Wasn’t it just last year that I saw L.A. Guns touring band their last album, Checkered Past, which came out not long before said tour? It was? Then how come they’re the one band of their era averaging a new album every 18 months for the past 5 or so years, while their peers take their precious time? It’s probably because they are, for a lack of better terminology, the real fucking deal. Ever since Phil Lewis and Tracii Guns put their BS to the side, they’ve been on a nonstop rampage, putting out their best music in decades and playing some of the largest venues of their careers.
The last three post-reunion L.A. Guns outings have been nothing short of spectacular, checking off nearly every stylistic box within the classic rock spectrum while simultaneously staying true to the band’s sleazy late 80s Sunset strip ethos. How does their latest outing, Black Diamonds (Hold the cease and desists, Chaim and Stanley.) measure up in comparison? Well, like the past three albums, there is a song or two (or three) that just doesn’t click with me. “You Betray” comes off as a rough demo from a faceless modern rock band, and the droning “Diamonds” misses the mark, though I definitely grasped the attempt at the psychedelic balladry of Hollywood Vampires (1991). These two aside, Black Diamonds is a scorcher and a half.
Cuts like “Babylon”, “Shattered Glass”, and “Like a Drug” sound straight off of their now 35 year old debut album, with their boisterous spirit, metallic guitarwork, and anthemic hooks, all evened out with a heavy dose of sleaze. Guns grinds away on the guitar, channeling The Stones, Jimmy Page, and the NWOBHM (sometimes all at once!). Lewis, meanwhile…I think I used the word “explosive” to describe his performance on Checkered Past? The same applies here. He’s soulful and on the mark when he wants to be, nasty and in your face when he needs to be. The rest of the band, consisting of Ace Von Johnson on guitars, Johnny Martin on bass, and Adam Hamilton on drums, accommodates their two leaders effortlessly, unleashing a no frills, rock n’ roll melee.
As I mentioned earlier, the lions share of Black Diamonds leaves no classic rock stone unturned. “Wrong About You” and “Gonna Lose” are the obligatory homages to Zeppelin, the latter balancing the English gods’ knack for dreamy folk and fist-pumping arena rock. The Americana infused “Shame” is a bluesy, down home rock n’ roller characteristic of the early 70s, while the carefree power pop of “Crying” recalls Rockford’s finest, Cheap Trick (who I bumped into once at an L.A. Guns show, but I digress). Nothing, however, comes close to the short and anything but sweet ferocity of “Lowlife”, a punkish rager with one foot in the gutter and the other in the mosh pit.
Black Diamonds shines darkly and sweeps the vast majority of hard rock bands, both old and new, to the side. While it doesn’t immediately grab me the way the last three albums did, I’m sure it will in due time. It will definitely hold me over for another 18 months, before the next inevitable L.A. Guns onslaught. Until then, I commend these Hollywood Vampires, still showing “No Mercy” after all these years. *sigh* Was that too many puns for one review? Nope, it’s “Never Enough”…d’oh!
7 out of 10
Label: Frontiers Records
Genre: Hard Rock
For fans of: Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Guns N’ Roses