Klassik ’78: Phantoms

One quick look at the cover of the second album from Klassik ’78 should leave you in no doubt as to who this three-piece are paying homage to, Phantoms showing one mirrored guitar, another with smoke coming from the pick-ups, a blood spattered bass and a bust-up bass drum with a bullet belt lain on top. In the background you can see a flame-lit pole with a dragon snake spiralling round it ready to have someone blow fire from it and is that even a park ride in the distance for these Phantoms???

If you haven’t heard of Klassik ’78, this band make no bones about what they are doing. Unlike say, Greta Van Fleet or Crown Lands, this outfit announce from the off that they are trying to recreate the classic KISS sound from the guitar tones to the vocals and from the cowbell clatters to the spiralling solos. Boy do they do it well!!! Opening with beautiful singing acoustic guitar interplay and a Paul Stanley like sweet as sugar vocal, “Show Me Your Love� screams “Rock Bottom� or “Black Diamond� and it’s a theme captured expertly in the groove and popping snare work from Charlie Benante (yes, from Anthrax no less!). It’s rhythm guitarist Joe McGinness who apes Paul’s vocals and while I’ll avoid the cheap shots about Mr Stanley’s current singing prowess, it’s fair to suggest that what you encounter here is a remarkably close approximation of Paul at his best.

Obviously a Simmons song has to come next, and “Fever Dream� finds lead guitarist and bassist Tom Higgins somehow discovering a classic Demon sneer for a track that really could have come right off Dressed To Kill it’s that good. To cover the basses, Higgins also manages to conjure an Ace drawl for “Smoke & Mirrors�, which doesn’t just sound like one of Frehley’s songs, but even lyrically has the swagger and ridiculousness to have come from the Spaceman himself - the “I used to party for days… and one night!� line so on the money it’s frightening. From there you’re whisked to 1977 for “Queen Of Hearts� as ‘Paul’ howls and hollers, before “Watcha Gonna Do� calls in doctor love and his cowbell for some sneering ‘Simmons’ fun. “Living Fantasy (Tonite)�, kind of takes me to the studio side of Alive II, even if those drum rolls are right from the first two Peter Criss propelled albums. Add in “Walk That Walk� where the ‘bassist’ and ‘rhythm guitarist’ trade vocals magnificently and the only thing left is for Klassik ’78 to have the temerity to write the title track that KISS never did in “Rock ’N’ Roll Over�, which would have fit perfectly on the album of that name.

Clearly you’re going to have to love KISS to really get into Klassik ’78, but even those with a passing interest in that band’s 70s output will be stopped in their tracks by just how well this album is pulled off. From the staccato guitar solo in the closing track to the drum flurries and excellent vocal homages, this is so much fun it shouldn’t be legal. Thankfully it is and I for one can only hope that Klassik ’78 continue to get hotter than hell for many an album to come!

Track Listing
1. Show Me Your Love
2. Fever Dream
3. Smoke & Mirrors
4. Queen Of Hearts
5. Watcha Gonna Do
6. Living Fantasy (Tonite)
7. Walk That Walk
8. Rock ’N’ Roll Over

Added: January 8th 2024
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Klassik '78 online
Hits: 603
Language: english

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