I enjoying The Missing Peace, the “comeback” album from L.A. Guns a number of years ago, albeit a little hamstrung by the fact that one of the leading bands from the 80s Sunset Strip returned to the scene of the crime after so many bands took inspiration from them. It’s a bit like reading a bunch of fantasy novels and then reading The Lord of the Rings, it feels like it’s been done before but this is the source.
Middle Earth analogy aside, Messrs Guns and Lewis are back once more to show them all how it’s done and like that previous album, they succeed. There’s been a few albums in-between which I haven’t had the chance to investigate but I’m willing to bet those records also serve as lessons to the younger bands. Regardless, their latest effort, Black Diamonds, is the first of two new albums we should expect from L.A. Guns this year (the second features Todd Kerns on vocals so that will definitely be worth a listen!) and if this is what they’ve got here, then they’re going to make excellent bedfellows.
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With the lynchpins of Tracii Guns and Phil Lewis keeping the train rolling, it’s not surprising that this is every inch a typical L.A. Guns album. It still sounds like 80s rock clad in spandex and hair spray. But this time around, there’s a few risks taken to keep proceedings fresh and exciting. Opener “You Betray” is a muscular hard rocker with its galloping riff and sounds like it could have been on a Led Zeppelin album. In fact, replace Lewis’ vocals with a Plant soundalike (presumably Plant himself is rather costly) and you could definitely it off as one of theirs. Elsewhere, “Wrong About You” sounds like early Stone Temple Pilots with its dark, grimy, grungy tone as Lewis hits the lower end of his .
Meanwhile, “Babylon” is snotty and sneering and along with the bare-bones drumming turns them into a 70s punk band. It’s revisited on “Got it Wrong”, albeit with some more complex drumming on the latter number. There’s also a couple of tracks that sound like Bon Scott-era AC/DC. And for those who want a traditional sounding L.A. Guns song that sounds like it came from the heyday of the 80s? Well, there’s plenty of those on offer between their own approach to no-nonsense rock and the expected couple of ballads.
L.A. Guns continue to be on fine form and the dynamic between its mainstays anchor this to continue their longevity and renaissance. Whilst it may sound like they’re throwing everything at the walls, Tracii Guns’ stripped-back production has allowed these 70s and early 90s sounds to mingle with the traditional 80s sound that we know them for and keep it all consistent. It enables the songs which sound like they’re from other eras to sound authentic whilst keeping that L.A. Guns DNA whilst simultaneously evoking nostalgia. And if this is what L.A. Guns have to offer in 2023, they should keep churning out records as fast as they can.
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Header image by Enzo Mazzeo
Black Diamonds is out now
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