Kickhunter

All In

Written by: PP on 27/10/2010 02:05:22

For a German band originating from the hansa town of Hamburg, Kickhunter sure have a very southern American classic rock sound to them - think "Sweet Home Alabama" and so forth. Their third album "All In" will take you on a journey back to the glory days of the hammond organ - that is, the 70s and 80s - and manages that without sounding irrelevant in today's musical landscape despite opting out of anything modern in their sound whatsoever. But hey, this is a band whose slogan goes something like "we bring back the rock into roll".

So the name of the game is classic rock in the vein of Lynyrd Skynyrd, but less technical and/or progressive. Instead, a more chorus-oriented approach is taken like on the big hits by Skynyrd and their peers from the time. There's also a very distinct southern rock tinge to the songs, not least in the acoustic guitar-driven power ballads which leave the electric guitar gently soloing in the backround as if this was a guitar hero rendition of the classic era. Basically, Kickhunter sound fairly predictable in that sense, but what makes them interesting is their seemingly non-existent fear of sounding absolutely monumental. Not power metal huge, but arena-rocking massive, as shown by songs like "Mine All Mine" or the blues-y "Shy Shy Shy". The hammond organ gives the songs a classic western feel while it whirls in the back of the soundscape, adding just the perfect background setting for the clean vocal delivery and retrospective sound.

Two covers are also included for good measure, one by Victory, and another by Blondie, but considering my minimal knowledge to either (admittably seminal) band, I'll be content to just saying they've been Kickhunterized fairly well given how they blend in with the rest of the album nicely. I guess the overall point is that a lot of retrospective 70s/80s classic rock bands sound dated and out of place in 2010, but somehow Kickhunter have produced an enjoyable ass-kicking album within the genre. So if you ever felt like you were born into the wrong musical era, this might be one to check out.

7

Download: Shy Shy Shy, Mine All Mine, Deep In My Heart
For the fans of: Lynyrd Skynyrd, classic rock in general
Listen: Myspace

Release date 23.07.2010
AFM Records

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