Released By : Self-Released
Genre : Classic Rock
Link: http://kabukirocks.com/
Lineup:
Rock ‘n’ Roll Coby – Vocals, Bass
Jiro – Drums
Caesar – Vocals, Guitar
Tracklist:
01. Sandman
02. Hell For Free
03. Nightmare
04. Seperated
05. Larger Than Life
06.I’ll Be Waiting
07. Surviving Today
08. No Stops
09. Don’t Come Near Me
The Japanese term KABUKI refers to a style of popular theatrical drama in which the characters all dress up extravagantly and mostly have white painted faces with a few distinguishing colored markings added in. Still not getting the picture?… Well, this is exactly what inspired the creation of the characters and stage persona’s of the members of KISS. I guess there was a chance that this is where the comparisons end but that truth is quite the opposite actually.
KABUKI the band began life as a full make-up KISS tribute act, and apparently they were pretty good at what they did. After a while the desire to create original music music drove the band to delve a little deeper while still wearing their influences right on their sleeves. Their self-titled debut album could be described as some sort of classic rock revival record and we could try and talk about various influences and inspirations all day long, but every discussion would lead to the same equation – KABUKI sound like KISS. The overall dynamics of the band are certainly in the KISS vein of things on all fronts, and you’ve got to give the band credit for being so dedicated to a particular ideal.
The problem however with sounding exactly like another band is that if you aren’t an amazing band the negatives stick out like a sore thumb. For me I’d say KABUKI sit about half-way though. The album overall is fun to listen to and I’m sure KISS fans looking for some new music would get a bit of a kick out of it. If I compare the two bands too closely though then KABUKI come off a fair way from the par. The song structures are pretty good throughout and the guitar work certainly evokes the late seventies rock spirit, but where the album falters a little is in the vocal department. Frontman Coby sounds more like Gene Simmons than any other member of KISS, and while that would have been fine for a couple of tracks here and there, as we all know a full album of Simmons is a little too much. The backing vocals do need a little work too because they often sounded flat and unexciting. This alone isn’t a reason to skip past this album though, KISS have made a living out of their music and nobody has ever said that anybody in THAT band has a magnificent voice either.
Simply put, if you are a KISS fan looking for some new music, KABUKI should provide enough for you to be happy with it, fans of classic seventies hard rock may be interested in checking it out too.
Written By ZeeZee
Rating : 6/10
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