Kissin' Dynamite - Money, Sex & Power   

Choosing the easy path is slightly discouraging, but still a fun album and nothing more

Almost exactly two years to the day since German melodic heavy metal band Kissin’ Dynamite released their breakthrough sophomore CD ‘Addicted to Metal’, they have returned for their all important third release, entitled ‘Money, Sex & Power’. Will it be as kick ass as the previous release, or will the third album fall in comparison? Read on to find out.

It would seem as though the money, sex and power these young lads received after the success of the excellent sophomore disc may have gone to their heads, and we know how susceptible young people can get when immersed in the pleasures of life. Maybe it will be the fourth album when we can say that they have matured and it has reflected in their sound, but not on this occasion. Whether it be a gimmick or not, the promotional photos of these guys don’t leave much to the imagination as they look like they’ve gone on an 80’s hair metal time warp.

Nevertheless (stealing a line from a Thin Lizzy song) the boys are back in town and fans of ‘Addicted to Metal’ should be pretty excited as that CD was very good and covered many genres of metal; including melodic, traditional and power just to name a few. If you’re into fast guitar riffs and heaps of them; plus a bit of shredding for equal measure, then Kissin’ Dynamite is your poison of choice. Guitarists Jim Müller and Ande Braun are certainly very talented musicians, with the prowess and professionalism of seasoned veterans that are almost twice their age. Vocalist Johannes Braun (who look like he could have been a member of Poison back in the 80s) has a great singing style and wonderful exuberant delivery; a touch high but still raspy enough to be compared to Kai Hansen of Gamma Ray.

When first looking over the album cover and reading over the track list, there was a period of uneasiness, as the song titles looked to be gimmicky, silly and cheesy; with titles such as “Dinosaurs Are Still Alive”, “Sleaze Deluxe” and “Sex is War”. Maybe the guys from Kissin’ Dynamite have been hanging out with Steel Panther as of late, but it made me think whether this theme of the release also meant a change of metal styles, ala the ill-fated Twilightning and their complete and swift fall from grace after a brilliant debut album. With shaky anticipation, the disc began to spin...

There has been in shift in style for these German lads, adopting for a more simplified melodic metal/hard rock style, with both an 80s feel and a modern touch. The songs and lyrics are quite tacky for the majority, but it is rather entertaining nonetheless. Most of the tracks on ‘Money, Sex & Power’ are catchy and very energetic to say the least, however none of the material is fresh or new; you have heard this stuff a million times before. I understand that Kissin’ Dynamite can evolve any way they choose to, however in my opinion I feel they chose a very safe option with this simple, almost mainstreamed style, where I think they could have challenged themselves musically. They could have established their own identity and released an album that was step up from the excellent ‘Addicted to Metal’, instead of what I feel is a step backwards here with ‘Money, Sex & Power’. I say this musically speaking only; I’m not saying this disc is a bad CD, far from it; I’m just slightly disappointed that the band chose this path when they could have done so much better with their talent.

Fans who love their guitar riffs, solos, hearty grooves and sing-a-long chorus’ will definitely enjoy what ‘Money, Sex & Power’ has to offer. The two best tracks that stand out for me both just happen to contain a talk box accompanying the guitars, which when used right can really beef up a song and improve it considerably. These two tracks are the groove-filled and memorable “Operation Supernova” and the swift and rockin’ “She’s a Killer”. There are plenty more top-notch tracks to enjoy on this disc, which include the excellent and catchy homage to rock ‘n’ roll, “Dinosaurs Are Still Alive”, followed by the upbeat title track of the album. Closing out the better tracks (which is almost the entire disc), include the melodic and vigorous “I Will Be King”, followed by a song covering the popularisation and mysterious fascination of rock stars dying at age 27, with the catchy and ego-stroking “Club 27”.

In the end, ‘Money, Sex & Power’ may be something we’ve heard many times over, but every time you hear it you can’t help but enjoy it. This album is very much enjoyable and also very entertaining. It’s not gonna make you think, and it’s not gonna leave a lasting effect; it’s just a disc that you can put on, turn up and rock out to for as long as you need to. While this CD will have a positive score on this review, I am slightly disappointed that the boys from Kissin’ Dynamite didn’t challenge themselves with writing a release with a little more substance than what they done produced here. Fans of melodic metal/hard rock, 80’s hair metal and groove metal should instantly drool over this disc and hunt it down.

(AFM Records)

Added: May 26th 2012
Reviewer: Sean Dudley
Score:
Related Link: Official Website
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