I will answer your question re the L.A. Guns in here Paul.
It is a good album and I think you would like it. It has that slight punk edge that you might associate with bands like Vain , that I know you really like.
It also has some personality. On a song by song basis (based on my enjoyment rather than critical analysis) I may not rate it too much higher than something like say the decent part of Revolution Saints but , unlike the RS album, it has that intangible something that sounds like a real band writing songs they give a shit about. The album has some personality and sounds like a real band . On the downside there are a couple of fillers and they do borrow from their back catalogue at times . On the whole though it's certainly worth a listen and will have far more staying power/growth in it than other "projects" that I may initially rate about the same.