A LOT of great rock n roll came out of the 80’s. The bands of that era, with few exceptions, are often not given the credit they deserve for the great music they wrote.
That scene in my opinion just had it all: Great musicianship, great production in a lot of cases, a larger than life image, hooks for days, great singers, the right instrument tone, but more than anything it was great songs! Songs to get your adrenaline going, songs to party to, Songs full of attitude, songs to dedicate to the person you love, and songs for a broken heart.. It was just about everything you could ever want out of rock n roll.
L.A. Guns are influential legends of that scene, but instead of being one of the many bands trying to rip off of Van Halen and Motley Crue these guys alongside bands like Faster Pussycat and Guns N’ Roses came from a more blues and punk influence.
When you look at the long game of the 80s bands there’s many who don’t have a lot of great records in the decades since, or they stopped making new albums altogether and chose instead to just tour the hits year after year, which in my opinion is tragic.
Neither of those statements apply to L.A. Guns. Despite their many line up changes I would argue that their catalog outshines most of their peers, These guys have a wealth of great material to the point that I wonder how they choose their setlist.
Years ago singer Phil Lewis and Guitarist Tracii Guns, the core of what makes this band great, reunited and they’ve been putting on incredible live shows and releasing some of the best material of their career.
Black Diamonds is their fourth studio album released since their reunion and they’ve raised the bar even higher with this record. The last three post reunion albums (The Missing Peace, The Devil You Know, and Checkered Past) have all managed to be musically diverse records that individually stand on their own while still retaining the bands trademark swagger and attitude, Black Diamonds is no different.
There’s a major 60s and 70’s rock influence on this record, which was always a part of this bands DNA but is more front and center on this album than on any album they’ve recorded prior to this one.
“You betray” storms right out of the gate with a heavier Led Zeppelin influence that balances heavy riffs with grooving rhythms, Phil Lewis showing that the years haven’t diminished his powerful voice in the least.
The playing on “Wrong about you” is just jaw dropping! Drums swing and crash while the riffs groove hard and incendiary leads cut right through it all, This song would be amazing live. I’ve seen these guys in concert twice in the last two years and they are fantastic!
This line up of the band is extremely tight. Tracii Guns and Ace Von Johnson have such great chemistry together as guitarists, Johnny Martin is my favorite bassist these guys have ever had and his playing locks in extremely well with studio drummer Adam Hamilton, this track is just musically flawless and one of the best rockers on the album.
My personal favorite track on the album is “Diamonds” and it’s easily one of the best songs they’ve recorded since Tracii and Phil reunited, It’s got a good mix of the 80s power ballad bombast but with some bridge moments that musically and vocal harmony wise remind me a bit of Alice In Chains, that sort of switch up doesn’t come across as out of place and really enriches the song.
I hear a light influence from The Kinks on “Babylon” which has a slight 60’s rock vibe to it but is made harder and sleazier.
Blues has always been a part of this bands sound and no track they’ve ever recorded illustrates that better than “shame” a straight up electric blues/hard rock hybrid, I’d love to see them do a whole record of this style.
“Shattered Glass” is another of the best rockers on this album, there’s more of that 60s rock swing on this one and the playing on this song is really impressive.
The rhythm guitar playing on “Gonna Lose” in the verses reminds me a bit of The Cure before going straight up Led Zeppelin in the chorus, these guys really deserve more credit for the diverse influences they incorporate into their sound. There’s a fine line between hero worship and successfully being a product of your influences, When L.A. Guns switch things up they really make it their own.
“Got it wrong” is another track with a 60s rock meets hard rock sound, the band are on fire here and even with all the tempo changes they never let up, this song is from start to finish a thrill ride.
I gotta give Adam Hamilton credit here, his drumming on this record is exceptional, sounding almost jazz drummer technical, easily the best drumming on the post reunion records. These songs just groove and sway while still kicking your ass, I think a good part of that is the incredible rhythm section they have on this record.
“Lowlife” comes in with some Cheap Trick like chord progressions and a bit of a punk rock edge, this is a song that will get you going, an adrenaline filled punch in the face of a song.
I detect a slight influence from The Beatles on “Crying” in the rhythms and the subtle bits of sitar in the background adds to it, the guitar solo is fantastic and starts out with a cool fader effect, and on the note of guitar playing..Wow! Is the playing from Tracii and Ace on this album phenomenal! I can’t emphasize that enough.
“Like a drug” ends the album with another great rocker with some slightly Black Sabbath sounding riffs and fantastic leads.
After several listens to this album I can honestly say that Black Diamonds is the best album they’ve recorded since the reunion and is one of their best records period, the musicianship on display here is incredible and Phil Lewis sounds as great as he ever did.
They are in my opinion one of the very best bands of their era and they’re still putting out top notch rock n roll decades later, while some of their more famous contemporaries have gotten complacent, L.A. Guns are as vital as ever.
9/10