Gentlemans Pistols - Gentlemans Pistols
You know, there was a time when having Bill Steer listed in your band’s lineup meant that you were getting something brutal. This is not the case anymore. Gone are the days of old, where Steer was laying the groundwork for the entire Goregrind genre with albums like Symphonies of Sickness and Reek of Putrefaction. Since the split of Carcass, Bill has been stuck in the ’70s. The press release for this album lists the likes of Slade and Deep Purple as influences, which doesn’t put this band far away in influence and style from Bill’s other ’70s influenced musical project, Firebird. I wasn’t initially going to bother with this, but I’ve been on a strange musical kick as of late and have been listening to a lot of old Hard Rock albums that were from the ’70s and very early ’80s. My neighbors think I’m crazy. I go from blasting Dismember and Vital Remains to Rainbow, Black Sabbath and Elf (if you immediately knew that Ronnie James Dio was vocalist for all three of those bands, you are officially old-school). Gentlemans Pistols does share some commonalities with the bands listed as their influences. They are all in the Hard Rock genre, but unlike Deep Purple and Slade, Gentlemans Pistols doesn’t have any standout songs. It’s basic, paint-by-numbers Rock music, but without any strong hooks or memorable choruses. You can listen through this album a dozen times and the only song you’ll remember is “Heavy Petting,” not because it was awesome, but because that song sucked so much more than all of the others. As much as I respect Bill Steer for his work with Napalm Death and Carcass and for being the live second guitarist for Angel Witch, Gentlemans Pistols needs to be completely retooled if they want to be successful. They need good, memorable songs and a vocalist that doesn’t think that he’s the second coming of Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin’s vocalist, for those born in the late ’80s or ’90s). After listening to this album, I have to say that if I didn’t get it to review, I wouldn’t have paid a dime for any of these songs. The only one that stood out did so because it sucked more than the rest. A sticker on the front of this CD saying “Featuring Bill Steer of Carcass” might move a few copies, but I seriously doubt that any of those folks will ever buy another Gentlemans Pistols album based on what’s here.
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