Excellent band name, intriguing album title, eye-catching cover sleeve, smart song titles…in a phrase: “a careful and well-crafted effort in every aspect”! Hotel Diablo is a new outfit that stands firmly with the one foot on the sleaze hard rock tradition of the late 80s and with the other on the modern rock scene of 2012 thus offering to the potential listener a brave shot full of American rock n’ roll sound.
The album’s production was handled by Gilby Clarke who manages to bring out Hotel Diablo’s musical character, a musical amalgam that personally reminds me of such bands as SIXX: A.M. and Hinder while it does offer a few, distinctive traces of Alice in Chains (especially in the guitars). Generally, I’d say that this is a magnificent debut album by a new band (although it includes experienced members Alex Grossi and Mike Duda) that succeeds in forming its own unique musical identity! That’s not only commendable but also scarce nowadays.
Highlight: However, I could have lived without the cover version of Oasis’ “Wonderwall”…
