STREAM: Krokus - "Dirty Dynamite"

I'm always a bit intrigued when I come across a metal band who has been around for almost 40 years and I really have no clue what they have done outside of covers of the Guess Who's "American Woman" and Alice Cooper's "Schools Out". While I remember critics panning the band as an AC/DC rip-off, the title track from this new disc is a blues-rock number that sounds closer to the (London) Quireboys than AC/DC.

For almost 40 years now, Krokus has stood for high-quality, honest-to-goodness, hand-made power rock. No other Swiss rock band sells albums and its back catalogue worldwide like Krokus. The band has already sold over 14 million records, toured the world, and received gold and platinum discs in the USA and Canada. The milestones in their rock career are dotted around the world: from Australia and the USA to Mexico, Russia, Japan, and China.

But it hasn't all been one long high: death, sickness, and internal strife have pushed the band to the brink of collapse. The story of Krokus is like no other. Dotted with highs and lows, sell-out stadium concerts and sweaty club gigs, these five musketeers of rock have outlasted trends and survived treacherous US managers, tough splits, bad deals, shady lawyers, drugs, awful fast food, endless bus trips, disco, grunge, grotesque record companies, and double-dealing advisers. (Too late guys - 'The Story of Anvil' has already been made)

Today they are back in their classic line-up plus Mandy Meyer (who briefly replaced Steve Howe in Asia) and are stronger than ever on their new album, Dirty Dynamite. The band spent a whole two years working on the new album under the watchful eye of Chris Von Rohr. "We didn't spend all that time on golf courses or tennis courts. No, we just wanted to make our best album yet, the magnum opus of the new Krokus era," says the hit producer. Guitarist Mark Kohler has this to add: "This is not just another Krokus album. I think we have definitely passed another rock milestone with this record."

To reach this goal, no expense was spared; the band booked into the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London. Krokus went back to their roots, back to where it all began with the Stones, the Beatles, the Free, the Who, and the Bluesbreakers; back to where the band headlined concerts in the Hammersmith Odeon, celebrating their first international success. "The atmosphere there is very special, and we wanted to make the most of that," says singer Marc Storace. Guitarist Fernando von Arb is quick to add: "With Dirty Dynamite, we have recorded the urgently needed, dirty kind of rock that no one plays in this country."



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