If there is one band everyone should have in their lives, it is undoubtedly the electrifying Phil X & The Drills. With a discography that boasts memorable titles like Kick Your Ass In 17 Minutes and We Play Instruments N Shit, new release POW! Right In The Kisser does not sound any less enticing.
Phil X & The Drills – POW! Right In The Kisser
Release Date: 28 March 2025 (Frontiers Music s.r.l.)
Words: Brian Boyle
Most six-string nerds might have known the main man for his brilliant and often hilarious YouTube demonstration videos. But, when the Toronto native was given the permanent role as Jon Bon Jovi’s right-hand man in 2016, his stock in the guitar world skyrocketed. So it is safe to say that in replacing the near irreplaceable Richie Sambora, Phil X became the sole proprietor of the biggest balls in rock ‘n’ roll.
But when Phil X is not a wanted man for giving love a bad name, he lets it all hang out with his side band, The Drills. This live wire of a trio are refreshingly worlds away from the slick Bon Jovi machine. No rhyme intended, but there are no frills with these guys.
Opener Don’t Wake Up Dead, does not hang about. It sounds like it was written in four minutes, but it is that raw spontaneity that gives it the relentless zip.
Touring and recording for over a decade with one of the most famous and arguably iconic figures in rock music has, without doubt, had a positive effect on the fiery Canadian. Fair enough, you would not get the Sabbath vibes of Fake The Day Away or the alternative Metal injection of Heal anywhere near a Bon Jovi album. They would be shot for trespassing.
But you can sense Phil X is sticking his chest out. There is a spring in his step singing the feel-good Find A Way and the wonderfully addictive Moving To California. However, the tongue-in-cheek attitude is never far away.
You Sunk My Battleship is a title David Coverdale might have come up with in his pomp, but regardless of content, this is one of the album’s real piledrivers, with a dirty riff and an even dirtier chorus.
Elsewhere, it’s more of the same. A non-stop barrage of carefree rock ‘n’ roll brought to life with a thunderous artillery of riffs. I Love You On Her Lips rips along with X snarling out the cheeky lyrics like a giddy teenager.
A lot of the tracks do give off a feeling of a few high school buddies jamming out tunes in Mom and Pop’s basement. Way Gone (Beam Me Up, Scotty) is a good example. It has a touch of a pubescent Blink-182 about it, loaded with testosterone-fueled angst.
Not for a second does this album take itself seriously, and despite a bit of high profile name dropping with the likes of Tommy Lee (Mötley Crüe) and Tico Torres(Bon Jovi) swinging by to bang a drum, it is nice to see that joining one of the biggest bands on the planet has not resulted in the lauded guitarist disappearing up his own rear end.
It is just a fun ride with dodgy brakes, and with Phil X at the wheel, it was always going to be a blast.
Phil X & The Drills – POW! Right In The Kisser is available from here.
