KISS THE GUN – Nightmares (2017)
British melodic hard rockers KISS THE GUN just released their new album featured here, and honestly their first release / debut CD “Nightmares” (2017) slip under our radar. But it’s never too late, and we assure you’ll enjoy this album aplenty.
This is an impressive debut and one of which the band can be proud. Production is very good for an indie and they have a great sound which gathers from many places without sounding like they’re trying to be anyone else.
KISS THE GUN was formed by Dave South, a bassist on the original NWOBHM circuit but who changed direction in the 90s writing dance and club music, and rhythm guitarist Graham Exton – wrote a song called ‘Tainted Heart’. When a demo was heard by a studio and label owner, they were asked to record an EP, and Kiss The Gun was born.
Completing the line-up are Gerry Hearn (lead guitar) who’s toured with bands ranging from Uriah Heep to Freddie Starr, Rob Taylor (drums) who’d just finished a 2 year stint playing trombone on cruise ships, and the jewel in the band’s crown – Nadin Zakharian (vocals) who was a 2011 semi-finalist in Georgian TV’s Talented and a semi-finalist in the 2013 TV singing competition The Voice of Georgia.
Together, what they serve up sonically is a big slice of 80s female fronted melodic hard rock. It’s polished stuff – a rock solid rhythm section, big, crunchy guitar riffs, and economic soloing combined with well written, well crafted, and well produced songs.
But it’s Zakharian’s outstanding vocals – perfectly suited to the format – that set Kiss The Gun apart, and suggest more by way of genetic linkage, and shared DNA, with bands like Vixen and Saraya.
It may be something of a clichéd genre, but it’s one hugely difficult to carry off convincingly, and Kiss The Gun have it nailed.
That’s in no small measure down to Zakharian’s delivery – she’s something of a ‘find’ in the current era – just the right balance of power and ‘feel’.
Such is the well-constructed nature of ”Nightmares” that it sounds anything but a debut – tracks like the Thin Lizzy inspired ‘Writing On The Wall’, ‘Stand Up’ (with its distant echoes of Boston), and the driving ‘Run, Run, Run’ are ‘made’ for rock radio.
Light and shade are provided by the piano and Spanish guitar-led ballads of the title track and ‘Drowning’, but – for the most part – Nightmares simply ‘rocks’.
Kiss The Gun’s 2017 debut “Nightmares” labelled them as ‘one to watch’. Well, with their just released second effort confirms this band has a lot of potential and talent.
Old-fashioned female-fronted melodic hard rock with a fresh vibe, a perfect antidote to these troubled modern times.
Highly Recommended
01 – Into the Fire
02 – This is the Time
03 – Nightmares
04 – Writing on the Wall
05 – Stand Up
06 – Run Run Run
07 – Tainted Heart
08 – Drowning
09 – Higher & Higher
10 – From the Night
Nadin Zakharian – vocals
Gerry Hearn – Guitars
Graham Exton – Guitars
Dave South – Bass
Rob Taylor – Drums
BUY IT
www.aha-buch.de/details/0634158744075/nightmares/
