Year : 2021
Style : Glam Sleaze Hard Rock , Hair Metal
Country : United States
Audio : 320 kbps + front
Size : 158 mb
Bio:
The band was launched in 2015 and have gone through several line-up changes but through it all they have garnered some International success having played in South America in 2015- Argentina, Brazil & Uruguay and then returned again in 2016 to do 3 shows in Buenos Aires, Argentina- with the highlight of the tour being a sold out show at the Roxy on May 24, 2016- with WIKKID STARR opening up for fellow American Jeff Scott Soto.The band has established a loyal following in Argentina and other parts of South America- Brazil, Uruguay, Peru and Chile. Europe, Australia, South Africa, Canada and of course the U.S.A.Since 2015, the band has opened up for many National Acts which include: Autograph, Y&T, Dokken, Great White, L.A. Guns, Bullet Boys, Bang Tango, Vixen, Vain, Pretty Boy Floyd, Faster Pussycat, Enuff Z’ Nuff, Jeff Scott Soto, etc.WIKKID STARR also played a summer show in July of 2019 with fellow American Hair Metal Acts: Salems Lot & Wildstreet showcasing the new talent and new breed of American Hair Metal. WIKKID STARR then headed to New York in the early part of August 2019 and did 3 consecutive shows (2 in Upstate and 1 in Queens @ Blackthorn 51) before heading back home to L.A. to open up for L.A. GUNS and then a separate show with DOKKEN before headlining their own show November of 2109 @ The Whisky in Hollywood, CA.The 2020 year started off with a bang with a sold-out show at the Whisky on January 25, 2020 w/ Bang Tango and then COVID-19 hit and took the wind out of their sails. All of the momentum that the band had built up in the summer of 2019 and beginning of 2020, was decimated.On a positive note, the band did sign with Lions Pride Records out of Denmark and will be releasing their 3rd album on the Lions Pride Label with a release date of April 29, 2022.The new album will be called: Return to Glory.WIKKID STARR had a great schedule of shows planned for 2020 but because of the pandemic, all of the shows were canceled and some postponed- before they too were eventually cancelled. The scheduled show on October 16, 2020 with Nelson @ The Whisky in Hollywood, CA. and a show with Dokken @ The Canyon in Montclair, CA. sometime in November of 2020 were both canceled. Shows with Great White, L.A. Guns, Y&T and Dio’s Disciples were also cancelled.WIKKID STARR did play a LIVE STREAM @ The Whisky on Sunday September 27, 2020. There Livestream attracted an International Audience and the band was able to expand their following as a result of the livestream.The 2021 season was supposed to open up with two gigs that were postponed from 2020 and added to the 2021 calendar but again, they were cancelled due to COVID cases spiking up in the Los Angeles area. WIKKID STARR was supposed to open up for VAIN on February 26, 2021 @ The Whisky and then play 8 days later on March 6th @ the Canyon in Montclair, CA. opening up for Kingdom Come & XYZ, which would have been a great show but unfortunately, it got cancelled as well.The band has won two awards from the New Wave of Hair Metal site for videos that they made for: Get it, Got it, Good (Collision Course album) and Hot Love, which will be featured on the SUDDEN IMPACT album. GGG won a Silver Award- # 2 Video Single, for the month of June 2019. Then in October of 2019 WIKKID STARR won the # 3 Video Single Bronze Award- for their sleazy song Hot Love.The band just released their new video on Christmas Eve- December 24, 2020 for their new song Bring It On, off the SUDDEN IMPACT album, which will feature English model- Kate Tickle and her famous producer / engineer husband- David Tickle. Who has worked with Joe Cocker, The Divinyls, 4 Non-Blondes, Splitz Enz, Prince, etc.The band has also started writing new material for their third album- RETURN TO GLORY. According to Richards and guitarist Kyle Kaye, they have written 5 new songs with new drummer Sergio Sanchez and guitarist Rafa Souza, who both hail from Brazil.WIKKID STARR is still looking to play some festivals in Europe, since plans to play in Germany in August of 2020, were completely ruined by COVID-19. Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Canada, South Africa and a return trip to South America are all places that the band is targeting to perform- once things go back to normal.Collison Course contained 3 hits- KARMA, FEED ME & GGG. The album was engineered and co/ produced by Bill Krodel (Don Dokken, Gilby Clarke, Great White, Bullet Boys, Ratt) who unfortunately passed away from cancer before the album was completed. Co/Founder Ashlyn Childs (Suicide Alley, Darling Dead) went missing in action for personal reasons, which created a dilemma for Richards. Through it all, Richards focused on completing the album and in the end, pulled through to make it happen and launched the WIKKID STARR project. Childs, Richards and drummer David Raven (Keith Richards, Slash, Nora Jones) collaborated on 3 songs but then Richards collaborated with other musicians such as drummer Richie Rivera (Janet Gardner, Vixen), flamenco guitarist Giorgio De Lamus Bankells, Gutterboys guitarist, Brian Abretski (RIP) and German brothers- Marcus Plattner (Guitar) and Drummer / Keyboardist- Andy Plattner (Kashmyr). Richards turned to Engineer & Friend Raphael Di Giorgio to help him finish the Collision Course album and the end result was a good one.The band is hungry and on the verge of breaking out. It would be wise for promoters to get them booked on major festivals NOW before someone notices and snatches them up. Their original sleazy Hair Metal is contagious and fun to listen to. The band hails from the Pasadena area of Los Angeles, the same city that iconic legends Van Halen were from.WIKKID STARR can be summed up as being a Modern-Day American Hair Metal Band.
Album:
For some reason, when I was hit up to review the latest release from L.A. rockers Wikkid Starr, my brain immediately pictured one of those project bands.You know the ones, made up of some of the cool “replacement” musicians in bands like Quiet Riot, Ratt, Pretty Boy Floyd, etc. Before I could get a chance to look into it, my wife pulled up the video for one of the band’s older tracks chuckling “Oh, it’s that band with that odd looking shirt open to the navel guy.” Funny thing is, I immediately knew what she was talking about and my brain remembered the group’s frontman Toney Richards.Now it’s not like Wikkid Starr are these new kids on the L.A. block. Richards is set to put out the band’s sophomore release later this month after five years of rocking shows with various band members from the Strip to New York and parts of South America in between. And not just club shows for a handful of regulars saddled up to the bar but gigs getting the stage heated up for many ’80s vets including the BulletBoys, Dokken, Faster Pussycat, Great White, Pretty Boy Floyd, one of the many versions of L.A. Guns, and many more. Bottom line is, word on the street is that Wikkid Starr are a tight blast of old school hair metal known to rock some cool originals as well as respectable renditions of a few ’80s classics. It’s enough to give anyone the benefit of the doubt and a full open-eared listen. And if those aren’t enough reasons, Richards and the boys are already gearing up to put out third record Return To Glory (this one for Lions Pride Records) next year but that’s a whole other review for down the road.Looking over the track listing for Sudden Impact, it wasn’t lost on me that despite the wildly spelled name of Wikkid Starr, that same over the top attention wasn’t put into the song titles leading me to even wonder if some of the songs were covers. I don’t think anyone would fault me for wondering if “All Hell’s Breaking Loose” and/or “Rocket Ride” were loving homages to old KISS tunes but trust me when I say, not only are they original Wikkid Starr tunes, they are both pretty cool tunes. Even kick off album video single “Hot Love” had me curious to hear a modern rocked-up version of an old T.Rex song but again, totally a Wikkid Starr original. Despite perhaps the use of very familiar song titles, Sudden Impact does have a lot of good fun, energetic rock and roll tracks.Starting off with latest video “Bring It On”, Wikkid Starr kicks out a record of romping ditties that fans of Dangerous Toys and early L.A. Guns would dig. Yeah, it’s not rocket science but we’re talking ’80s inspired sleaze rock so why wouldn’t a bar full of rockers not want to just repeat the title of “Out In The