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Ratt: Infestation

15/07/10 || Habakuk

What? Ratt? Last time I checked, these guys were of some interest to hairspray manufacturers in the eighties and disbanded some time after a public vote decided that lip stick and Heavy Metal weren’t exactly the best mixture since Spezi.
Spezi? Spezi. For those unfamiliar with the concept, here’s a little piece of liquid Germany for you: Grab a can of Coke. No wait, take a bottle of Coke, cans aren’t common in Germany anymore since we got “can deposit” a few years back. Got your bottle? Good, then take a bottle of orange lemonade, we’d probably go for Fanta. Grab a big glass and pour both bottles into the latter. Behold Spezi.

Prost.

When in southern Germany, look for Paulaner Spezi. It’s the best.

Oh yeah, reformed Ratt. Who cares about modern hair metal? Except for stadiums full of Bon Jovi fans, that is? Well, no-one. When we get this shit at GD, someone has to step up and do it though, and since I’m a bit of a sucker for ridiculous 80s shit, I decided I might as well share some oh-so-secret drink recipes under the Ratt headline. So, as a professional, I care for modern hair metal. And fuck me sideways, when I slid this CD (that miraculously only exists in digital form on my HD) into the imaginary drive, the professional in me was taken by surprise. “Eat me up alive”, song number one, sounds pretty fucken decent! The moment the first riff kicks in, a Judas Priest vibe flows from my speakers, and that’s not just due to the copy/paste title. A fucken awesome sing-along cheese fest chorus, snarly verses oozing from whatever reminiscence of sex these old farts have, upbeat heavy riffing and a crunchy, full production (paired with a drum sound best described as genre-typical) make me actually hope for an album worth my time.

The subsequent letdown doesn’t keep me waiting for long though. I have experienced the exact same thing before – Fair Warning . The second song starts and it’s bland and boring and bleargh. The snarly tone of the opener makes way for soft, family-friendly Oldsmobile boredom. What the fuck? I was thinking they still had it, but this proves me wrong. Do. not. want. In the following minutes, the awesome chorus of track one is replaced time and time again by repulsive, and I mean that in the worst possible notion, repulsive, annoying “big fun” singalongs. Get the fuck out of here.

Some tracks are a slight notion better than that, but the only other song really worth the listeners’ attention is “Last call” with a catchy Rock and fucken Roll main riff and overall great guitar work, more snarly singing and a “gang shout” chorus that revels in stupidity and a hint of awesomeness. After that, the listening experience basically consists of waiting for some good chorus, disappointment, closely escaping earcancer and hitting the back button repeatedly to either get to “Eat me up alive” or “Last call” again. The rest is audio shit.

So, Fair Warning got a three with one awesome song that was wild and tough (wiiild and toough). This one has two awesome songs. I’ll give credit where it’s due, if you’re into any sort of sleazy Glam Metal, check them out, they’re definitely fun. Still, the overall score calculates to nothing more than a mere

Information
Released: 2010
Label: Roadrunner Records
Website: www.therattpack.com
Band
Stephen Pearcy: vocals
Warren DeMartini: guitars, backing vocals
Carlos Cavazo: guitars, backing vocals
Robbie Crane: bass, backing vocals
Bobby Blotzer: drums

Tracklist
01. Eat me up alive
02. Best of me
03. A little too much
04. Look out below
05. Last call
06. Lost weekend
07. As good as it gets
08. Garden of Eden
09. Take a big bite
10. Take me home
11. Don’t let go

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