Since the reunion of Tracii Guns and Phil Lewis, L.A. Guns have been busy being a great band. First was the unexpectedly great ‘The Missing Peace.’ Then they released a very unexpectedly quality live album, ‘Made In Milan.’ And now Guns and Lewis keep the train rolling with ‘The Devil You Know.’ Yet another high quality hard rock installation from the Guns. What else is there really?
The album isn’t a particularly original concept. I mean, how many hard rock or metal albums are entitled ‘The Devil You Know?’ But L.A. Guns is more about the simple strength of a great riff, good groove, ripping guitar solos and sleazy lyrics. And they come through in spades once again on this album. Don’t be fooled by the generic album and song titles. This record defiantly wasn’t phoned in. Tracy Guns’ guitar playing seems to just keep getting better as the years go by. And Phil Lewis’ voice has held up much much much better than almost all of his 80’s frontman peers. The riffs are strong and the band is constantly throwing little off beat accidentals that keep the listener surprised and invested.
The album opens with the punkish ‘Rage.’ It’s a simple four chord track that gets the crowd revved up for what’s to come. But the album doesn’t really get moving until the next track, ‘Stay Away’ kicks in. It certainly has a reminiscent vibe of ‘Electric Gypsy’ but it doesn’t copy or self plagiarize. It’s a great groove and sing along chorus melody. Pretty much perfect L.A. Guns. ‘Loaded Bomb’ offers a little bit of a different vibe for the band in the introduction. It’s a super funky, clean guitar jump starter. Then the song kicks in via ‘Bitch is Back.’ But once again, not really copying the song. There’s still a fresh sound to it. The main riff is catchy and addictive. The slide guitar solo is also a tasty addition. And Phil Lewis’ voice really sounds like no time has passed.
The record really starts to turn on in the title track. An L.A. sounding Black Sabbath track with a very strong original riff over the vocals during the verses. It’s so simply, yet so effective. It’s just an ascending chromatic scale, but it creeps up the spine so well. And they make it sound so sexy and dirty. The swinging, heavy bridge fits in well. Which leads seamlessly into a ripper guitar solo. ‘Needle to the Bone’ brings back the simplicity of the first track. It’s a fine song, but not a real hair raiser or anything. Simple chords and drums, but loaded with passion. And that’s something that the Guns haven’t lost that a lot of their contemporaries have. ‘Going High’ is a nasty ass blues metal rocker. With a great riff that has a little throw off progression at the end of each phrase. It’s just got amazing feel. ‘Gone Honey’ is really a great mid-tempo ballad. A good earworm melody and mellow guitar riff. It sounds like a track that would be very welcome addition to ‘Hollywood Vampires.’
‘Don’t Need to Win’ is somewhat of a filler track to be honest. Not forgettable by any means, but when compared to ‘Going High’ and the title track it’s not a special song. But things pick right back up with the funky ‘Down That Hole.’ The grunge sounding track is a nice inclusion to the whole feel of the album. You can hear that the band is at least trying somewhat to not write the same song over and over again. ‘Another Season in Hell’ is the bands traditional ballad track for the album. L.A. Guns have always written great ballads. Ones that differentiate themselves from the cookie cutter songs of their time period. And ‘Another Season in Hell’ is written in that vain. But the album isn’t finished until the fun, punkish bonus track ‘Boom’ is finished. And it’s a very appropriate finish. Three chords, three minutes with a gang anthem chorus and aggressive attitude.
Overall the album is pretty stellar. Pretty much like everything else that Tracii Guns and Phil Lewis collaborate on. If you’re a fan of good 80’s hard rock or simply just a fan of a quality hard rock find, this is the album for you. Along with countless others from the band.
