Fresh off celebrating their 40th anniversary, rock legends Whitesnake return with their latest studio album, “Flesh & Blood”. This album follows the 2011 critically acclaimed studio album “Forevermore” and 2015’s “The Purple Album”, a reimagining of Deep Purple classics from Whitesnake mastermind’s David Coverdale’s time in that band. The 13 original, visceral tracks on “Flesh & Blood”, the band’s 13th studio album, are, luckily for you dear reader, “all killer, no filler”, as the saying goes. But would you expect anything less from the ’Snakes? Since joining the band four years ago, and just in time for the aforementioned “The Purple Album”, Chicago native Joel Hoekstra has really come into his own, not only as a highly impressive axe-slinger, but also as a very accomplished songwriter too, co-writing six of the songs for “Flesh & Blood” with singer David Coverdale. Of course Joel’s talents are hardly surprising, considering he’s the son of two classical musicians. Guitarist Reb Beach, who originally joined Whitesnake in 2002, has stepped up to become the group’s bandleader and guides the band to implement Coverdale’s musical vision. As well as bringing his impressive musical chops to the band, Reb has co-written five songs on the new album, the fourth studio album he has appeared on, commencing with 2008’s highly acclaimed “Good To Be Bad”. It was the “Good To Be Bad” follow up, “Forevermore” (2011), that saw the debut of bassist Michael Devin. The New Englander’s four-string-depth-charge-bass-bombs definitively underpin and drive the sound of Whitesnake in the 21st century. Rounding out the rhythm section is David’s longest serving ’Snake, the renowned drummer and unstoppable percussionist Tommy Aldridge, who has been with Whitesnake in some capacity for 30 years. Tommy made his debut with Whitesnake way back in 1987 in the ‘Still Of The Night’ video, becoming a mainstay behind the kit for successive albums and tours. Last, but certainly not least, the band is completed by the inventive keyboards and vocals of Italian maestro Michele Luppi, who made his live debut in 2015, as documented on “The Purple Tour” live CD/DVD (2018). The current incarnation of the band carries on the long and unwavering tradition of mainman David Coverdale being surrounded by cream of the crop players who go all in to bring fans the best hard rock humanly possible. 40+ years into their existence, the ‘Snakes fangs have only grown sharper and are ready to inject fans with more of that rock ‘n roll venom they crave. “Flesh & Blood” STREET DATE: May 10, 2019 LINEUP: David Coverdale: Vocals Reb Beach: Guitars Joel Hoekstra: Guitars Michael Devin: Bass Tommy Aldridge: Drums Michele Luppi: Keyboards