Joe Bonamassa:

"This is a record that has to be made. I love working with this band and it has been too long. Glenn and I have so much good rock music in us and it was absolutely time to cut a new record. This is a record that has to be made. And it has to be made NOW."

Black Country Communion are

• Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple) - vocal and bass
  
• Derek Sherinian (Dream Theater, KISS, Alice Cooper) - keyboards
  
• Jason Bonham (Led Zeppelin, Paul Rodgers, Foreigner, Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Experience) - drums
  
• Joe Bonamassa - guitars and vocals

Originally formed by Hughes and Bonamassa with the help of producer Kevin Shirley, the group released its self-titled debut album in September 2010. Second album Black Country Communion 2 followed in June 2011, which was promoted on a European tour later in the year. The band released its third and final album Afterglow in October 2012.

Following an impromptu performance together in Los Angeles, Hughes and Bonamassa started the side project in November 2009, recruiting Bonham and Sherinian on the advice of Shirley to finalise the lineup of the band. The name Black Country Communion is derived from the term Black Country, which refers to the West Midlands area of England where Hughes and Bonham grew up. The group's sound is intentionally reminiscent of popular classic rock groups of the 1970s, reflecting the previous work of frontman Hughes (in bands such as Deep Purple and Black Sabbath) as well as the link between Bonham and his father John's band Led Zeppelin.

In March 2013, after months of public tensions, Bonamassa announced that he was no longer a member of Black Country Communion, with the question over whether the group would continue with another guitarist unclear. Days later, Hughes confirmed that the band was officially over, hinting that he would continue working with Bonham and Sherinian under a new collective name. Sherinian later joined Bonamassa's touring band, while Hughes and Bonham formed California Breed with guitarist Andrew Watt.

For more information on Black Country Communion and Joe Bonamassa's other musical projects, visit jbonamassa.com/projects/