As far as supergroups go, Black Swan would not exactly be regarded as premier league. But that is only if you are comparing them to the likes of The Traveling Wilburys or Cream, which, let’s face it, is not a fair fight. But with Robin McAuley, Jeff Pilson, Reb Beach and Matt Starr, you have a solid mid-table ensemble, whose first two long players caused a decent wobble in hard rock circles so whether it be a contractual obligation or they just plain like each other, their hat trick of albums is complete with Paralyzed.
Black Swan – Paralyzed
Release Date: 27 February 2026
Words: Brian Boyle
When you take a moment and take in the company the members of Black Swan have kept over the years, it really does make for impressive reading. Where do you start? Whitesnake, Foreigner, Dokken, Dio, Mr Big, Survivor, Michael Schenker, and Alice Cooper give you a taster.
So with a curriculum vitae like that, at least you are pretty much guaranteed not to get a consignment of dung.
Bovine excrement is the furthest thing from your smellers when Reb Beach lifts the lid on opener When The Cold Wind Blows. Punishing, melodic and straight to the point, it is driving rock at its very best.
You do not hear many tongue-in-cheek songs with the quality of Death Of Me anymore. To say it is addictive is an understatement. It just smacks of the ’80s, so much so that you can just picture your own formulaic hair-fest video.
At 73, the great Robin McAuley is still bossing it. Always effortlessly natural, and whatever comes forth out of his mouth is impossible to ignore. The Deep Purple vibed Different Kind Of Woman is the County Meath man sounding as good as he did in his Michael Schenker Group days.
That is how he is able to save the sugar-coated Shakedown from being a disposable mid-album also-ran. Thankfully, filler fodder is thin on the ground here, belters like If I Was King, The Fire And The Flame, and the throwback classic rock ballad I’m Ready are top drawer listening.
And that is largely due to the hugely underrated Reb Beach, whose riffs and seductive solos really give this album a succulent layer of fat.
The band’s collective experience properly sticks its chest out on the wrecking ball title track, a song that revels in its freewheeling anarchy.
“Nowadays, it’s difficult not to become submerged in the news and negative comments presented to us through all media sources,” Robin McAuley says of the title track. “That feeling of being numb and unsafe with an overpowering feeling of anxiety. Desperate for change, get back to the good old days when things seemed simpler. Craving to hear something positive and yet helpless and repeatedly overwhelmed by so much negative space, leaving us feeling paralyzed.”
“Paralyzed is one of the things that Black Swan does best,” Matt Starr said. “Hard driving high energy rock ‘n’ roll with great melodies, tons of hooks, thought-provoking, timely lyrics and exceptional musicianship. I’m really proud of this track.”
It is not bad down the basement either, Battered And Bruised and What The Future Holds have that cheeky and catchy Van Hagar feel about it, meaningless but ridiculously infectious.
Without a doubt, Paralyzed is the best out of their trio of releases, and one of the finest to emerge from the Frontiers Music laboratory in recent years.
Black Swan release their new album Paralyzed on 27 February 2026 via Frontiers Music s.r.l. Pre-orders are available from ffm.bio/blackswan_paralyzed.
