BIG GUNS (Ireland) – Down But Not Out (2016)
Heralding from Northern Ireland, BIG GUNS is one of the many very interesting hard rock bands to come blazing out of the island lately, and on this debut album “Down But Not Out“, this four-piece shows off some true hard-rocking chops with a distinct flavor of Thin Lizzy, AC/DC, Dirty Looks and alike heating things up.
Big Guns is made up of Kieran McArdle on vocals and guitar, Daniel O’Toole on guitar, Tony Drumm on bass, and female Lisa Howe on drums. Together they sound tight and quite awesome throughout “Down But Not Out”, showcasing their skills on these hot songs that seem mainly made to order for driving down the highway (on two wheels or four), the engine rumbling, the wind in your hair, while you’re singing at the top of your lungs.
Opening track ‘Red Eyed & Rolling’ gets things off to a flying start with its catchy chorus and infectious energy and ‘The Devils Highway’ continues the trend with a shimmering ’80s guitar (brings to mind Iron Maiden’s Wasted Years) but soon develops into a driving verse that gives way to a soaring chorus. This is a fabulous track, and the grit and gruff of the vocals puts a real rock’n’roll gold seal on it.
‘A Song For A Friend’ has a guitar riff swing and groove reminiscent of Dokken (but in fact this was invented by Thin Lizzy ages ago), while the angry and fierce ‘Remember Me’ rolls out with a hard n heavy bass and guitar beneath some fiery you-done-me-wrong lyrics.
The album’s biggest sleazy hard rocker is of course, with this title, ‘Kiss N Tell’, which reminds me Dirty Looks and perhaps some Kix. Then there’s a rough rocker in ‘Fall From Grace’ but at the same time very melodic, with a catchy chorus.
Big Guns also does a kicking version of Neil Young’s ‘Rockin’ In The Free World’, which is another nice addition to this damn fine hard rock album.
“Down But Not Out” is a solid debut by these Irish rockers. Kieran McArdle gives a really good performance with his gravelly vocal delivery and conjures up some tasty guitar riffs alongside O’Toole classic ’80s inspired solos. They inject some true bare-bones venom on all songs which are very well recorded with a clean production.
Big Guns is very promising band capturing the essence of true classic hard rock, let’s hope they will keep it that way.
Strongly Recommended.
01 – Red Eyed & Rollin’
02 – Devil’s Highway
03 – Song For A Friend
04 – Remember Me
05 – Kiss N Tell
06 – Rockin’ In The Free World (Neil Young Cover)
07 – Fall From Grace
08 – Forever & Always
Kieran McArdle – Vocals, Guitar
Daniel O’Toole – Lead Guitar
Tony Drumm – Bass
Lisa Howe – Drums
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