DIRTY DYNAMITE

Personnel: Fernando Von Arb (vocals, guitar); Chris Von Rohr, Tommy Heart, Marc Storace, Mark Fox (vocals); Mark Kohler, Mandy Meyer (guitar); Kosta Zafiriou (drums). Audio Mixer: Dennis Ward. Recording information: Abbey Road Studios, London; Montekristo; Powerplay Studios, Z?rich; Wicked Wench Studios, Solothurn, Switzerland. Photographer: Martin H?usler. With nearly 40 years of rocking under their belts, Krokus have seen countless musical trends come and go (and in some cases even be revived again) since getting their start in 1974, but no matter how many empires have risen and fallen around them, they always seem to keep going. On Dirty Dynamite, the 17th album from the Swiss rockers, the band continues to stay the course with an album of bluesy, down-and-dirty hard rock. Sure, Krokus have been treading on more or less the same ground for a long time, but they're so good at it that at this point it's like musical comfort food, reminding us of a simpler time with its straightforward, virtually fill-less drumming and snarling guitars. In any other band, this kind of not-so-subtle AC/DC worship usually comes across as tiresome, but with Dirty Dynamite, Krokus pull off their homage with such refinement that it would be a disservice to simply dismiss them as imitators. When compared to a lot of modern bands, Krokus' sound can seem pretty simple, but something as elemental as classic hard rock is arguably a more unforgiving mistress. Without a lot of wild production tricks and theatrical songwriting to distract listeners, any flaws become obvious to anyone even half paying attention, and while Dirty Dynamite isn't a flawless record (with the biggest offender being a power ballad cover of the Beatles' iconic song "Help!"), it's definitely a solid one that will satisfy anyone looking for something new to scratch that classic rock itch. ~ Gregory Heaney