And So It Begins… (Out May 9, 2025)
There’s a certain golden-hour grit to Kurt Deimer’s latest single, “Sunset Boulevard.” You can almost smell the mix of exhaust and ambition hanging in the L.A. dusk, the mirage of fame shimmering over pavement that’s chewed up more dreams than it’s granted. This is a nostalgia trip for sure, as it’s a reframe of the classic hard rock archetype with a new antihero at its center: part road-worn survivor, part theatrical disruptor.
A Cincinnati native with a background as textured as a character actor’s reel, Deimer’s dual career as a film actor (John Carpenter’s Halloween, his own Hellbilly Hollow franchise) and rock vocalist gives debut album, And So It Begins…, a rare cross-medium density. “Sunset Boulevard,” the album’s newest single, acts as an opener and overture; this hard rock hook is a slow pan over neon signs, backlit haze, and silhouettes of guitars slung like weapons.
Produced by studio heavyweight Chris Lord-Alge and co-written with Bon Jovi guitarist Phil X, “Sunset Boulevard” has the elements of big-hair guitars and stadium-filling drums. Deimer’s vocals are strong, with a gravel-throated and slightly unhinged energy that feels at home in the spotlight. There’s no ironic detachment here. This is maximalist sincerity, and it works because it’s framed like a short film: wide-angle ambition with practical effects.
The song draws from the aesthetic DNA of the ‘80s Sunset Strip, one might think of the hard glam polish of Ratt, the sweat-and-denim swagger of Motley Crüe, but Deimer avoids tribute-band territory by making the vibe feel lived-in rather than reenacted.
Slated for release May 9, And So It Begins… this debut is a declaration. If “Sunset Boulevard” is the prologue, the rest of the record reads like a graphic novel penned in power chords. Chris Lord-Alge’s production sculpts each track into its own frame. Each track gives the album a visual architecture as each snare hit lands like a jump cut, and every vocal delay rings like a streetlight echo.
Deimer has brought heavy collaborators into the fold: Phil X not only co-writes but leaves fingerprints all over the fretboard, while Queensrÿche’s Geoff Tate makes a guest appearance that deepens the album’s theatrical lineage. It’s not just rock; it’s rock with a concept treatment.
Highlights like “Big Toe” and “Live or Die” reveal a surprising range. “Big Toe” leans into grotesque humor and outsider attitude (think Rob Zombie meets The Offspring), while “Live or Die” edges toward post-grunge introspection, with a color grade that skews somewhere between rust and steel blue. There’s even a nod to R.E.M.-style alt-rock melody structures buried beneath the distortion — subtle, but telling.
What gives this project gravity is its persistent throughline: transformation. These aren’t just individual songs; they’re scenes of reckoning. Deimer sings with the cadence of someone who’s seen things burn and still found the beat. Lyrically, there’s a spiritual core of resilience, with tracks tracing arcs of survival, self-invention, and the fragility of fame. This is hard rock with a heart — weathered, maybe, but still beating like a kick drum.
Deimer is a vocalist that matches the character of a hard-rock frontman, he arrives with a band that’s as sharp as a production team: Sammy Boller on lead guitar (fluid, cinematic solos), Brendan Hengle on rhythm guitar (punchy, percussive), Marco Pera on bass and background vocals (anchoring the narrative), and Isaiah Perez on drums (crisp, camera-ready power).
Kurt Deimer isn’t trying to reinvent rock; he’s storyboarding it. And So It Begins… is part debut, part directorial debut. It’s an album that doesn’t just ask to be heard; it invites you to watch, to frame, to re-see what hard rock is today. With “Sunset Boulevard,” Deimer opens the curtain on that world, as the street may be cracked, but the spotlight’s never been sharper.
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