Around 25 years ago in the whisky soaked streets of West Hollywood, lay an area called the Sunset Strip, where dudes cruised around on Harleys with long hair wearing tight assed leather and hanging on to them like a backpack there was a blonde girl with hair four foot high reeking of hairspray and dressed in leopard skin prints. Pop into one of the local drinking joints, Rainbow Bar, The Roxy, Whisky a Go-Go and the standard sound blasting through the PA would be Cinderella, RATT and of course the kings of the strip Motley Crue amongst others, oh the memories, and this is what I immediately thought of when I jammed this EP from Melbourne based rockers Kill Shott into the player.
Made up of members Ted Dempsey (vocals), Chris Gunslinger (lead/rhythm guitars), Tommy Sunset (bass), and Nick Caligula (Drums), this four-piece outfit has ripped into this EP with the gusto that would have made those with the spray-painted jeans all those years ago proud as a kid at his first night at Girls Girls Girls stuffing a dollar down the G String of a stripper for the first time. Musically these lads play it as you want it, a lot heavier guitar sound than their predecessors which makes it have a harder edge, and makes it a hell of a lot better to listen to, kudos to the production team! Ted Dempsey’s vocals have a raspy sound and his vocal range is magnificent, from the rocking through to the high-pitched scream that comes after you’ve just necked half a bottle of Jack. Guitarist Mr. Gunslinger, because anyone with a surname like that you have to call Mr, pulls off a brilliant performance on the ax, handling all the duties on rhythm and lead, he keeps you rocking your snakeskin cowboy boots throughout the whole EP, the guitar sound is the star of these tracks. Sunset and Caligula hold the team together with their mighty fine section of rhythm, it really is a great effort from these guys, keeping it pumping while Dempsey and Gunslinger raise hell.
For those not old enough to really appreciate the good times 80’s when this style of music ruled the airwaves, or you haven’t had the opportunity to get to L.A. to visit the Sunset Strip and experience the wonderful establishments where the old saying of sex, drugs and rock & roll was real, this EP from Kill Shott is as close as you will get to the real stuff. They’ve given us 20 minutes of sexy, smelly, whisky reeking, ball-breaking, nose snorting, and stripper panty Rock and Roll right here, and I’m sure there’s much more to come from these guys in the future. I might have to dust off my old leather pants with the tassels on, even though ill need a shoehorn to get into the bastards these days and crank this EP up again, it’s a good time in a small package and I’m not talking about my pants, I’m talking about Kill Shott!
Kill Shott: N/A
Release Year: 2013
Label: self-released
Category: EP
Country: Australia
Reviewed by Hayden G.M.
