Deal with the Devil

A lot may have changed in the years since the last album, , but the band, bless their souls, have stuck to their heavy-metal-meets-glam-in-a-dark-alley aesthetic. That's consistency for you. Not to mention an enviable ability to stay blind to musical trends. After disappearing for nearly a decade, thanks to legal wrangles, and then regrouping with a new lineup, still sound like the missing link between and . The songs are simplistic, the guitars are over the top, and the lyrics are standard-issue schlock. Which are minor misdemeanors considering that the album packs in more hooks than a fisherman's kit. With its crunchy anthems, stomping choruses and overall fondness for pedal-to-the-metal excess is as infectious as chicken pox. On two tracks, aim to stretch their wings -- wears its Eastern influences on its sleeve; adds a dash of industrial rock to the mix. There are a couple of covers that make up in vigour what they lack in originality: a torqued up, take-no-prisoners run through 's and a version of 's "Generation Landslide" that manages to replicate much of the sneery edge of the original. And, yes, there's some great cover art by as well. Loud, flashy, unpretentious, and with not a single in sight, is good, cheap fun and proof that never happened. ~ Leslie Mathew