Heavier songs are mixed with bluesier, boogie inducing tracks and dark, introspective ballads, often harkening back to the first three albums the band made, but also pushing the band forward. Written and recorded while the world was still in the grips of the coronavirus pandemic, the new studio album sees Tracii Guns, Phil Lewis, and company continuing with the darker lyrical tone of the preceding studio albums, 'The Devil You Know' and 'The Missing Peace', while incorporating their classic rock influences into the mix. Guns have announced the release of their new studio album, 'Checkered Past'. These bad boys of Hard/Glam Metal are really inspired on “Checkered Past”, with many very good songs filled with nasty and massive melodic hooks, as “Cannonball” (excellent vocals and backing vocals laid on a massive instrumental work), “Bad Luck Charm” (that is filled with that usual groove of Glam Metal acts, and what great guitar riffs), “Living Right Now” (that massive catchy energy that’s usual from the band is presented here, with a great work from bass guitar and drums), “Get Along” (with a tender Country Rock outfit on the melodies, what shows the very good work from the vocals), “Better Than You” (the guitars are amazingly heavy, bring influences from US Metal into their Hard/Glam outfit), “Knock Me Down” (this one shows how AC/DC is a pillar influence for Hard/Glam Metal due the crude energy of the guitars), and “That Ain’t Why” (that shows that heavy and nasty outfit usual for Glam Metal bands between 19). And it’s usual to them to use such approach to deliver their songs to the fans. It’s that feeling that the band just came in, set their gears and recorded without endless editions.

The production worked in a form that makes the band’s musical work sounding nasty and organic as in the past, but taking advantage of the modern recording technologies. But as music isn’t fair (maybe names as RAMONES, MOTÖRHEAD, THIN LIZZY and DIAMOND HEAD can be examples of what these words mean), they never became a massive commercial success, but it doesn’t mean the this gang isn’t musically relevant. It’s obvious that the quintet had a massive success in the late years of the 80’s and was praised by press and fans on those days, but not as it could be. They’re a band that works on the Dark Side of Glam Metal: that nasty and shocking form of the genre which mixes catchy melodies and remarkable choruses with a massive and nasty energy.

GUNS, a Hard/Glam Metal master from the 80’s that never had the same success as giants from their time, but that is still making great works, as “Checkered Past”, their latest release. And there are bands that maybe aren’t giants on their genres, that even with great albums (and other not as good as the fans want), are living and making great songs. And there are many living off their past, of albums release 20-30-40 years ago (in respect for the readers, no name will be written as example). It’s a great lie, because no band has a perfect discography (unless those who ended with only one or two albums), and opinions are not enough to make things perfect (only facts). It’s usual to see people following a form of ‘cult of personality’ in the Rock and Metal scene, always living in the past, but always trying to say that a certain band never had one weak album on its history.

L.a. guns checkered past