A Vinyl promo! Fabulous! I’m easily bribed – you have my attention! I guess if it’s a vinyl promo I should be expecting something retro? But it’s a different kind of retro than the Doom-style cover would hint at. It’s one that I really can’t go any further without a Jack Daniels on hand so excuse me just a moment…
That’s more like it, I’m armed and ready for the 80’s rooted Hollywood Sleaze-style Rawk ‘n’ Roll that is Gunpowder Gray. Totally reminding me of Spread Eagle with generous doses of Johnny Crash and Cats In Boots they really have got that overall style and feel sorted. Right from the off, the down-and-dirty riffing of the title track evokes memories of LA Guns (the middle section and solo is very Tracii Guns) with the aforementioned Spread Eagle style vocal. The trick with this genre was to not actually sound 100% on it vocally – always quite raw with a good, at times squawky delivery – and they’ve nailed it. The slightly quicker ‘Cummin’ My Way’ is more in the vain of Dangerous Toys, with it’s slightly higher vocal, infectious chorus and a more driving rhythm section. Another cool solo too. A bit of an about-turn for the 12 bar boogie with a sleazy twist that is ‘Outta Sight’, which has quirkier Faster Pussycat moments before Side 1 (it feels great to say that – I do love vinyl!) is brought to a close with ‘Under The Gun’. It has the riff, the swagger and the cockiness. It also sounds a bit like Bang Tango’s debut.
Side 2 (Nope, it’s still not getting old!) kicks off with what is probably the most Spread Eagle-esque track on offer. The great time-changes and low guitar runs under high vocals that ‘Dancin’ With Death’ encompasses just goes to further prove this lot know what works in this field. ‘Cut Me Out’ must be a total live favourite (which is where many of these type of band’s thrived). Up-tempo and riff-laden, it stomps it’s way around like a petulant teenager, and even has a bit of a sulk in the middle, before coming out of it’s room even angrier than before. The album closes with what I can probably describe as Kix meets G N’ R, with a great chorus, riff, solo, and even a woah-woah backing vocal to the middle section.
Gunpowder Gray positively reek of tight jeans and cowboy boots. But they also smack of denim and leather, Budweiser and Jacks. Sleaze Metal, with it’s punkier attitude and heavier edge was not the Glam Metal of Bon Jovi, Poison and the like and had very little in common with it. The cooler underground stuff included many of the never-before-mentioned-on-Ave-Noctum bands name-checked above, and Gunpowder Gray totally capture that. All they need now is a seedy club on the Sunset strip to tear apart and they’re sorted.
(7/10 Andy Barker)
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