THE TUNG BANDITS were forged in the Steel City of Pittsburgh towards the end of the 1980s and play a brand of melodic hard rock / heavy metal with a sound drawing comparison to
DOKKEN,
LIZZY BORDEN,
LILLIAN AXE,
KING KOBRA etc. It all began after a meeting between
Dean Miculla and
DC Cooper one night at an open jam session staged at a local rock club.
Jimmy Wilson and
Carmen Capozzi would complete the lineup, making their stage debut on Halloween night of 1990.
THE TUNG BANDITS would release one full-length album before disbanding after the departure of
DC Cooper, who would later go on front Danish progressive metal band
ROYAL HUNT. This 1990 self-titled album is remastered and reissued for the first time on CD as a limited edition of 500 copies worldwide, released via
Heaven and Hell Records in June 2021.
First track
“Apple Of My Eye” opens the album in a lively manner, the guitar having a little grit in the tone balanced by the layered vocals harmonies adding to the overall melodic feel of the material.
“Don’t Turn Away” starts off with a slow prelude featuring a mesmerizing, modulated guitar run, then a stop and a change of gear leads into the up-tempo main section of the song. This track was accompanied by an official music video, “
Be Your Fix” and
“Look Hard Enough” are both hard driving straight ahead rocking tunes. “
The Battle” showcases the fine shredding guitar work of
Dean Miculla with multiple lead lines in a more mid paced outing. ”
Wicked Blind” is a longer song utilizing a clean intro transitioning to a mid-paced stomper. ”
Down In The Dark” has a more lightweight hard rock feel with an extremely catchy singalong chorus. The bass runs of
Jimmy Wilson are brought to the fore on “
Midnights Gone”, briefly bringing to mind
TOOL in places.
“Am I Free” follows on in a straighter hard rock template.
“Back It Up” finishes off the album with
THE TUNG BANDITS again displaying their melodic tendencies on a track that is reminiscent of
DOKKEN in style.
In conclusion,
THE TUNG BANDITS have delivered a solid album of melodic hard rock / heavy metal. I would have preferred if the backing riff had continued under the solos but that's a minor detraction. The vocals of
DC Cooper really do shine throughout the album, showcasing a great singing range alongside the talented guitar work and rhythm section.
Songwriting: 7
Musicianship: 8
Memorability: 7
Production: 6