City” over and over during the choruses while they pump their fists in the air. Richards and crew even say so on “All Hell’s Breaking Loose” — “It’s a Wikkid Starr party on a Saturday night!” With some solid hard riffs, great air guitar solos, and a bunch of sing-along lines, by the time “Hot Love” rolls in, I’m ready to get out of lockdown and back into a crowded bar of loud rock and roll. OK, so I can’t say I’d be hard pressed to hear “Give it to me, give it to me, give it to me, la la la” over my fave Crüe or Ratt records but I got to admit, I’d have a great time at a Wikkid Starr show and at the end of the hair metal day, isn’t that what’s most important?At first, I was digging the shuffle of “Bump & Grind” but even with my love of cheese, this one might be a tad too much for me but it’s for those exact reasons that I like the Open Up and Say… Ahh! Poison era sounding groove and grind of “Pump House.” It’s just good, simple, tongue in cheek rock and roll. After a week of work (or a year plus of self-imposed jail time), what better medicine could a rock and roll heart want and need? Pretty good break setup for the hard-edged sexual innuendo grind of “Rocket Ride,” and Poison-esque boogie woogie of “Betty Sue.” Two-thirds of the way through and so far, it’s been a fun rock and roll trip. Richards‘ “Not in it for the money honey” and I guess in 2021, that’s a good thing because rock and roll feeds the soul way more than it fills the pockets.On the serious tip, Sudden Impact winds down with the finger pointing blues groove of “Snake In The Grass,” relationship rocker “Partners In Life,” and ode to the daily work grind “Uncle Sam,” a chunky riff of a tune heavy on the bass and topped with tailor made guitar solo. It definitely would have been a great way to end the album but alas, Wikkid Starr attempt to take it home by way of the heart ala “You Just Don’t Understand.” Unfortunately, the sentimental path veers way too close to the Rolling Stones‘ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” and Poison‘s “Something To Believe In.” A couple of great songs to take inspiration from when penning a rock ballad but in this case, Wikkid Starr swerve way too close nearly hitting both songs head on. Sure, the average musician could round up three chords and medley pretty much every ’80s hair power ballad with ease, but after eleven solid originals, I am inclined to believe that Richards could have come up with something not so obviously close to tunes most of the world knows intimately.In 2021, few will confuse Wikkid Starr with the likes of their influences and they surely will never replace those beloved ’80s bands that have come and gone, but over the past five years, Toney Richards and his revolving door of a group have delivered enough solid rock and roll to at least bandage up a hole or two left behind. While rock and roll surely ain’t dead like Gene Simmons says, the releases are few and far between aside from mostly those of the melodic rock variety and even if the options of live rock and roll are iffy at the moment, it doesn’t hurt to at least have something to pop in the player while burning up the road. Few things make a day holed up inside better like getting in the car and cranking up some tunes even if it’s just to burn some gas from point A to point B and back. Wikkid Starr‘s Sudden Impact is more than capable enough of getting the job done. Simple, riff-loaded, loose energetic rock and roll stuffed with dirty guitars, thumping low end, and raw vocals ranting on about sex, fun, rock and roll, and yeah, even a few of the serious things everyone likes to vent about from time to time. It might not ever make your very hairy top whatever of all-time but for something new to tickle the ears, it’s definitely worth the listen.
Line Up:
Toney Richards – vocals
Kyle Kaye – guitar
Rafa Souza – guitar
Zeus Jade – bass
Sergio Sanchez – drums
Production:
Produced by George Wiederkehr and Toney Richards
Engineered by George Wiederkehr
Tracklist:
01. Bring It On
02. Out In The City
03. All Hell’s Breaking Loose
04. Hot Love
05. Bump & Grind
06. Pump House
07. Rocket Ride
08. Betty Sue
09. Snake In The Grass
10. Partners In Life
11. Uncle Sam
12. You Just Don’t Understand
Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/
