Stephen
In the last few years, many old bands seem to pop out from nowhere under labels like Suncity, Retrospect, or Eonian, and Kidd Havok was one of those acts that's given a chance to showcase their works from the 90s in "Roll The Dice". Dominated by the singer Johnny B and guitarist Scot Marcs, Kidd Havok slightly reminds me of the flamboyant duo of Jagger/Richard or the explosive combo of Rose/Slash in their prime era. Driven heavily by the sleazy licks and energetic performances, Kidd Havok's music is slicing between Mr.Big and Tora Tora, with a tip of melodious Sweet F.A.
The inspiring shred at "Too Sadd"'s intro is an obvious hint of what you'll get inside those eleven songs. A good opening track with furious riffs and flashy solos that's reminiscent of Paul Gilbert's raw play in the late 80s. "1 Push" and "Candy Store" still pushed forward swiftly with no sign of slowing down, but the infectious hooks of "Treat Me" that grabbed my attention. This, along with the groovy slab of midtempo hard rock, "Lady Luck", are the gems of the album. "Lust 4 Life" dances with Kiss 80s style, the gangshout chorus is intense and memorable, a winning track for sure.
Apparently, they have the urge to rock seriously hard as there are no slowtempo ballads in sight from start to finish. I spotted couple of fillers but the last two tracks (three with Marcs' solos) are fantastic. "Entertainment 4 Tonight" is neat and naughty and "Night On Me" is perhaps the heaviest track of the album with a brilliant Verse/Chorus composition. Though half of these albums are killers, the rest are basically good and average at most, but judging from this collection, I know what standard I should set to expect from their upcoming release. An exhilarating album for sleaze and hard rock fans !