CD REVIEW: ARTIFICIAL AGENT – PRISMATIC

Shane | 4 August 2026 | Reply

CD REVIEW: ARTIFICIAL AGENT – PRISMATIC
May 2026, Independent
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
90%

I’ve long been a fan of these motor city mayhem merchants, a proper rollicking rock band rolling to the beat of their very own drum, bass and guitar.

With Prismatic – their sixth full length album, testament to their longevity and originality – they try a couple of new things whilst staying true to their core sound, which takes its foundation in Gene Simmons-fronted 80’s KISS (and not only because singer Derek Jendza often sounds like he’s channelling the Demon). Think what you like about the heavier unmasked years of KISS, there’s a lot to love in the catalogue once you get past the same setlist Simmons & Stanley have been delivering for years and years ad infinitum, and it’s that vibe which Artificial Agent start with.

Being Detroit wunderkinds the brothers Jendza – frontman Derek and face-painted bass player and second singer Brad – along with hard-hitter Karl Crafton and riffmonster Mike Elgert, aren’t shy of a subtle nod towards the MC5, Iggy & The Stooges, pre-cooker asshole Ted Nugent or Alice Cooper. In fact, the last we heard from the band was last year’s cover of Alice’s Welcome To My Nightmare featuring The Detroit Horns.

Like the best bands, Artificial Agent have the ability to combine driving grooves, a heavy A.F. bedrock, and tunes as catchy as measles – just check out opener Deny It, the non-traditional rhythmic groove and delivery of Crash Out, the swaggering fatback riffs of Assassinate Me and Enemy with their simple, brutal, raspy vocal melodies.

On this album they’ve mixed things up a little and given Brad Jendza a few more songs to take the lead vocal on, providing some variety – a little Stanley to Derek’s Simmons, you might say. Milk & Honey especially leans into a Paul Stanley vibe – but never as a copyist. These top cats are their own men, they use influences as a leaping off point, not as a template to copy – much like a prismatic ray of light, breaking it down to its essence before rebuilding it in their own likeness.

Die With Your Boots On throws in some shades of Brad Jendza’s great side project with Steve Swanson, Ghost Vapors. It’s a more melodic number with a less bludgeoning riff and an Ace Frehley-adjacent guitar line that will live in your cerebral cortex rent free for ages after every listen.

Prismatic closes with the knockout punch of Yell When You’re Talking To me and Jet Elektro. The former kicks open your door, waves its manhood around, eats your pizza, drinks your beer and leaves with your special someone – it’s that good; while the latter is the soundtrack to the next morning’s acid hangover, like KISS covering The Beatles in a day glo-smoke-strewn battlefield while Enuff Z’Nuff smoke a dooby nearby.

Brad J has stated that the band wanted “to put everything but the kitchen sink” into Prismatic, and it’s worked: fifteen songs full of variety, all rockin’, all killer no filler, all catchy A.F., all essential. What are you waiting for? Getchu sum while it’s hot.