As requested, here’s Demon Doll Records remastered reissue of Hollywood rockers 5 GUNS WEST 1989’s album ”Bad Boys Rock ‘N’ Roll”. Previously only available on vinyl / cassette, the 9 songs have been digitally remastered for its first long overdue CD release.
Brimming from beginning to end with songs about Sex, Drugs & Rock N’ Roll, we think one good listen will tell you the boys in the band seemed to live it as much as they wrote about it. The album opener “Walls Fall Down” is a crusher that sets the tone for a roller coaster ride into debauchery that keeps on rolling with tracks like “Thrill Train”, “Christine” and title track “Bad Boys Rock N’ Roll”.
If you like your Sunset Strip sleazy hard rock / glam metal with attitude, raw & unapologetic, then 5 Guns West is your type of band and one you need to discover.
Formed in 1988 in Los Angeles, 5 GUNS WEST was a wild act, trying to break through on the Sunset Strip with their uncompromising rock n’ roll. Built around 5 musicians determined to make it, 5 GUNS WEST sent demos to every Californian publishing agency, but with the urgency to put their music on tape didn’t wait to get a record deal, and recorded “Bad Boys Rock N’ Roll” releasing it privately.
There’s indeed urgency to these effective, energetic rockers, like the super-charged guitar driven “Walls Fall Down”, the crackling “Thrill Train” with its punchy rhythm and rowdy choruses by singer Mark Gordin, or the tongue-in-cheek “Screamer”. These titles are imbued with a touch of melancholy, a certain skin-deep sensitivity and are proof that Glam also had a less cheerful, more darkened side in those times.
More or less in the same vein, “Heartbreak City” is sexy and poppy, while the wicked and poisonous “Bad Boys Rock N’ Roll”, placed right in the middle of the disc is raw, filthy.
In a midtempo, “Christine” is pure Sunset Strip, and for a more melodic side “Sweet 18” is pretty commercial. As for the only ballad on the record, “Heroin Kills”, based on acoustic guitars, is a little ditty under the 2-minute long.
A badass rockin’ act, 5 GUNS WEST had the potential for bigger things however the band combusted themselves next year and members went onto different directions.
Highly Recommended
01 – Walls Fall Down
02 – Thrill Train
03 – Sweet 18
04 – Heartbreak City
05 – Bad Boys Rock ‘N’ Roll
06 – Christine
07 – Heroin Kills
08 – Screamer
09 – One Night
Lead Vocals, Guitar – Mark Gordin
Lead Guitar – A.J. Mitchell
Guitar – Alan “Quickdraw” McGraw
Bass – Kelly Tremmel
Drums – Tommy Russo