Album Art for Motley Crue Saints of Los Angeles

MÖTLEY CRÜE
Saints Of Los Angeles

Mötley (2008)
Rating: 8.5/10

I think it's fair to say that despite the lather opera lifestyles of the Mötley Crüe guys, this band has stood the test of time, from the glam metal era, correct through to the hazy grunge invasion and to the modern. Information technology's besides fair to say that Saints Of Los Angeles is probably the bands best record since the classic Dr. Feelgood in 1989.

It's amazing simply how many of these types of bands accept managed to evolve with the times, especially when you consider how derided the so-called "hair metal" era was all those years ago. The mid-to-late 90s was a taxing time for bands that made their money in the 80s and everything had go so serious and insufficient of image, merely the truthful musicians shine through with corking songwriting prowess.

Mötley Crüe 2008 is a truly metallic beast pumped upwards to the nines and taking no prisoners. This fourth dimension round bass god Nikki Sixx has enlisted the help of not simply young man band members, but friend and all round great guitarist DJ Ashba (Guns N' Roses), Sixx AM vocalist James Michael and songwriter Marti Frederiksen to stir this cauldron. The event is 12 solid balls of rock, fronted by the inimitable Vince Neil, whose nasal whine, although mocked over the years, has remained every bit distinctive and somehow charming every bit it almost cracks nether the loftier annotation pressure.

Mötley Crüe have e'er had the songs, but at times lacked the camaraderie to be the respected ring they have finally managed to exist. Fifty-fifty so, the friction has somehow kept the band on their toes, and Saints Of Los Angeles is proof that nothing is better than an original Crüe line-up.

And so, later a brief intro ('L.A.M.F.') we're hit full in the face past the bruising 'Face Down In The Clay', which whispers itself across the floor nether Vince'southward hushed tones of: "It'southward a dirty task but someone's gotta practise it", before we are molested by Mick Mars' killer riff which walks paw in hand with Tommy Lee's battering ram of a drum. Mick Mars is probably metal'due south near underrated guitarist, a human who despite illness has churned out memorable riff after memorable riff over the years, backed by partners in offense Lee and the imposing Sixx.

One thing I immediately notice well-nigh this album is the raw free energy and most 80s-style lyrics. Perchance these were songs written in the 80s, as there seems to be a reflective feel to them, particularly on 'Down At The Whisky' and the joyous bubblegum rock of 'Chicks = Trouble' which sounds like it'due south been plucked from 80s.

Even so, despite the almost cheesy pomp of said tracks, the band shines most on the fantastic 'What's It Gonna Take' which features 1 of the finest metal riffs I've ever heard on that chorus. Mars' guitar just rolls from the speakers, equally once once more the lyrics are reflective, with Neil commentating on those early days when the band struggled to get a record bargain. Information technology's an infectious rails with a truly gnarly song, but it's the mid-section of the album that cements Crüe'south identify in metal history as such a formidable stone 'n' roll human action.

The title track creeps in on a menacing bass line and then rushes headlong into the bastard offspring of 'Wildside' from 1987's Girls, Girls, Girls opus. Neil'south inclement raps pb to a chanted, anthemic chorus that sticks in the ears, but it'due south the brutishly titled 'Mutherfucker Of The Year' that stands lonely. It shuffles in on a grunge-infested guitar and Tommy's wildebeest stampede of a pulsate before lurching into a staggering, arrogant chorus. Mars is truly electrifying on this, the album's heaviest moment that drifts into what can only be described as a hair metal ballad for the modern twenty-four hour period.

'The Animal In Me' is a dark, brooding masterpiece featuring some lustful lyrics which delivers with sleazy aplomb. "Lying in my bed with their easily tied upwardly, I knew it all along that it wasn't enough" sounds similar the words of a serial killer, the runway exploding into a crescendo of booming drums and sweeping guitars. 'The Creature In Me' seems to exist equally the more menacing relative to the punkoid jerk of 'This Ain't A Honey Song'.

The band shift effortlessly between darkness and light, always remaining ragged in betwixt, especially on the maniacal chug of 'Merely Another Psycho' and the more uptempo 'Welcome To The Machine' and 'Goin' Out Swingin'.

Saints Of Los Angeles really is a slab of a record, well produced past James Michael who gives it a polished feel. The glint of the guitar blinds the centre and it'southward fair to say I've never heard the band sound so fresh. I just promise we don't have to wait too long for the next one, simply what with Nikki Sixx's various projects and the usual dramatics one would expect from a bunch of multi-millionaires, Saints Of Los Angeles could well be, like and then many other Crüe records, the rumoured terminal discussion. If it is so information technology'due south a storming way to go out, but I remember they'll be dorsum because without Mötley Crüe, and countless other so-chosen "80s bands", music just wouldn't exist the same.

Neil Arnold

goinrobse1985.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.metalforcesmagazine.com/site/album-review-motley-crue-saints-of-los-angeles/

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