Album Review — L.A. Guns

L.A. Guns — The Devil You Know

It’s not often that reunions lead to great new music, but when Phil Lewis and Tracii Guns buried the hatchet and released a new record it was magic. “The Missing Peace” is one of my favorite LA Guns records and was one of the best records of 2017.

LA Guns are back with a new album, “The Devil You Know” less than 18 months later and the magic is still there. It’s loud and heavy and you won’t find another “The Ballad of Jayne” and it’s great.

The album kicks off with “Rage” which sounds exactly like you think it would with that title. The album’s overall feel is pretty dark and the production sounds almost a bit muddy, but it works. L.A. Guns have always combined metal with melody with a touch of punk and that’s evident on “The Devil You Know”.

The lead single, “Stay Away”, is up next and has a bit more of that “Cocked And Loaded” sound. Lewis sounds as good as he did 25 years ago and the underrated Guns shines. This one is classic LA Guns.

“Loaded Bomb” is another high energy rocker with a more melodic chorus. There aren’t a lot of breaks on the record, it’s basically wall to wall energy and sound.

“The Devil You Know” intros with a Sabbath-like riff that carries the song all the way through. I don’t remember L.A. Guns sounding so much like Sabbath but they pull it off. Cool song.

“Needle To The Bone” is back to that Cocked and Loaded sound. It’s not rocket science, just a good riff with a cool chorus and a lot of attitude.

“Going High” shows off a heavy verse and Lewis pushes his range in the chorus. This record is full of great, heavy riffs.

“Gone Honey” has another great riff to kick it off that reminds me of “Don’t Fear The Reaper” at first. I really like the chorus on this one.

“Don’t Need To Win” continues the high energy rock and Lewis is aggressive from the get go. This one reminds me of old school LA Guns.

“Down That Hole” features a Zeppelin-like guitar sound that runs through the song.

“Another Season In Hell” is my favorite song on the record. It reminds me of “Gave It All Away” from The Missing Peace. It has that epic song feel and stretches nearly six and a half minutes. I love the high energy feel of the record but this break fits in really well. I’d like to see it end the record but there’s a “bonus track” on some versions of the record.

“Boom” is the bonus track on the CD/digital versions of the record and it’s another high energy rocker that fits the feel of the record.

I really like this record. I’m not sure that there’s the same high end quality songs as on The Missing Peace, but it is solid from top to bottom and “Another Season In Hell” would definitely make my Top 10 LA Guns song list.

In a year full of big time releases, this one may be the leader in the clubhouse.

90 out of 100

Track Listing

1. Rage
2. Stay Away *
3. Loaded Bomb
4. The Devil You Know
5. Needle to the Bone *
6. Going High
7. Gone Honey
8. Don’t Need to Win *
9. Down That Hole
10. Another Season in Hell *
11. Boom

*Best Songs