Ratt: Infestation (Roadrunner/Loud & Proud)
Ratt has never been “cool,” but if you were in junior high in the mid-1980s, you can probably remember when they were “awesome.” After a couple of decades in the musical wilderness, the band — original members Stephen Pearcy, Warren DeMartini and Bobby Blotzer, at least — returns with a new slab of glam metal that could have come right out of 1986.
Pearcy’s trademark gravelly whine/growl is still in fine form on melodic thumpers like “Best of Me” and “Take Me Home.” “As Good As It Gets” shows a bit of that old Ratt swagger, opening track “Eat Me Up Alive” is hyper, head-banging stuff, and “Look Out Below” slithers with a bluesy groove that’ll remind old-school fans of “Way Cool Jr.”
They’re not all gems, of course, but chances are your inner headbanger will think it’s awesome. 3 stars
— David Fuller
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 1, 2010 C4
March 6, 2012 at 6:14 pm
The last time Ratt came to town I tried to get friends to do the Simpsons bit from when Randy Bachman and BTO had cameos…
“Play Round and Round!”
“We already played that.”
“Play it again! No! Skip to the good part.”
Out of the certainty of being bottled, sadly it never came to pass.