{"id":62045,"date":"2017-08-11T00:00:31","date_gmt":"2017-08-11T00:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=62045"},"modified":"2017-10-08T12:45:11","modified_gmt":"2017-10-08T12:45:11","slug":"album-review-kickin-valentina-imaginary-creatures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-kickin-valentina-imaginary-creatures\/","title":{"rendered":"KICKIN VALENTINA – Imaginary Creatures (2017) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

KICKIN VALENTINA
Imaginary Creatures<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nMighty Music (2017)<\/span>
Rating: 8\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n\n\n
<\/td>\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

Isn\u2019t it funny how a million bands of this drivin\u2019 hard rock edginess emerged back in the 80s and early 90s but never got a look in, yet suddenly in today\u2019s climate we\u2019re almost forced to take notice of something that is ultimately derivative?<\/p>\n

Hey, I\u2019m just being honest, but I still enjoy Kickin Valentina and their straight down the line ballsy melodic rock which literally borrows \u2013 unintentionally or not \u2013 from just about every sleaze-tinged act from the halcyon days of hard rock when acts such as Johnny Crash, D.A.D., Spread Eagle et al gave everything but couldn\u2019t live up to the might of bigger bands such as Guns N\u2019 Roses.<\/p>\n

For me, the more contemporary bands I\u2019ve been dealing with have been far too glossy, but Kickin Valentina have a very authentic vibe and enough swagger that I want to throw them alongside the likes of Beautiful Creatures and Last Vegas; two other killer acts who, in spite of their unoriginality, should\u2019ve taken on the world, but never did.<\/p>\n

There still doesn\u2019t seem to be a place for this type of generic, ballsy rock, and that\u2019s a shame because what Imaginary Creatures<\/em> offers up is a very sincere brand of rock \u2018n\u2019 roll with big hooks, a raspy vocal, and an energetic saunter which I just couldn\u2019t peel my ears away from. Okay, so the bandanas, the whiskey swiggin\u2019 and the leather all seems rather contrived, but I guess I\u2019m just cynical in my old age to this generic biker rock. But hey, this is a bunch of guys who\u2019ve toured with the likes of Buckcherry, Faster Pussycat, LA Guns and Skid Row, so who am I to criticise? <\/p>\n

Imaginary Creatures<\/em> is the second opus from the combo, and in spite of my grievances I really like it. I can\u2019t go round giving every album a 9 or a maximum 10 rating, after all, I\u2019m not Kelv Hellrazer, but Imaginary Creatures<\/em> is a sturdy enough addition to the sleaze rock genre, and one that\u2019s rough enough around the edges too.<\/p>\n

Much of this rugged excitement is caused by the scratchy pipes of Joe Edwards. Behind Edwards sits founder members Jimmy Berdine on drums and Heber Pampillon (great name dude!) on guitar, with the trio joined by bassist Chris Taylor.<\/p>\n

The platter offers up ten songs which for the most part remind me of a mix of Guns N\u2019 Roses, D.A.D and Circus Of Power; all delivered with an oily arrogance which recalls the glorious era of the Sunset Strip. Tracks which immediately standout are \u2018Turn Me On\u2019 with its infectious hooks and the anthemic \u2018Crazy\u2019 which drags away from the raucous and the rowdy and is delivered with a slower pace. \u2018Street\u2019 and \u2018Roll Ya One\u2019 are standard party rockers, but you can\u2019t fail to be moved by their boisterous attitude, while \u2018Eat \u2019N Run\u2019 and \u2018Devil\u2019s Hand\u2019 are well-soiled dirt-bags sure to leave a mess on the carpet.<\/p>\n

You know where I\u2019m going here; Kickin Valentina are a rock \u2018n\u2019 roll band, and there\u2019s nothing really more I can add. There\u2019s a good mixture of grit and beef to ensure that a good time is had by all, but within those filthy folds and lethal layers is a band that knows how to write a good song. This isn\u2019t just a case of by-numbers 80s imitation, and cuts such as \u2018Heartbreak\u2019 are a prime example of that quality.<\/p>\n

The whole machine is one of simple yet effective design and built around those heavy grooves and Joe Edwards\u2019 familiar yet feisty yelps, and where I\u2019ve been so dulled by acts such as Crash Diet and Reckless Love, I somehow find an enthusiasm for Kickin Valentine.<\/p>\n

These fellas are no spring chickens, and are clearly well-trained in the eye for creating seedy, swaggering tunes that never appear too polished as one would expect with today\u2019s almost manufactured wannabes. Okay, so the cover of \u2018Burning Love\u2019 \u2013 the song made famous by Elvis Presley \u2013 didn\u2019t impress, but overlook the flaws dotted about this ramshackle creature and you\u2019ll find a beast that isn\u2019t so easily tamed. Good old fashioned rock \u2018n\u2019 roll can still be done, and here\u2019s the proof.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KICKIN VALENTINAImaginary Creatures Mighty Music (2017)Rating: 8\/10 Isn\u2019t it funny how a million bands of this drivin\u2019 hard rock edginess emerged back in the 80s and early 90s but never got a look in, yet suddenly in today\u2019s climate we\u2019re almost forced to take notice of something that is ultimately derivative? Hey, I\u2019m just being […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,3683],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62045","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-kickin-valentina"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62045","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62045"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62045\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62047,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62045\/revisions\/62047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}