For its third album, Between the Devil & the Deep Blue Sea, Black Stone Cherry made a conscious effort to get outside of its comfort zone, leaving behind its native Kentucky to record with producer Howard Benson (Three Days Grace, Theory of a Deadman) in sunny California. That’s probably why the album opener and first single is “White Trash Millionaire”—“I wanna be a white trash millionaire/Ain’t got much and I don’t care/Count your cash and kiss my ass/The whole damn world’s gonna know I’ve been here.” It’s their way of saying that even though they’ve seen the world and might be doing some things a little differently now, they’re still the same Southern rock boys they’ve always been.

It feels like that theme runs throughout the album. It also might be why the band plays it a little safe musically. Their last album, Folklore and Superstition (2008), featured curveballs like acoustic breakdowns and reggae; this new effort sticks to more of a straightforward hard rock sound, dialing down the Southern influence. But nothing they do can remove the soul from the deep, warm tones of frontman Chris Robertson.

Compared to the stories of their culture and heritage that filled Folklore and Superstition, the subject matter of the lyrics is not as compelling here. There is, however, a greater sense of fun evident on songs like “White Trash Millionaire,” “Blame It on the Boom Boom” and “Let Me See You Shake.” But don’t think they’ve abandoned all substance—“Such a Shame,” for example, deals with the hardships facing girls and young women in the world today (“Every young girl in this world needs love/Somebody to hold so they don’t give up/It’s our mothers and daughters and sisters you see/When your angel cries then you’ll see what I mean”). The disc also finds the band at its darkest on “Killing Floor,” a song co-written by John 5.

I still prefer Folklore and Superstition of the three Black Stone Cherry albums, not due to any shortcomings of the other two but because that one is so special. Between the Devil & the Deep Blue Sea is a solid addition to the band’s catalog, packed with catchy songs powered by crunchy riffs, guitar solos and intelligent lyrics. It sounds very much like Black Stone Cherry without the been-there-done-that trap so many bands fall into at this stage of their careers.