It was almost 40 years ago that L.A. Guns established themselves as the undisputed sleaze kings of the Sunset Strip, and, eventually, the world. At this point in time, most bands in their position would be content to lay back, rest on their rock ‘n’ roll laurels and trot out the hits on endless repeat for the fans.
Instead, L.A. Guns, in true down ‘n’ dirty form, are grinding with the April 4th release of their 15th studio album, Leopard Skin, on Cleopatra Records. The mouthwatering first single, Taste It, was released today on all digital outlets. Pre-orders for the album are available now on all digital outlets here, CD/vinyl pre-orders available here, and the Jason Wisch-directed video can be found below.
“There’s the saying, ‘a leopard never changes its spots,’” founding guitarist Tracii Guns says. “But even so, they have a million different spots. And they’re all unique. It’s the same with L.A. Guns. We can’t shed our leopard skin, but there’s a lot of different spots in this band.”
Those spots run the gamut from early anthems like Electric Gypsy, Rip and Tear and Over the Edge, to indelible ballads like It’s Over Now and The Ballad of Jayne, to more recent classics like Speed, Cannonball and now, the ten tracks that comprise the new album.
Not only is Leopard Skin hot on the heels of 2023’s Black Diamonds album, but is also their fifth studio effort in seven years, since the core team of guitarist and band founder Tracii Guns and singer Phil Lewis reunited in 2017. Leopard Skin, like the last few L.A. Guns records, reconvenes the tight-knit lineup of Guns, Lewis, bassist Johnny Martin, guitarist Ace Von Johnson and studio drummer Adam Hamilton, but beyond that it is its own unique beast. True to form, it’s a hard-and-heavy, tough-as-nails L.A. Guns set. But the music also presents the band at their funkiest, rowdiest, most classic-rock-worshipping best. And it’s clear they’re having a helluva lot of fun playing it.
Explains Guns, “When we started doing records again in 2017, I wanted to be really aggressive. We hadn’t put out anything new in a lot of years, and we needed to be focused to have an impact. This one was a different approach. Musically, it was more about James Brown and soul music, with some ’70s sensibilities – things like Joe Walsh and the Rolling Stones and the New York Dolls. And the process was more organic. It was, ‘Here’s a riff, go for it. Let’s see how many riffs we can build after this riff, and then going into the next riff.’”
The results speak for themselves. You want a four-on-the-floor AC/DC-style stomper? Cue up anthemic opener Taste It. Slippery funk-rock? Try out Lucky Motherfucker or Don’t Gimme Away. Rollicking ‘70s-style glam? Drop the needle on If You Wanna. Swampy, slide guitar-laced grooves? Crank up the Zep-tastic The Grinder.
Where does that position L.A. Guns in 2025? Tracii returns to Leopard Skin. “The song title Lucky Motherfucker kinda says it all,” he says. “Because I don’t know how many other bands that have been around almost 40 years are still out there not just touring consistently, but putting out records consistently, and the thing just keeps getting bigger and bigger from year to year.”
He continues. “So the work ethic is yielding what it’s supposed to, you know what I mean? The fans stay excited, we stay excited, and we keep making records. And as long as we have that opportunity and there’s a place for this music in the world, there’s no reason to ever stop.”
Leopard Skin track listing:
1. Taste It
2. Lucky Motherfucker
3. The Grinder
4. Hit And Run
5. Don’t Gimme Away
6. I’m Your Candy Man
7. Runaway Train
8. Following the Money
9. The Masquerade
10. If You Wanna
L.A. Guns‘ latest studio album, Black Diamond”, came out in April 2023. It was the fourth studio album since the much-welcome reunion of the band’s core foundation of Lewis and Guns. It followed the well-received studio albums The Missing Peace, The Devil You Know and Checkered Past, plus the live release Made In Milan, and a covers EP Another Xmas In Hell.
L.A. Guns was formed in 1983 and have sold over six million records, including 1988’s L.A. Guns and 1990’s Cocked And Loaded, both of which were certified gold. Cocked And Loaded contained the hit single The Ballad Of Jayne that went to No. 33 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 and No. 25 on the Mainstream Rock charts. From the mid-’90s to the mid 2000s, L.A. Guns continued to tour and release new music. Following their successful performance at SiriusXM‘s Hair Nation festival in September 2016, L.A. Guns went into the studio to record the critically acclaimed The Missing Peace, which was the highest-selling release for Frontiers Music Srl in 2017. Their 12th album, The Devil You Know, was released in 2019 to the same critical acclaim. Since reuniting, Tracii and Phil continue to tour around the world with L.A. Guns.
