Gentleman’s Pistols bring vintage hard rock
Fast-rising UK rock band Gentleman’s Pistols have released their sophomore LP At Her Majesty’s Pleasure via Rise Above Records / Metal Blade. The follow up to the group’s self-titled debut, At Her Majesty’s Pleasure was produced by the band’s singer/guitarist James Atkinson at Mutiny studios in Bradford and promises to be “a record full of energy and powerful songs.”
First formed in 2003 and drawing inspiration from the classic glam bands (Slade, Sweet) and heavy 70’s bands (such as Deep Purple and Captain Beyond), Gentleman’s Pistols’ sound has been described as “what 70’s proto-punks Edgar Broughton Band would’ve sounded like if they were put through a woodchipper machine along with Budgie and Motorhead.”
The band is a perfect musical blend of fury and restraint; taking on a blues-infected metallic hard rock flair that seethes with both charged up vitality and undeniable energy. The unit’s top-notch rock ‘n’ roll songwriting and groove-laden dynamic has been united with the amazing technical skill of the fearsomely talented Bill Steer (Firebird, Carcass, ex-Napalm Death), who recently joined the Gent’s on lead guitar, replacing former six stringer Chris Rogers.
While blues rock is a very apparent part of Gentleman’s Pistols’ sound, the New Wave of British Heavy Metal plays an equally large part, especially the early phase of that movement. If At Her Majesty’s Pleasure had been released in 1975, it would be safe to call it proto-metal; Gentleman’s Pistols belong to that rare grouping of acts who have preserved classic 1970’s rock/metal and transported it to the year 2011 with a sledge hammer delivery. Imagine the rawness of Sir Lord Baltimore and the heavy groove of Free merged with classic heavy rock-riffing and a convincingly energetic, near punk-rock delivery and you’re getting close to what is unleashed in the music of Gentleman’s Pistols.
“The writing process for ‘At Her Majesty’s Pleasure’ began as soon as we had finished recording the first album,” explains Atkinson. “Due to the studio being in an old mill building, warmth wasn’t a luxury we were entitled to,” he laughs. “The studio was so cold that the guitars kept falling out of tune between takes and most of the album was recorded while the band was wearing gloves and coats! I was fully expecting a Brian Wilson style meltdown at one point but luckily managed to get it finished and remain happy with the outcome.”
The track listing for Gentleman’s Pistols’ At Her Majesty’s Pleasure is as follows:
1.) Living In Sin Again
2.) Comfortably Crazy
3.) Midnight Crawler
4.) Some Girls Don’t Know What’s Good For Them
5.) Your Majesty
6.) Into The Haze
7.) I Wouldn’t Let You
8.) The Ravisher
9.) Sherman Tank
10.) Peeping Tom
11.) Feed Me To The Lions
12.) Lethal Woman
In addition to James Atkinson and Bill Steer, Gentleman’s Pistols features Douglas McLaughlan (bass, vocals) and Stuart Dobbins (drums).
