KROKUS – Dirty Dynamite
- Posted on 06-02-2013
Founded in the mid 1970’s, Switzerland’s Krokus come full circle in terms of the roots of their sound. No longer plagued with management and record companies twisting the brains of the musicians in hopes of a larger payday, these veterans plug in and play blues based hard rock with simple hooks and street level rhythms guaranteed to sway the older generation. "Dirty Dynamite" comes on the heels of the reunion album of the classic Storace/ Von Arb/ Kohler/ Von Rohr lineup "Hoodoo"- adding in Mandy Meyer as a third guitarist and punctuated with session drummer Kosta Zafiriou (Pink Cream 69).
Soulful and expressive with a honkytonk swagger on the title track (love the piano and slide guitar accents), the 12 songs cover a lot of different aspects of the band’s potent sound. "Go Baby Go" and "Let the Good Times Roll" almost sound like long lost Bon Scott-era AC/DC tracks, with the former a montage of "TNT" in Marc Storace’s slithery verse delivery and "High Voltage" in terms of the charging chorus. The revamped ballad arrangement for their cover of "Help!" by The Beatles contains a gospel choir feel at times, giving the triple guitar lineup a chance to shine with emotive lead breaks. "Yellow Mary" has that mid-tempo anthem element that should get the crowd’s roaring and clapping, and "Hardrocking Man" takes the early 50’s rock development and gets the Krokus treatment as Marc’s vocals continue to shine.
Those who expect "Headhunter" part two- you’ll be massively disappointed. Do not fear though- their days trying to water down their sound for American radio appeal are long gone ("Change Of Address" anyone?). "Dirty Dynamite" is just good old fashioned hard rock for 2013, and Krokus maniacs across the globe will be scooping this up. One act that I hope continues churning out new albums for a few more years, as their 17th studio effort is quite the toe tapper.