This German, 80’s sounding Melodic Rock/Arena Rock/Glam five-piece who took their name from an AC/DC song off the 1988 Blow Up Your Video album is a new name to me. Considering the genre they dwell in, they shouldn’t be as this record is their seventh effort – they formed the band back in 2007 – and I usually have my tentacles out when it comes to band who do 80’s retro music. But better late than never, I guess. As you might have guessed this band won’t revolutionize music or trying to reinvent the wheel at all. No, this is a band that plays the music they love and wear their influences on their sleeves without cloning anybody. Bon Jovi, Kiss, Mötley Crüe, Cinderella, Dokken, AC/DC, Guns N’ Roses, Poison and a whole lots more lies in their musical DNA.
Now, I don’t give a rat’s ass about originality as long as you can write great songs and you can sport an identity of your own. You can borrow but you can’t plagiarize. I also know that with all those 80’s loving acts, no matter if you do AOR, Melodic Rock, Arena Rock, Glam or Sleaze, the quality can be a bit up and down to put things mildly. I’ve heard some great bands doing this but even more often they’re not that good at all. So when I pushed play on this record for the first time it was with an open mind but also with a bit of skepticism, to be honest.
The opening title-track and first single is an uptempo Melodic Rock stomper with a slight touch of Metal in the riffing. It’s energetic, uplifting and both quite heavy and crunchy and smooth with a slick main-melody and a positive message about not giving in even though times might be tough. It’s not original by any means but man, the song is awesome. A hit. Will work like a charm live. Second single “What Goes Up” harkens back to the late 80’s/early 90’s and the Sunset Strip. It’s an American sounding arena-rocker, upbeat and bouncy with crunchy riffage, fat rhythms with another chorus so catchy you need surgery to remove it from the brain. I can’t help but to love this.
The live-friendly rocker “Only The Dead” is a powerful Melodic Rock strutter with a crunchy edge and a straight ahead rhythm. The verses might be slightly softer and a bit more laid back but the refrain rises to the occasion with a driven melody and catchy hooks enough to sell, a refrain that will have any festival goers singing it for hour afterwards. Good one. More of a feelgood pop-track with a slicker outlook, the single “Good Life” is very accessible with hooks everywhere and yet another one of those Pop meets AOR choruses to die for. It also holds no less than three guest singers – Guernica Mancini (Thundermother), Alea (Saltatio Amortis), Charlotte Wessels (Delain) – which creates a different dynamic. I dig.
Also a single, “Yoko Ono” – the title kinda speaks for itself – is an 80’s rocker with an instant melody and a catchy riff with pop-groove perfect for the party. The crispy rhythms makes it a foot-stomper deluxe and in all honesty it comes off a bit cheesy but in this case it’s a good thing. The chorus is a real bull’s-eye, hit pay-dirt kind that sticks like a tattoo to the brain. Great stuff. Latest single “Coming Home” is an upbeat, early 90’s sounding semi-power ballad with a floating rhythm on a straight forward note. It’s a feelgood, pop-laden number, very easy-listened, both smooth and slick yet not saccharine at all. The chorus is a winner as well, a real home-run and in 1990 this one would’ve been all over the charts. Good one.
The upbeat and uptempo “All For A Hallelujah” is quite crunchy and edgy, the way songs were edgy back in 1988. It’s quite in-your-face and energetic with sleazier undertones but with the slick vocal-melodies of that decade. It’s a firey arena rocker with chunky grooves and another direct chorus that really lights a fuse. Splendid. The straight forward kick-ass rocker “No One Dies A Virgin” might be a bit cringy lyrically with an equally cringy title but this sleazy, dirty and fast tracked late 80’s Arena Rock stomper is really meaty and in-your-face with striking melodies and stand-out pop-hooks all over. A bang-on-target chorus and a killer guitar solo makes the lyrics slide. I dig.
“Gone For Good” is a darker laden half-ballad based on acoustic guitar. It’s upbeat yet held-back with a saddening atmosphere and it really gets under my skin. It starts out slow but builds up after a while but never loses its emotional touches and the feeling of the lyrics being self-experienced. The chorus is colossal where every melody puts its hooks in you and it screams hit without being the least buttery. Damn good. The upbeat and fat-grooved “Defeat It” blends its late 80’s Arena Rock with some more “modern” touches and some darker nuances and a slight nod towards Alter Bridge in the pre-chorus. The chorus itself is massively catchy and sing-along-ish on a stompy beat which makes it perfect for the stage. Great.
It don’t get more mid to late 80’s than the über-sticky rock-stomper “Voodoo Spell”. Fireworks-era Bonfire meets Bon Jovi in this stomp-groovy melodic Hard Rock number. It’s easy to spot the late 80’s/early 90’s bands like Warrant, Winger and Slaughter here and there. With a bouncy verse and a big, sing along friendly refrain, the band has a winner on their hands perfect for a party-craving festival crowd. Great stuff. The album closes with the mellow, stripped down and darkening ballad “Scars”. Acoustic guitars, strings and vulnerable vocals over a slow rhythm captures lots of emotion. The melodies are all captivating and the chorus grabs a hold directly. It also holds a grand soundscape which gives it a bombastic outlook – a brilliant tune even though I almost never prefer ballads as closing tracks.
This is an album that surely will be dismissed by many as a cheesy retro 80’s album without much substance – you know, retro is only cool if it’s 70’s retro… Well, since I’m not pretentious at all and embrace good music for what it is – good music – I swallowed this record wholeheartedly. So what if it’s not original? Kissin’ Dynamite still sport an identity of their own even though they wear their influences on their sleeves and it’s easy to spot the fact that they play what they love and they do it well. Fuck all that “they don’t do anything new” bullshit. I can’t find one bad track on this album, the songs are performed and written with love, passion and conviction, the production is faultless and that’s good enough for me. This record belongs in my collection and I’d go see them live in a heartbeat. Stellar shit, this!
8/10
Tracklist:
1. Not The End Of The Road
2. What Goes Up
3. Only The Dead
4. Good Life
5. Yoko Ono
6. Coming Home
7. All For A Halleluja
8. No One Dies A Virgin
9. Gone For Good
10. Defeat It
11. Voodoo Spell
12. Scars
CD & Festival reviews 