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Grit

      
         
         
         
     
             
Psycho Kiss are a female fronted hard rock band from the UK releasing their debut album in 2011 and the follow up in 2013. Making a name for themselves on the live circuit, they deliver an energetic performance and played at the famous Hard Rock Hell AOR Festival in 2015. The bands third album, 'Grit' was released at the end of 2016.    
             
'The Ballad Of Pennywise' is a sound effects laden, circus sounding short intro that leads into the bombastic opening song 'Grit'. A real thumper of a song, 'Grit' stomps its authority in a forceful manner. For those of us old enough to remember the early nineties and the American all girl hard rock band Vixen...there is a certain similarity between the two. Huge riffs, catchy melodies and the bands singer Helen Ceri Clarke has a voice not too dissimilar to (Vixen vocalist) Janet Gardner. Bold, blunt and unforgiving, 'Scream Queens' is heavy and punchy hard rock that really does pack the proverbial punch, adding a drop kick for good measure. Pounding hard, 'Sociopathic Superstar' is a very heavy, near doom laden style thud of a song. Lesser mortals will be reaching for the aspirin...hard rockers will be nodding their heads hard and smiling from ear to ear. The power ballad 'Grieve For You' is actually too powerful and heavy to raise your lighters to, but will have you swaying from side to side and waving your arms in the air. The bands singer really has a powerful voice and soars to some dizzying heights at times. Guitar solos are crisp, the melodies infectious and all round the album is becoming an addictive listen.    
             
Blunt and in your face rhythms will hit you square and very hard in the forehead as 'Even Better If' bustles its way into view. Psycho Kiss are delivering a very heavy hard rock listening experience and one that is just relentless on the senses with its heaviness. You can clearly hear that this is a British brand of hard rock and not American. A superb guitar riff breathes fire into 'Devil Inside' and as the song unfolds, I get a sense of the sound and feel of nineties era Alanis Morissette...yea seriously, go take a listen to her 1995 album 'Jagged Little Pill'. With a lighter feel 'The Haunting' rocks into sight and ambles along without a single care in the world. Psycho Kiss manage to maintain a mid tempo pace throughout the album, yet still be able to rock as hard as their peers without having to turn in a blisteringly fast paced song to get the adrenalin pumping.    
             
A guitar led intro fires fuel into the fire to begin burning 'Down' into your memory as the most catchy and memorable song off the album. The similarity in sound to Vixen once again appears high on the horizon, but then that is no bad thing...influences can come from anywhere, and why not a legendary hard rock band? Whoa, just listen in awe at the huge, huge riff that welcomes 'Bloodmoon' to the party. Very hard and very heavy, 'Bloodmoon' is the biggest riffing song off the album and will most definitely pound and pummel your senses into submission. Bringing the album to a close is the bombastic 'Holding On' displaying a progressive rock influence as it boldly struts its stuff. Even if you cannot remember all the songs off the album, just take away the memory that it is a very heavy and very, very hard rocking and powerful album.    
             
Overall, hard and heavy hard rock with an exceptionally powerful vocal performance with a huge amount of infectious and addictive grooves and melodies.    
             
             
Review by Iron Mathew Collins    
             
Reviewed for Metal Gods TV    
             
             
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