Phil X & The Drills return ready to blow minds with new album Pow! Right In The Kisser, set for release via Frontiers Music Srl on 28th March.
Known for fusing of punk, classic, and modern rock infused with guitar virtuosity, Phil X & The Drills make a big noise ahead of the new album alongside Mötley Crüe‘s Tommy Lee on drums for new single ‘Fake The Day Away‘, accompanied by a music video available below.
“I had been in the studio with Tommy Lee many times working on his solo records so it was exciting to get him on ‘Fake The Day Away’,” said Phil X. “I even got the groove from one of his drum solos with Motlëy. It’s about waking up on tour in a jet like the first line in the lyrics and really missing my family. Even though it’s thematically sad, the song has this frenetic energy to it… And Tommy kiled it.”
It follows previous singles ‘Don’t Wake Up Dead’ and ‘Moving To California’ whose videos you can also check out here at RAMzine.
Featuring Bon Jovi’s Phil X himself on lead vocals and guitars, Daniel Spree on bass and background vocals, and normally Brent Fitz on drums and background vocals, for ‘Moving To California’ Jeremy Spencer played drums. Other guest drummers on the album include Tommy Lee, Ray Luzier (Korn), and Tico Torres (Bon Jovi).
“Moving to California was always a dream of mine when I was a young guitar player going up in Toronto, Canada,” said Phil X of that single. “From a distance, it always seemed like the place to be. When I moved there in ’97, a lot of the rock glamour was gone, but I stayed and stuck to my goals. The song is a reflection of my story and other stories I had heard along the way.”
About the album, he added: “Pow! Right In The Kisser was a good 10 years in the making. ‘Battleship’ was tracked in 2014. I just kept writing and we’d record and then kept the whole different drummer on every song thing going. It became a very special collection of songs and vibes. It’s very exciting for me to share something like that with the world.”
From their early days stirring up the Hollywood rock scene in 2003, to 2009’s breakout EP Kick Your Ass In 17 Minutes, the band has kept fans hooked with their high-energy sound and jaw-dropping performances. As Phil X became a YouTube sensation through his work demoing vintage guitars for Fretted Americana, the band’s visibility skyrocketed, eventually evolving into the current band.
Over the years, the band has worked with an incredible roster of guest drummers, including Josh Freese ( Sting, Foo Fighters), Abe Laboriel Jr. (Paul McCartney), and Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters), among others. Their most recent album release was Stupid Good Lookings Vol. 1, and in 2024, Phil X & The Drills hit a new career milestone, opening for Mötley Crüe at Summerfest in Springfield, IL, where their performance apparently left 10,000 fans and industry professionals in awe.
Pow! Right In The Kisser features the tracks:‘Don’t Wake Up Dead, Fake the Day Away, Heal, Find a Way, Moving to California, You Sunk My Battleship, Seemed Like a Good Idea, Broken Arrow, I Love You on Her Lips, Feel Better and ‘Way Gone (Beam Me Up, Scotty)’ – The album can be ordered here.
