New Music Review: PHIL CAMPBELL AND THE BASTARD SONS ‘Kings of the Asylum’

PHIL CAMPBELL AND THE BASTARD SONS 'Kings of the Asylum' - COVER PHOTO

Rating: 9 / 10 Stars

PHIL CAMPBELL AND THE BASTARD SONS is: Phil Campbell (guitars), Todd Campbell (guitars), Tyla Campbell (bass), Dane Campbell (drums), Joel Peters (vocals)

REVIEW – Three albums in, and PHIL CAMPBELL AND THE BASTARD SONS are no longer just riding the post-Motörhead wave—they’re powering full steam into their own legacy. Kings Of The Asylum doesn’t just pick up where We’re The Bastards left off—it kicks the damn door down and carves its name into the concrete.

Welsh guitar legend Phil Campbell (32-year Motörhead veteran) leads the charge, backed once again by his three sons—Todd (guitar), Tyla (bass), Dane (drums)—and now with explosive new vocalist Joel Peters fully at the helm. Recorded at Stompbox Studios in South Wales and written during the most active touring stretch of the band’s career, this album feels like a culmination of momentum, chemistry, and raw volume.

And it rips.

Opening salvo “Walking In Circles” sets the pace—a mid-tempo bruiser dripping in grit and groove. But it’s “Too Much Is Never Enough” that detonates the first real bomb, fusing a punkish pace with classic rock bravado. “Hammer And Dance” lands right behind it with stomp-worthy riffs and bluesy crunch, while “Strike The Match” swings stadium-ready hooks like a hammer over a sea of raised fists. It’s clear from the jump: the Bastard Sons are swinging for the rafters—and connecting.

The title track “Kings Of The Asylum” stands tall as the album’s epicenter—a snarling, five-minute riff monster that channels chaos and control in equal measure. It’s Sabbath-heavy, Motörhead dirty, and unmistakably Bastard by blood. Tracks like “Schizophrenia” and “Show No Mercy” carry the kind of no-frills energy that would feel right at home in a sweaty club or a massive festival pit.

But what really sells Kings Of The Asylum is the band’s refusal to sit in one gear. “Ghosts” haunts with dynamic shifts and subtle mood, while closer “Maniac” tears through the speakers with a ragged intensity that feels downright feral. Through it all, Joel Peters proves he’s not just a replacement—he’s a weapon. His voice brings edge, depth, and unpredictability to a band that was already firing on all cylinders.

Where the debut (The Age of Absurdity) felt like an introduction and We’re The Bastards felt like a mission statement, Kings Of The Asylum is a coronation. The Bastards have found their king—and it turns out he was wearing a crown of riffs all along.