Review | Black Jack – XXI

Lion's Pride Music

Black Jack’s `XXI’ returns with the confidence of a band knowing where to strike. The India-based quartet from Tura, Meghalaya, issued the album at the tail summer, and this re-release is definitely justified. The album feels like the right excuse to crank the volume and let its melodies, hooks, and choruses stick with the listener immediately. The line-up with vocalist Chenie Sintang, guitarist/producer Ben Silvers, bassist Las Berine, and drummer Aaron Marak plays with poise revealing years of stage experience, the performances locked in on the delivery of their songs, towering with melodic presence and urge.

Formed in 2015 and honed on a diet of high-energy live shows and hard-rock tributes, Black Jack worked their way toward this moment single by single with Sintang out front and the rhythm section pounding underneath. Lions Pride Music set the release in motion, but it’s the band doing the heavy lifting now that `XXI’ is getting a fresh new push. From regional buzz to international spotlight!

ABOUT THE SONGS

Spin `XXI’ loud and the quality of the musical construction feels present immediately. ,,Badlands” strides in with swagger. Its tumbleweed riff, drums hitting, and a chorus built on a deceit of simple intervals with underlying keen accolades making it go down smooth but with relevance. ,,Believe” tightens the screws with harder riffing and punchier accents, while ,,Chains of Renegade” rides a groove designed for heads to nod in unison before the refrain bursts open. It’s an effective smart arrangement with verses that set the table, pre-choruses that raise the stance, and choruses that burst with enthusiasm and synergy.

,,High School Haze” leans into that formula shamelessly and strikes twice with its vocal delivery and amazing guitar licks. ,,Venomous Embrace” leans on modern-radio hooks without sacrificing the band’s metallic bite, while ,,Echoes of Thunder” sneaks in a pop-touched vocal execution in its second half lifting the song without taming its powerful stride. The sequencing is smart and reluctant too, saving the sky-punching ,,I Will Survive” and the closing ,,Battles at the Fore” for later in the run, adding to the flow of the album and its constant discharge. Their anthemic DNA hitting hard, the album is instantly catchy throughout. On the album’s physical edition, the band’s previous stirring single ,,Walgimik” appears as a suiting bonus track exposing how Black Jack’s songwriting has evolved.

THE KEYSTONE

Sintang’s vocal is the keystone. There’s range, of course, but it’s the shape of the lines and the way she navigates them. She glides eloquently through a sustained note after which she snaps a gritty turn giving the choruses their elevation. Switching registers, she is mean and fierce. Bringing ,,I Will Survive” like it’s her testament for the ages while she switches subtle phrasing to let the melodies of ,,Echoes of Thunder” breathe. Range and precision are in her DNA, displaying her ability to strike deep whenever the song is in high demand. When toning down, like on the excellent ,,The Answer”, her true vocal prowess shines, gripping with heartfelt emotion and posture.

Silvers’ guitars keep the record locked on the heydays of rock and metal with big rhythm beds, smart countermelodies, and enough lead flash to serve the songs. His solos are adding to the experience of listening while the muscularity of the riffs and hooks embeds the right stance. Berine and Marak supply the weight, anchoring the mid-tempo material and adding that last ounce of urgency when the band kicks up dust. The groove is powerful, the rhythms reveal a hint of their roots, making it pulse with sincerity.

BLACK JACK – THE CONCLUSION

Melodic marksmanship is the album’s real calling card. These choruses are written to bloom. You hear the band’s take on tension and release by the way a pre-chorus starts to tower, holds back slightly, and then let’s loose the refrain to land with a satisfying, yet inevitable click. Hooks arrive from multiple directions with a backing vocal behind the lead, a guitar answer line shadowing the vocal melody, or a rhythmic accent on that recurs just often enough to be a signature. It’s craft, and it’s why replay value stays high after the novelty wears off. You are locked in a rerun for discovering bits and pieces, with tons of melodic nuggets tugged into the ingredients.

In the midst of this potion the album holds a modern, melodic (sleazy) energy, that puts a grin on your face and spring in your step. `XXI’ is an album that easily fits the more pleasant top of releases of this summer gone past.  Black Jack certainly hit the sweet spot where songs and performances meet appetite for fans of melodic rock.

`XXI’ is an album that deserves to be heard for what its sharp, tightly written hard-rock that prizes melody without softening impact. If your taste lives where big choruses, precision riffing, and head-on vocals mix, Black Jack have done their homework and will and with you deep. `XXI’ deserves to find a big audience, with the volume knob a notch or two higher, playing this elemental summer rocker that is full of bite!

Release date: 1 September 2025