Kitty in A Casket – Kiss & Hell (Rodeostar/SPV)

English:CD-review
  Van Muylem    16 februari 2016

The last time (and my first time) that I reviewed them was in 2011 with Back To Thrill. As I liked their sound I kept on following them, but missed one album. Well, Kiss & Hell, the new album by Austrian punk´n`roll act Kitty In A Casket was worth waiting for!


The diversity of their punk rock compositions which alternate between brusque and sensitive, between humorous and deadly serious, between fictitious and autobiographical, the American country rock-a-billy sound ... it keeps sticking on me. As for today I can say that I hear less that Avril Lavigne sound, instead I hear more a Kitty In a Casket sound. Let’s cover the tracks before releasing the conclusion!

The rock’n roll party starts with Sticks & Stones (and with a ukulele). The melody is right on spot and even makes my almost 2 year’s old daughter dance on it and go completely nuts. If she loves it, who am I to write down something else. The sound is catchy, sweet and sticky! Just let go and fill the dancefloor or your Livingroom, bedroom …: time to dance! Enjoy the fat guitar sound, the great vocals, and the melody! This is simply a pearl! Lurking in The Dark is the next rock-a-billy shot! Bloodlust starts a bit slower, but once the vocals gets the help from the backings it changes into something catchy mixed with raw grunting and screaming like a cool mix between rock and metal! It’s cool to hear that the vocals also cover the lyrics and make it perfectly fitting!

Of Cats & Demons sounds like blues rock with a retro touch whilst Straight to Hell has an angry vibe with serious lyrics pointing out that you can’t mess with this cat! Going further with Nightmare, could be changed into I’m your worst nightmare (and that covers the lyrics). So once again: don’t mess with her! Feuer & Eis starts a bit with a riff that I know from Motorhead (Ace of Spades). It’s sung in German and sounds into rocking the world!

Deep Black Underground goes deeper into rock/metal with great roaring guitars and hammering drums. I hear some punk and some Green Day in it. The backings are really filled with energy, fueling the song even more! It feels like the perfect live track! St. Tropez sounds very funky with a pretty vibe. This track lifts up a depression, lightens up a dark night! This is fun time! Black Skinny Jeans is going back to the rock’n roll sound with pretty crazy backings heating up the party! Looks like the perfect dress for  a party! Catch the fun, wrestle it out! Another track that will create fun on stage is Yeah Yeah Yeah, feel the energy on stage and enjoy the bass! Pure fun ‘n roll! Red Sweet Red is the last rock/metal bomb with a funky attitude (genre No Doubt), enjoy this bloodsucker and the perfect dirty guitar sound!

The bonus track show off the vocal powers of our favorite kitty in an acoustic approach with Gone. Be ready to shed a tear or start a slow with your partner …

Kiss & Hell was produced by KIAC guitarist Billy The Bat and mixed by their first bassist Marc van Dark, who had a (sensitive) finger in the pie of all previous KIAC releases. The 13 new songs were mastered at the Sage Audio Nashville Mastering Studio in Nashville, where Dirt Rice by the Mad Caddies, among others, was also finalised.

My conclusion is simple: if rockabilly and Goth’n roll are your favourite genres stop looking and simply grab this one! I absolutely adored it, it was really fun listening to it and the studio work changed it into a pearl! This Kitty rocks!

 

Tracklist:

1. Sticks & Stones

2. Lurking In The Dark

3. Bloodlust

4. Of Cats & Demons

5. Straight To Hell

6. Nightmare

7. Feuer & Eis

8. Deep Black Underground

9. St. Tropez

10. Black Skinny Jeans

11. Yeah Yeah Yeah

12. Red Sweet Red

13. Gone (Bonus)
 

 DISCOGRAPHIE

HORROR EXPRESS (2009)

HALLOWIEN (EP, 2010)

BACK TO THRILL (2011)

BITTERSWEET (2013)