Stephen If you have heard the 'Alive and Kickin' album before, it'll be no surprise as 4 songs here were included in that package, but even if you have own that album, 'Sound of The Guns' is a must buy since it contains the song 'Closer To The Sun', which to me, is the best song of the five and you can only find that song here.

But even if you have already had that album, the studio version of songs like 'Waiting For Me' or 'Machine' are a treat. DIAMOND EYE has done a marvelous job of keeping the arena rock fire burning, they really remind me a lot to KISS and how Will sing is like he was taught directly by Paul Stanley himself. 'Atlantis' is a good track but I kinda prefer 'Tonite' and that track should have been included here, although there's a possibility they're saving some of those tracks like 'Been Away Too Long' or 'Last One Standing' for a full-length album later on.

'Sound of The Guns' is an awesome heavy metal driven song and a good example of how they combine the glam element with 80s metal. The production here is also great, so overall this is a good EP by a promising band. Lookin' forward to the full studio album and hopefully they have one out this year.

Stephen Marching from one venue to another, Diamond Eye, whose story began somewhere back in 2007, is keeping the glam fire burning by unleashing a high-energy performance of their own music in the style of arena acts legend, Kiss and Motley Crue, and even mixing some classic heavy metal in the process. "Alive And Kickin" is a CD/DVD digipak teaser which was recorded in 2010 as an introductory release before they release their first full-length debut this year.

In my opinion, this is a risky move to go international since people will usually go after a live release after couple of studio albums. What you'll get inside is basically a lot of uptempo, sweat-drippin' raw hard rock, and with singer Will Kelly sounded side by side with Paul Stanley, people will easily called this band a Kiss disciple.

"Been Away Too Long" could be a lost track from "Crazy Nights" session, "Tonite" is my first fave. A great melodic hard rock stuff with a nice harmonic touch. Fawcett crafted an excellent wailing solo to complete the tune. "Machine" is another huge song, a hook-laden smashing track with a tight composition. Apparently this track was included in several compilations and also became their leading single. After three tracks, it's obvious that Kelly experienced a troubling moment to control his voice's pitch, perhaps it's the sound monitor problem on stage, I can hear a lot of vocal slip when he tried to reach some high notes. "Last One Standing" and "Sound of The Guns" are some magnificent heavy metal driven songs while "Waiting For Me" is pretty similar with "Tonite" where they decided to play with some uplitfting commercial melodies.

"Alive And Kicking" is packed with lots of promising and potential songs, the sound production is also good, but the inconsistent singing is really tearing the good things apart. Unless they work this thing out on the next studio album, I'm afraid Diamond Eye will run into trouble later. The band's playing tight, looks like they're having a lot of fun on stage, I can sense the passion they delivered on each songs, it's pure magical. This record is a door-opener and a prologue to what you'll expect in their upcoming album, if you're into Kiss and live performances with cheering fans on the background, "Alive And Kicking" is worth a shot.