Bad Penny – ‘Big Bomb Ticking’
Reviewed by Gareth Griffiths • 2 April 2025
It’s been almost 2 years since US rockers Bad Penny last released music in the form of the powerful ‘The Shadow Still Remains’, with outstanding vocals by Corey Glover of Living Colour. In a review for this very publication, I described it as “thrilling, edge-of-the-seat stuff” and hoped it wouldn’t be too long before they returned with new music. Well, two years is longer than I’d hoped… but sometimes in life, the best things come to those who wait. Quality over quantity, as is often said!
With that in mind, I was excited to learn that Bad Penny would be releasing a brand new single, ‘Big Bomb Ticking’, on Friday 4th April 2025. With vocals on previous single releases performed by illustrious rock stars such as Todd La Torre (Queensryche), Steve Augeri (Journey), Rob Halford (Judas Priest), Dee Snider (Twisted Sister) and the aforementioned Corey Glover, I was just as excited to find out who would be at the microphone for the latest track… and was thrilled when it was announced that it would be Cheap Trick’s legendary singer Robin Zander!
With the Bad Penny lineup completed by founding member, songwriter/guitarist Mike Holtzman, Danny Miranda (Queen, Blue Oyster Cult) on bass, Jason Gianni (Trans-Siberian Orchestra) on drums and Tony Bruno (Joan Jett, Dee Snider) on rhythm guitar and production duties, as well as Abigail Rose Reedy (wife of Holtzman) and Robin-Sailor Zander (daughter of vocalist Robin) providing backing vocals, will ‘Big Bomb Ticking’ build on the momentum of the band’s previous releases?
A brooding acoustic intro, with Robin Zander’s slightly distorted and echoey voice giving a dream-like vibe, slowly builds in intensity with powerful hard rock power chords and hard-hitting drums. As the moody verse progresses, there’s a very Ziggy Stardust-era Bowie feel to Zander’s vocals… yet it’s still unmistakeably Robin Zander and will evoke memories of prime-time Cheap Trick for longtime fans of the vocalist. It’s almost menacing, in a rock musical theatre, Alice Cooper kind of way!
It all takes a change of direction as the chorus bursts to life. Minor turns to major. Menacing and moody becomes fun and happy. It’s the type of chorus that will have you turning the volume up as you pogo around the room, singing along with a huge grin on your face. “Got my eyes on the prize. I’m coming out swingin’”, sings Zander, and on the strength of this catchy, earworm chorus, it’s a hard point to argue!
The second verse is like the first… but with added intensity as Gianni’s drums complement some amazing work on the bass by Miranda. They’re a talented rhythm section, driving the music along and must surely be the envy of many a band! The chorus is just as good second time around, maybe even better as the prominent addition of the female backing vocalists provides a sort of 1970s rock throwback. It’s genuinely great stuff and it’s difficult not to tap your feet or bop your head in rock n roll bliss!
Would it be a real, retro-inspired rock song without a guitar solo? Of course, it wouldn’t… and Holtzman obliges after the bridge section. It’s a classic rock guitar solo, up and down the fretboard with plenty of ‘throw your head back and pull faces’ screeching air-guitar moments. Yet, it’s not overplayed and doesn’t outstay its welcome, which is often a hard balance to find in a rock song. The brilliant chorus brings the song to an end… and I guarantee you’ll be pressing play to start all over again!
To use a Scottish phrase, ‘Big Bomb Ticking’ is a belter of a rock song! It’s got everything that the discerning rock fan wants; a legendary vocalist, some atmosphere in the verses, a magnificently catchy chorus, a guitar hero solo and a kick-ass band holding it all together! This is the kind of song that will appeal to rock fans in 2025 in the exact same manner as it would’ve had it been released in the 1970s. It’s a true classic rock song, with the attitude of Cheap Trick, Thin Lizzy and countless other legendary bands… but with a real modern edge.
Pre-order ‘Big Bomb Ticking’ now… because when this Bad Penny bomb explodes, it’s going to be huge!