This is my first experience of Gentlemans Pistols, their 2015 release on Nuclear Blast, which I think is still their latest and I am not sure if they are still in existence. This was their first release on the label after a decade on Rise Above, and in many ways, they are quite different to the rest of the bands on both labels as what we have here is a quartet who are heavily influenced by the classic UK Blues-based hard rock bands of the Seventies. Working through the material the most obvious influence is Free, but there are elements of Zeppelin here and there, while somewhat strongly there are touches of Lynyrd Skynyrd while The Beatles are also somewhat important. There is not an incredible amount of depth to the release, and it feels much more like a good time show then anything deeper than that, especially when they open with “The Searcher” which has more than a little in common with The Who (even the title reminds us of “The Seeker”).

I had no idea who was involved in this, and given it is so highly UK rated I actually thought it was probably a Scandinavian band as they generally love our heritage more than we do, but when I looked at the line-up there was a huge smile on my face as yet again the guitarist is involved in something I never thought possible. When I was sent Firebird’s ‘No. 3’ (can that really be 20 years ago now?) I was stunned to discover the guitarist and band leader was none other than Bill Steer from Napalm Death and Carcass fame, and here he is again. I consider myself very lucky indeed to catch Carcass supporting Napalm Death some years back, but the extreme guitarist on fire that night is very different indeed to the blues-based rocker playing here with real feel. Along with James Atkinson (vocals, guitar), Robert Threapleton (bass, vocals) and Stuart Dobbins (drums) he has created an album that could well have been released 40 years earlier than it actually was, when it would have been very well received indeed.

Rating: 7/10

Links:
https://www.facebook.com/gentlemanspistols/
https://www.nuclearblast.com/