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Machine Gun Kelly – No Easy Way Out
Sliptrick Records
Release Date 30/01/2018
Running time: 38:00
Review by Vikkie ‘Queen of Rock’ Richmond
6/10
I was perplexed when I searched for Machine Gun Kelly online and I got results back for an American rapper who has over 5m likes on Facebook. Further research revealed that there is also an Italian rock band of the same name, with a somewhat more modest 3,500 likes (not too shabby). I’m no copyright expert, but I expect to see some sort of a legal battle occurring at some point in the future … interestingly, it appears that the Italians may have had the name first.
This Machine Gun Kelly are not rappers, indeed they are a band of four rockers who have apparently been in existence since the year 2000, but ‘No Easy Way Out’ is only their third full length offering, one demo and one EP notwithstanding. This album is the first to feature new guitarist/bassist Manfre.
I’ve never really understood why bands include an intro on an album; this one is no exception, it’s called ‘Broadcast Humanity’ and it’s basically snippets of radio broadcasts, but… well, it’s so short, what is the point? I suppose it could be because the first track proper was a chuggy, riff laden beast of a song, titled ‘Broadcast King’. I quite liked it until the vocals kicked in. As with many European artists I have listened to lately, the musicality of the record is there, but in my opinion the vocals let it down. That’s not to say that Mikke has a bad voice, it’s just not to my taste.
There are some great tracks on this album, although I have to say sadly the vocals weren’t really my cup of tea on any of them. ‘Eye of the Storm’ featured a great, slide guitar sound at the start before morphing into a fast, somewhat repetitive refrain.
The simple drum and guitar intro to ‘Nothing Ever Changes’ was promising; the song had a big, brash sound to it with a catchy lick (it was going around my head for hours after I’d listened to it). The ballad like opening to ‘Hard Times’ was interesting, and there was a cheeky little riff going on at about 3 and a half minutes in.
If I had to pick a ‘favourite’ track, I suppose it would probably be ‘Take What You Need’, purely for the vaguely dirty feel to it, however, at times the guitars sounded a little discordant and jarring.
The production isn’t sparkling on this album, but there is evidence of some talented musicians here and it’s a bit of a rip-roaring, semi-classic yet somewhat dated outing for the Italians. You could do worse than give it a listen; I wish I’d liked it more, but it just wasn’t my bag. I would imagine that MGK are probably really good live as the songs have that raw, untamed edge that would translate well into the live environment.
TRACKLISTING:
01. Intro (Broadcasted Humanity)
02. Broadcast King
03. Aileen
04. Eye Of The Storm
05. Nothing Ever Changes
06. Hard Times
07. Stand Or Fall
08. No Easy Way Out
09. Take What You Need
10. The Boogeyman
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Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Vikkie ‘Queen of Rock’ Richmond and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
LINKS:
Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of [user_login] and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.