Out of the ashes of the KISS dust and rising to the top once again is guitarist Bruce Kulick. Bruce was always a gracious man to fan and foe but always had a backseat to Gene & Paul. Kulick became a household name with his time in KISS. No shame in reaping the benefits of legends but now Bruce has come back strong with many accolades with guest appearances and solo music of his own.

With his new limited edition Australian EP “BK3” Bruce thrives from the attention being given with a new outlook and a new full-length solo release coming in August/September ‘09, but for the time being let’s check out this sampler.

Starting things off is “No Friend of Mine” with lead vocals by John Corabi and written by Corabi, Kulick and Jeremy Rubolino.

This melodic gem is not totally a direction change from Kulick‘s KISS days, showing the man can live up to past endeavors. “No Friend of Mine” is a jolt to the system with melodic drive but also pulsates with murderous guitar solos. Corabi makes one helluva showing on vocals and Bruce simply shines.

Track 2 “And I Know” has Kulick stepping into the lead vocal role with this soft rocker; kind of reminded me of a smoother Ace Frehley! This could sure make it to AOR radio with the hook filled chorus and sweet guitar chords.

Ending the disc. Is “Between The Lines” with the lead guitar of Steve Lukather (ex-TOTO) giving the song a Satriani feel as Kulick and Lukather share the limelight on this nice instrumental. I definitely will be looking forward to the full-length release later this year.