Where to begin here, “sex, drugs and rock-n-roll” are the only words that are truly an appropriate descriptions. By all intents and purposes there should be no LA Guns these days, but I thank my lucky ears that they still are!!! The Devil You Know, is the band’s newest creation, born in 2019. This is the 12th studio album for LA Guns, various lineups noted. While the current lineup has been solid for some time now, onward and upward, away we go.
No question this is a metal record to be reckoned with. I think it’s fair to say there is a slight hint of punk in the mix and it works. Thoughtful and clever lyrics, as is par for the course for this band, song after way rad song. You know how on some albums you may have to skip a track or two (and that’s cool and all), well that is NOT going to happen on this baby. They did NOT take a track off. Every song is meaningful and complete. Take a listen and you will understand what a I am talking about. LA Guns is the total package.
Tracii Guns, your guitar work is solid, always has been. Sweet leads, catchy riffs all straight up perfection. What you may define as another day in the office brings us fans a lot of great music to enjoy for the ages. I appreciate and thank you for busting it out year after year, along with your incredibly talented band mates. I’ll get to those guys, do not fret…Thank you. So I got to fan geek every now and again, sorry (not sorry)… I’m a lucky lil Spicy Kim.
The Devil You Know sums up this body of work perfectly. It’s all about this crazy little thing called life. It’s about me, it’s about you, someone you know, or someone you knew. It is extremely relatable to say the least. I dig it all and I’ve got a feeling you will too.
I would love to review song by song, however; I will refrain as it would be a bit wordier than my usual stuff, and could be better suited as a 2 or 3 parter, okay more like a mini-series but this is an album review. I will cave and touch on one of the two featured singles, Rage.
Now would be a perfect time to give you a little tidbit about the track Rage. Hello Face, meet your Face, yes that is me in your FACE. As Shane counts down the intro into this one by hitting his sticks, I feel an immediate punk undertone that sets the tone for this track. The vocals are insane, the guitars are blazing, the drums and bass kick it all up a notch. I personally hit replay more than once every time it pops up on my playlist. Another thank you is in order here.
As for the rest of the album, I’ll give you the nutshell version as best I can. You will be happy to pick one up for yourself and let me know what you think. I mean I’m always telling you what I think so it’s only fair, right?
This is one solid album through and through. Each track right off the bat has you rip roaring and ready to go. They do not slide into anything and it’s awesome. They are rocking at full force from cradle to the grave. The tunes are grooving, they are hooky and structured extremely well.
Let’s me introduce to the players on the record:
Tracii Guns – Lead guitar
Phil Lewis – Vocals
Johnny Martin – Bass
Ace Jon Johnson – Guitar
Introducing: Scot Coogan – Drums
As I already blew Tracii’s wad, here is a little 411 on the rest of the band.
Phil Lewis is an incredible talent with an amazing vocal range who works it so well song after song. He performs at the highest level, all of the time, regardless if he is live or in the studio. He always brings his A-game.
Shane Fitzgibbon is a monster on the skins. I don’t even know what else I could write here, so I will leave it at that.
** He recently departed the band, the fella’s have nothing but love and mad respect for each other.
Johnny Martin on bass and sits so nicely nestled in the the mix between the guitars and the drums. If you listen for it you can hear some pretty grooving bass licks. Another amazing talent.
Ace Von Johnson on guitar – If you don’t know his name by now, you might want to remove the rock you are living under (a hot tip from SpicyKim to you). I detected a bit of a punk influences in a few tracks definitely in the single Rage. I am certain it had something to do with this guy. An amazing lead guitarist himself playing mainly rhythm guitar for LA Guns he is a perfect compliment to Tracii’.
All in all I got no gas left in the tank after divulging all that goodness. I cannot wait to get out to a show. My advice (I’m so bossy today); this record is about to drop, get on the waiting list to get yours. They are about to play a few dates stateside, if they end up in a city near you bounce on those tickets, and if you can grab the VIP package – do it, all the way worth it! You can find all the information regarding the band’s tour dates, grab a t-shirt and put yourself on the waitlist while you’re there too.