Kissin’ Dynamite: Taking the Road Less Travelled
Darkened skies and heavy clouds give way to bright days and new beginnings, and that may include the odd hedonistic party or two. The perfect band to give you both doses of the uppers and downers are German glam metallers KISSIN’ DYNAMITE, their balance of carnal riffs and poignant lyricism weaving the ideal blend of light and shade. Their eighth studio album, Not The End Of The Road, is their first release under new label Napalm Records, and the newfound territory has come with its perks. Vocalist Hannes Braun is comfortable and settled in for a long day of press, and has noticed the spike in international interviews and attention that has come with swapping out multi-genre label Sony with the more heavy metal focused Napalm Records. “The process of creating the record didn’t change at all, because we’re not the kind of band who adapt their sound to a new label contractor.”
Eight albums in though, KISSIN’ DYNAMITE has finally found their signature sound, something they can call their own, and that’s thanks to Hannes being the band’s producer as well as vocalist. Creating 80s-inspired music can be tough to nail in 2022, with modern day thick and full production being more favourable than the old school tinny noise of yesteryears. “My goal as producer is to always make it sound as fresh as possible. We like the old fashioned musicality, but we want the sound to be in 2022 to create this cool mixture of the glory days but for a modern audience,” Hannes claims that they’ve also grown up when it comes to song-writing, leaving behind their tributes to musical heroes IRON MAIDEN and HELLOWEEN on their first two releases.
Not The End Of The Road closes with an unsuspected ballad in the form of Scars which sees Hannes bear his soul for the world to see, quite the opposite of the man we’ve seen before. The track was never intended for the public eye though, and was instead written as a personal letter to himself. “By the end of it I thought it would actually be very suited to the KISSIN’ DYNAMITE universe, and definitely as an album closer. It’s such a melancholic ballad that remains completely opened-ended, no finishing chord or anything. I guess it represents the circle of life, as when the first track kicks in again with Not The End Of The Road, we’ve gone from melancholia to optimism.” As of writing, the band performed the track live for the first time during their album release livestream event, on January 22nd, and it was understandably the one unreleased track from the record Hannes was most excited for fans to hear.
On the complete opposite side of the lyrical spectrum, latest single Yoko Ono explores the stereotypical narrative of a rockstar’s partner attempting to pull the band’s strings from behind the scenes, utilising manipulative techniques and gaslighting characteristics to do so. Hannes insists that the track is not about the woman herself, but is instead used as a blanket term to refer to anyone who may share the same infamous characteristics, including partners, friends, and music industry personnel. “You’re the first interviewer who really gets the idea of the song because some people thought we were gonna offend the real Yoko Ono. We’ve seen a lot of girls coming and going during our career who reminded us of this stereotype. But this is a fun song and it shouldn’t be taken super seriously. We had an experience in Ukraine for example, where we came off stage to head to the merch table to engage with the fans. When we came off stage there were literally girls approaching us in a hurry, grabbing us instantly by the balls without warning or saying a word. It was weird and that reminded us of the stereotype again. I must say, you don’t count on that when you’ve just played a rock and roll show for 90 minutes, coming off stage going to the merch to sign some autographs and suddenly you’re touched that way.”
Whilst some may interpret KISSIN’ DYNAMITE’s playful and tongue-in-cheek music as an invitation, the uplifting and cheerful notes will do wonders to paint a smile on the listeners face. But we all have different ways of pulling ourselves out of the darkness, whether that be surrendering to our emotions to better understanding them, or pushing them aside in the hopes they’ll dissipate. Like most of us, Hannes also finds comfort and safety in music. “Musicians hate Spotify for its destruction of physical music sales, but it’s super nice if you want to search for moods. If you’re feeling sad or disappointed, I’m sure you’ll find the right song that’ll either let you sink into that emotion, which can be quite healing, or going in the total opposite direction to feel better again.”
Stadium rock, hair metal, glam rock, arena rock, cock rock, whatever you want to call it, has always been synonymous with a certain personality style and clothing aesthetic. Flamboyant characters and androgynous attire plays a crucial role in its visual stimulation, and that includes animal print. “I owned a pair of snake boots a couple of years ago,” confesses Hannes, “but I wouldn’t buy such clothes again as I don’t think that’s fair on the animals. If we’re talking about just the look however, I’d probably lean more towards leopard print I guess, because that’s what I love to see on the ladies, so I could probably pull that off too.”
Not The End Of The Road is out now via Napalm Records.
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