Swiss rockers KISSIN’ BLACK are back with their unique music balancing between soft dark new wave-ish goth and hard rock. And that succeeds with the new album ”Veleno” (”Poison” in Italian), 13 new songs capturing passion and diametrical energies fusing them into KISSIN’ BLACK’s very own sound. As if this were not enough, an extra impulse is injected into ”Veleno” by the collaboration with “Dark Rock Star” and singer of the band HELL BOULEVARD, Matteo vDiva Fabbiani.
The Italian title song releases emotions that capture its full depth in Giu Mastrogiacomo’s native language. The frontman’s voice, velvety, rough, and emotionally charged, carries soothes wanderlust.
KISSIN’ BLACK rock music is definitely something different, at places really dark with an ’80s goth feel and occasionally morose, but it has much in the way of melody and optimism too.
Giu Mastrogiacomo has been in the business for many years and was by no means unknown in the European goth rock scene under the name Aka Profound. Something you can certainly hear when you listen to the rather unusual sound of Kissin’ Black.
Quite a few of the tracks actually forego the electric guitar and prefer the acoustic one. The band repeatedly jumps from gentle melodies to harder guitar sounds, where keyboards / synths conjures up rather ghostly sounds in the background.
While many songs are pretty catchy and straightforward rockers, you should definitely be open-minded and ready for new things in order to enjoy this album. But ‘delving into it’ can definitely be worth it, because there is a lot to discover here – something new, different.
For sure, Kissin’ Black have created an immersive rock style that sounds like no one else out there.
01 – Sleep with the Lights On
02 – Nycto
03 – Dancing
04 – Veleno
05 – Spotlight
06 – Remain
07 – Gimme’ Deliverance
08 – Raspberry Eyes
09 – Adrenalin
10 – Some Are Wild
11 – Who Said No!
12 – Lena Luna
13 – Veleno – Bittersweet
G. Mastrogiacomo – Vocals
Dave Launchbury – Bass
Andy Dormann, Pascal Zwyssig – Guitar
Dr. Spiga – Drums