Kickin’ and Screamin’: Kickin Valentina’s “Raw Trax, B-Sides and Bootlegs” is Dirty, Loud, and Gloriously Real

Review By Glen Parkes

There’s something to be said for a band that sticks to its guns in a world full of polished perfection and studio trickery. Enter Kickin Valentina, the Atlanta-bred sleaze rockers who have been preaching the gospel of raw, no-nonsense rock ’n’ roll since 2013. Their latest offering, Raw Trax, B-Sides and Bootlegs, dropping May 2nd via Mighty Music, is not your typical studio album—it’s a street-level sermon to everything this band stands for. Loud, live, gritty, and gloriously unrefined.

For fans of Guns N’ Roses, AC/DC, and Hardcore Superstar, this is the real deal. The album is a grab bag of unreleased material, demo versions, and live recordings that capture Kickin Valentina exactly how they want to be heard: no fluff, no filters, no apologies. This record isn’t here to impress your audio engineer friend—it’s here to blow the damn speakers.

From the very first seconds of “Blame it on Rock n Roll,” you get what you came for. D.K. Revelle’s snarling vocal delivery is part Bon Scott, part sleazy dive bar preacher, and it sets the tone for the rest of the album. Guitars rip through the mix with the kind of attitude that can’t be faked, and Chris Taylor’s bass is as gritty as the alleyway behind your favorite rock club.

“The Gotaways” keeps the adrenaline flowing, sounding like a lost B-side from Appetite for Destruction. It’s a pulsing, no-frills anthem that would’ve fit right into their last album, Star Spangled Fist Fight, yet stands firmly on its own, swagger intact. And speaking of Star Spangled, these tracks are some of the leftovers from those sessions—though they hardly feel like castoffs. In fact, they make you wonder what kind of fire the full sessions were cooking with.

Then we get to “Wild Ones”—a track that burns with the kind of reckless spirit that made sleaze rock legendary. Revelle tears through every line like it’s the last thing he’ll ever sing, while Heber Pampillon’s guitar licks drip with attitude and flair. You can almost hear the empty Jack Daniels bottles clinking in the background.

But it’s the live tracks that truly earn the “bootleg” badge in the title. “Sweat” and “Easy Rider,” recorded at the legendary Bang Your Head Festival in Germany, sound exactly how you’d want a Kickin Valentina live set to sound: sweaty, loud, and completely unhinged. The crowd energy bleeds into every riff and drum hit, with Jimmy Berdine’s drums absolutely thundering underfoot.

“Freakshow – Lockdown Live” is a particularly poignant highlight. Captured during the pandemic, it’s a time capsule of a band refusing to let the world go quiet. It’s a high-energy middle finger to isolation and silence—proof that Kickin Valentina doesn’t wait for perfect conditions. They just plug in and rip.

The demos “War” and “End of the Road” offer fascinating insight into the band’s creative process. “War” is a raw, snarling beast, still unpolished, but bursting with potential. You can hear the seeds of something bigger, while “End of the Road” dials things down slightly—melodic, moody, and showing that there’s more to this band than just leather jackets and Marshall stacks.

Throughout the album, you can hear why Kickin Valentina has made such a dent in the European rock circuit. With previous chart placements on Billboard and Denmark’s vinyl charts, they’re no strangers to international success. And yet, nothing about them feels overreached or calculated. They’re a band of the people, for the people—fans of real rock music, the kind you feel in your gut and wear on your sleeve.

“Raw Trax, B-Sides and Bootlegs” feels like an open invitation to step into the band’s world, hang backstage, and watch them tear the roof off in real time. It’s a celebration of imperfection, spontaneity, and passion—everything that made us fall in love with rock music in the first place.

So, if you’re tired of plastic pop and algorithm-approved rock clones, Kickin Valentina has your cure. Put on this record, turn it up, and remember what it’s like to be moved by something unfiltered and untamed. Because in a world full of polish, Raw Trax is a punch to the jaw—and damn, it feels good.

Tracklist:

1. Blame it on Rock n Roll
2. The Gotaways
3. Wild Ones
4. Sweat (Live)
5. Easy Rider (Live)
6. Freakshow (Lockdown Live)
7. War (Demo)
8. End of the Road (Demo)

Kickin Valentina continue to prove they’re one of the most genuine, high-voltage bands in the modern sleaze rock game. Raw Trax, B-Sides and Bootlegs is a no-filter, front-row-seat experience that captures their raw power better than ever. A must-have for any true rocker’s collection.

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