.

You don’t always have to be setting the world alight, sometimes refining what you do to the point where every single track is an anthem, is enough. All killer, no filler, that is what Buckcherry were aiming for here, and for the most part, they nail it. It’s rock, rock with undeniable swagger, and who doesn’t enjoy a bit of that!?

Buckcherry doing Buckcherry things. So, you’ll either absolutely love the grooving rock and roll energy of opener Roar Like Thunder, or you’ll find yourself indifferent to it as ever. Be warned, if you fall into the latter camp, this isn’t an album with variety. Buckcherry do what they do, and I and many others happen to think they do it very well. Especially when an opener like this has a banging guitar solo too.

Then there is When the Sun Goes Down, a track with a bit of punk spirit and plenty of ‘tongue in cheek’ sleaziness. Before Come On helps satisfy the anthem urge with body-shaking groove and Talkin’ Bout Sex (even though it’s seriously cringy) takes things in an old-school direction. Accessible and likable music that highlights the strength in Josh Todd’s vocals, which are really sounding great on this album.

The riffs (and a mighty cowbell, cause we always need more) are the star of Blackout’s show though, and the chorus is fun. Especially as plenty of people will be able to relate to the lyrics, and rarely in a positive way. Which is kind of the point of the track, I think. It might come in anthemic style, but Buckcherry aren’t glorifying it. Which is very cool.

Do you know what else is cool? The trumpet that crops up in I Go Boom. A small touch that gives the rocking rhythm a really fresh feel and reignites the ion for what this album has to offer. Especially as the following Set It Free, Hello Goodbye, and Machine Gun offer up varying levels of enjoyability. There’s tons of musical value here, and each is liable to capture the imagination of so many people with varied tastes in music, but that’s Buckcherry for you.

Not sticking around too long, Buckcherry wraps things up with Let It Burn, an excitable closer, and the album is all the better for being kept tight. There really is no fluff here, and while not every track is as strong as the other, there’s no argument that Buckcherry have focused on their strengths here and it is going to really please their extensive fanbase.

Buckcherry – Roar Like Thunder Track Listing:

1. Roar Like Thunder
2. When the Sun Goes Down
3. Come On
4. Talkin’ Bout Sex
5. Blackout
6. I Go Boom
7. Set It Free
8. Hello Goodbye
9. Machine Gun
10. Let It Burn

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