{"id":26546,"date":"2013-02-07T07:25:36","date_gmt":"2013-02-07T12:25:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=26546"},"modified":"2014-01-24T09:06:36","modified_gmt":"2014-01-24T14:06:36","slug":"krokus-dirty-dynamite-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2013\/krokus-dirty-dynamite-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Krokus | Dirty Dynamite<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Ron Higgins<\/span>
\n– Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"KrokusAfter working for two years in the legendary Abbey Road Studio with bassist and producer Chris Von Rohr, Swiss rockers Krokus are back! Their last release, the excellent 2010 Hoodoo<\/em>, went platinum in their home country and this album is just as impressive. It\u2019s a no-nonsense, straight-ahead rocker featuring 12 explosive tracks, all clocking in at a succinct three to four minutes in length. The band also welcomes back guitarist Mandy Meyer to the fold after a mere 30 year absence! Dirty Dynamite<\/em> is the band\u2019s 17th studio album, and after nearly four decades of rocking, they show no signs of slowing down now.<\/p>\n

As anyone who has followed this band throughout their lengthy career knows, they have always been inspired by AC\/DC. So it should be no surprise that many of the songs on their latest release have the down-and-dirty rhythm and blues vibe of the Aussie rockers. As lead singer Marc Storace has done before on songs like \u201cLong Stick Goes Boom\u201d, he channels his inner Bon Scott. But this time, he does more than sound like AC\/DC\u2019s former front-man, he becomes Ronald Belford Scott. The only thing missing is a kilt and some bagpipes. Songs like \u201cGo Baby Go\u201d and \u201cBetter Than Sex\u201d are rhythmically and vocally so similar to vintage Bon-era AC\/DC, bands like Airborne and Rhino Bucket sound like Air Supply in comparison. It\u2019s downright eerie, in an awesome \u201cBad Boy Boogie\u201d sorta way.<\/p>\n

The album kicks off with the appropriately titled \u201cHalleluja Rock n Roll.\u201d It\u2019s an up-tempo, bluesy rocker that sets the tone for the rest of the album, right from the first sounds of a growling dog whose picture graces the album\u2019s cover. He\u2019s a tough, dirty bulldog, complete with cigarette and obligatory tattoo. He\u2019s a perfect metaphor for this enjoyable tough-as-nails release.<\/p>\n

The second track is the aforementioned \u201cGo Baby Go\u201d, which is part \u201cDirty Deeds\u201d and part Little Richard\u2019s \u201cReady Teddy\u201d. This is followed by another nice rocker, \u201cRattlesnake Rumble\u201d where the boys find their inner ZZ Top.<\/p>\n

Next up is the title track, \u201cDirty Dynamite\u201d. Interestingly, this is a somewhat slower track with a groovier, bluesy vibe. It\u2019s a simple 12-bar blues tune that even features a nice piano accompaniment in the background. Compared to the other songs on offer, it\u2019s a bit of a surprise that they chose this one as the title track, lead single and video. It\u2019s not bad, just not representative of the rest of the album and not the strongest song on offer.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet The Good Times Roll\u201d returns to the hard rockin\u2019 swagger of the earlier tracks. It begins with someone muttering either, \u201ccut the track\u201d or \u201ccut the crap\u201d. Either way, it works, while paying homage to AC\/DC\u2019s \u201ccut this\u201d prefix to \u201cProblem Child\u201d. And yes, it\u2019s \u201ccut this\u201d not the four-letter favorite most people like to sing.<\/p>\n

Next up is one of the most interesting tracks on offer. As they are known to do, they have included a classic cover tune. Remember when they did their take of The Guess Who\u2019s \u201cAmerican Woman\u201d? This time around they go for a true classic, \u201cHelp\u201d by the Beatles. What makes it so interesting is that, aside from the lyrics, you can barely tell it\u2019s the same song. They truly put their own spin on it and it comes out great. Vocally, it\u2019s more Rod Steward than Bon Scott so it\u2019s a little atypical but it becomes more enjoyable with each subsequent listen. It also has a bit of a Pink Floyd tinge to it. They prove quite convincingly that they are certainly no one-trick pony.<\/p>\n

Returning to their hard rocking ways, \u201cBetter Than Sex\u201d is another raucous rocker with a flirty \u201cDon\u2019t Put Another Dime in the Jukebox\u201d riff and a \u201cSin City\u201d breakdown midway through. This is followed by another highlight, the interestingly titled \u201cD\u00f6g Song\u201d, with a catchy \u201cAll Night Long\u201d chorus. \u201cYellow Mary\u201d sees another return to Rod Stewart-land and \u201cBailout Blues\u201d features some blistering guitar work. The album wraps up with the excellent, high-energy \u201cLive Ma Life\u201d and \u201cHardrocking Man,\u201d which, ironically, is more poppy and less rocking.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a perfect release but it\u2019s immensely enjoyable and seems to get better with each listen, slowly percolating into your musical consciousness like a well brewed cup of coffee. A cup of coffee with a shot of whiskey perhaps, but coffee nonetheless. If you like hard rock, you\u2019ll like this album. If you like Krokus, you\u2019ll like this album. Basically, if you like good old-fashioned, dirty, bluesy rock and roll, you\u2019ll like this album. And if you long for the days when the Young brothers were knocking out classics with their previous singer, then you owe it to yourself to get this release. It\u2019s essentially the album everyone wishes AC\/DC would make.<\/p>\n

Genre: \tHeavy Metal, Hard Rock<\/p>\n

Band:
\nMarc Storace – Lead Vocals
\nChris Von Rohr – Bass, Vocals + Producer
\nFernando Von Arb – Guitar + Vocals
\nMark Kohler – Guitar
\nMandy Meyer – Guitar<\/p>\n

Guests:
\nKosta Zafiriou – Drums
\nMark Fox + Tommy Heart \u2013 Vocals<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1.\tHalleluja Rock n Roll
\n2.\tGo Baby Go
\n3.\tRattlesnake Rumble
\n4.\tDirty Dynamite
\n5.\tLet the Good Times Roll
\n6.\tHelp
\n7.\tBetter Than Sex
\n8.\tD\u00f6g Song
\n9.\tYellow Mary
\n10.\tBailout Blues
\n11.\tLive Ma Life
\n12.\tHardrocking Man<\/p>\n

Label: The End Records<\/p>\n

Website(s):\thttp:\/\/krokusonline.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven Rating: 8.7\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Ron Higgins – Columnist — After working for two years in the legendary Abbey Road Studio with bassist and producer Chris Von Rohr, Swiss rockers Krokus are back! Their last release, the excellent 2010 […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8704],"tags":[336,1103,2491,334,639],"class_list":{"0":"post-26546","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-arcrvws2013","7":"tag-cd","8":"tag-hard-rock","9":"tag-heavy-metal","10":"tag-review","11":"tag-the-end-records"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26546","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26546"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26546\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}