Shotgun Mistress – Kings Of The Revolution

Shotgun Mistress
Kings Of The Revolution
Out: June 14^th, 2024
Playing time: 43:03

Shotgun Mistress were founded in 2020 by guitarist Matt Wilcock and drummer David Lee Daniel in Melbourne (Australia). At least according to the promo email. The website shows the year 2018 instead. The self-titled debut album (2021) made it to number 16 in the iTunes album charts. The follow-up “Kings Of The Revolution” was released in June. In their Australian homeland, the band scored with their energetic live performances. They are also present on the radio stations in their home country.

The title track “Kings Of The Revolution” opens the album. And it gets going straight away. Fat riffs call for headbanging. “Sweet Woman” is hardly inferior. It’s a little quieter and more rhythmic but hardly less powerful. What an insane riff at the beginning of “Shot Down”. And this riff thunderstorm continues and drives the somewhat hectic-sounding singer. A high Metal Scream introduces “Jude Judas”. After that, hard, fast riffs and pounding drums dominate again. The chorus invites you to sing along. “From Hell” offers another hard opening riff driven by fast drums. Later, the tempo is slowed down a little. A strong guitar solo is the icing on the cake. On “Mary Jane” you can hear Electric Mary frontman Rusty Brown as Glenn Patrick’s vocal partner. Accompanied by distorted guitars and rhythmic riffs, the two harmonise perfectly. And of course there is another great guitar solo. For me, this is probably the highlight of the album, both musically and vocally. “Headspace” is another rocker with a lot of Groove. A Blues Rock riff can be heard in “Addicted To Pain”. And how this drives the band and the singer…  “Welcome To The Fight” starts with acoustic guitars and whistling from the singer. Acoustic guitars also dominate later on, underpinned by bass tones. This beautiful and quiet ballad sets a point of calm. The guitars literally seem to sing during the solos. But then the Australians really hit their stride again with “Its Alright”. Rock’n’Roll at its finest. The bouncer “Down” starts with engine noises and a police siren. The riffs that follow sound darker than before. And they rock out one last time.

On “Kings Of The Revolution” we hear handmade Rock’n’Roll and Hard Rock without any frills. This raw vigour and joy of playing make for an impressive listening experience. There is not a single gap filler over the entire playing time. The quality of the musicians and the fat production are fully convincing from start to finish.

Shotgun Mistress feat. Rusty Brown – Mary Jane: https://youtu.be/Uiaq-60riNA?si=E1YcaHU8-IpoTcBM

Lineup:

Glenn Patrick – Vocals
Matthew Wilcock – Guitars
Ben Curnow – Bass
David Lee Daniel – Drums

Track list:

• Kings Of The Revolution
• Sweet Woman
• Shot Down
• Jude Judas
• From Hell
• Mary Jane
• Headspace
• Addicted To Pain
• Welcome To The Fight
• It’s Alright
• Down