We really shouldn’t be surprised in 2014 that all barriers to the hard rock/ heavy metal community have been broken down thanks to the freedom of choice and research opportunities that the internet offers. Older acts gain increased exposure to the young, causing those same offspring to form their own groups and make their own mark on the world. A product of the 80’s hard rock/ glam metal scene, Germany’s Kissin’ Dynamite started in 2002 as the Blues Kids, changing to their current moniker in 2007. Megalomania is their fourth studio album, and at this point in their career the five-piece certainly have established their semi-flamboyant, semi-theatrical nature to a genre that can be well known for its entertainment factor.
In other words, as much as “DNA” and “God In You” have those sleazy qualities that people loved about say Guns N’ Roses or Poison, there is also a Germanic good nature and larger than life vocal quality that recalls Edguy or say Pink Cream 69. There is this modern edge in the production values that reminds me of say Avenged Sevenfold or Rob Zombie’s solo efforts, accent the simplified guitar hooks and smooth bass on “Maniac Ball” or the speedier/ punkier “VIP in Hell” where Johannes Braun vocally breaks out into semi-rap verses when needing to get out faster words that match the bouncy tempo.
Some of the symphonic keyboards give off that bombast, campy feel – but then Kissin’ Dynamite throw you for a loop as the acoustic guitars and large multi-part vocal harmonies kick in to make “Fireflies” one of the more exhilarating tracks on the album, and a left-field ballad that works – Ande Braun and Jim Müller just brilliant on guitars in the slower, note bending instrumental break. Not everything meets my approval – “Running Free” contains too many Bon Jovi/ Def Leppard background vocal tricks and a sugar sweet chorus that weighs down an incessant, echoing riff and equally exciting drum pattern, and “The Final Dance” as a second ballad is predictable to the core, relationship fodder best left on the cutting room floor.
In the end Megalomania aims to entertain, and Kissin’ Dynamite wish to provide adequate hard rock entertainment for the masses. In that regard, it’s a success.
Matt Coe, HMS
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