Gotthard - Bang!

Gotthard Bang! cover
Gotthard
Bang!
G. Records
2014
6.5
Gotthard, might have been a bit of a powerhouse band in Melodic Rock, a bit like Krokus, with God-like status, within their native Switzerland and sales that probably would alone keep them happy anyhow, they still had a bit of a name in Europe, that was even getting more established in the later years with the switch in record companies and a more aggressive promotional activities, all until tragedy struck when their singer and main-guy Steve Lee died in a horrific biking accident while on holidays in the States…
 
Enter Nic Maeder, the vocal that band hired in the place of their late frontman. Sharing a vocal gift that makes him almost indistinguishable from Lee, when he sings a ballad, and a little more “green” in faster tunes, Nick ain’t a bad fit in the jigsaw puzzle. The band even gives him, enough space and tries hard to pretend that all is fine, goes for a business as usual approach, that works to some extent. The problem on Nic’s debut with the band as well as with this album, is however the less than exhilarating songwriting. Gotthard, always had their ups and downs, with certain albums managing to contain a lot more “hits” and some misses, while some others never quite managed to follow up, quite as capably. Obviously in loosing Lee, Gotthard, didn’t only lose their vocalist, but also one of their main and most active composers as well and now, their “songwriting chemistry” is somewhat altered. It’s not failing, but it’s being tried and it might take a while, before it actually, reaches the same high levels as before.
 
“Let Me in Katie”/“Bang!” – would be the double opening salvo, that includes a whacked out intro, with some maniac, banging frantically on a door only to get an ironic reply by some “famme fatale”, once the door, supposedly opens, in the lines of – “Is that a gun in your pocket – or are you happy to see me”?! Hehe… dirty...Swiss Boys… Right, opening up, with “Bang” a rather energetic mid-tempo number with a decent amount of swagger, if not a rather too simple hook, that however, gets the job done…
 
“Get Up ‘n’ Move On” is a simple rock ‘n roll track, with the whole, early/mid 80 ‘snake whiffs of machismo, that works up a sweat, but again isn't something particularly fancy... or new!
 
“Feel What I Feel” is wisely, the first single and is a classic sounding Gotthard number, a slower melodic number with all the trademarks and melodies that made the Swiss heroes, shine! LOL! Really great song!
 
The direct follow up – “C’est La Vie” – complete with accordion accompaniment and female backing vocals is a nice enough ballad, but somehow, even if it proves that Nic’s a wise choice feels a bit forced... on its own maybe it sounds better, but in this track sequence it didn’t quite work well at least for me.
 
Things are not getting much better in “Jump the Gun” (Katie) a rather generic, heavy rocker that just hits ‘n runs, with not much of a lasting effect…
 
“Spread Your Wings” which momentarily had me thinking if it was going to be a Queen cover, isn’t one, is an original, and it begins with a bizarre “mic overloaded” vocalism of one of its melodies by Nic, that’s quite a bold an unusual way to introduce a song… it meanders a little through some misguided verses, but ultimately, ends up in a rather nice chorus/conclusion. It’s a rather nice song, that might have been a little better if the band used a more direct approach, but still it loses no points, even with all the weird shenanigans going on.
 
“I Won’t Look Down” is an OK song, based on a simple hopo riff that will remind you slightly of the Zeppelins of this world and all the likes and allows Nic to pull off a convincing Plant impersonation from his bag of tricks… but again, this ain’t the song that will keep you coming back on the album.
 
“My Belief” is a slight improvement, as it is a modern song, with minimal riffs making up a somewhat longer one, quite a bit of repetition, but also quite a bit of melody in there…
 
“Maybe” is a nice duet between Nic and an unbeknown female singer, that is quite pleasant...
 
“Red on a Sleeve” is another low tuned rocker, which however doesn’t gravitate towards modern standards, but rather feels like a cross between a Pretty Maids and Gotthard, done with a very hard rocking attitude...
 
“What You Get” is a song that I feel I’ve heard before... it’s either Gotthard, aping themselves too well, or has definitely drawn influence from some Bon Jovi, newer track or something similar, something by the “The Poodles” maybe ? Who knows… Not highly unlikely!
 
“Mr. Ticket Man” is a bit of a slightly self-indulgent rocker, but at least, it’s a bit more lively than the previous few songs that preceded it and even if it sounds a bit zany and full of inanities, it’s still quite entertaining.
 
But when we talk about indulgent songs, nothing seems to beat the 11 minute long closer “Thank You”... that unfortunately seems to be another ode to someone that’s gone, in this case guitarist Leo Leoni’s mother that recently passed away. With all due respect, a good few minutes of its duration could have easily been omitted, with no-one noticing, toward the end of the song as they really consist of a reprised solo and some orchestral flamboyance, that really don’t add or subtract much to the song, for that matter, but just goes to increase the minute count, without any special reason. On its own right the song is a nice enough power ballad and a meaningful – thank you, to someone who obviously meant a lot to LL.
 
The Special and Japanese editions do feature an additional 3 songs.
 
“I Want It All” (Japan) had me again considering the possibility of a Queen cover, but again it’s not. It’s a rather, boring, plain rocker with a hopo bass riff and a rather uninteresting chorus... I much rather wish it was a cover, really.
 
“You Can’t Stop Me” (Japan) is slow number, that’s quite reminiscent of MK3 Purple/Whitesnake and stuff like that, with Maeder channeling his best Coverdale... impersonation.
 
“My Daddy Told Me” (EU) is a more uptempo number, but still has a style that doesn’t deviate too much than the usual G style, but is somewhat of a bit of a filler... unfortunately.
 
So overall, none of the 3 “bonus tracks” can’t be considered something special in fact with the slight exception of maybe “You Can’t Stop Me”.
 
The main problem with a lot of the songs on “Bang” is that while they’re not bad, they are just not good enough to permanently register and etch themselves in the memory as some older ones did... a few will do, and parts of others might have worked but overall the album leaves you wanting a bit more Baing, for the buck, even with 14 or 17 songs (in the special edition) just because, you don’t get enough “Staying Power”. Maybe a more careful selection and a bit of harder work on fewer songs ie 10-12 would benefit them more.
 
Gotthard’s second album with Nic Maeder behind the mic, is not bad by any means, but remains a rather mixed bag. The band has managed to rise from its ashes and step out of the relative shadows, but it’s not exactly in the lap of the gods... it might take a while, before they rise like a phoenix… (and I don’t mean the Tenacious D variety!)