RATT and their (2010) Album "INFESTATION"

Hey everyone JB here with you again today, and I bring to you a piece of Historic musical wonder today. First off this Album and its Artist have been in the business for about 30 or more years, and even after an almost two decade long absence they come back to life hitting on all eight cylinders like never before.

     Today I bring you a review of an album called “Infestation”, which was released in the later part of last year (2010) by none other than the legendary hard rocking, wild party group, with sexual innuendo’s straight out of the 1980’s itself, RATT.

     Now just to start here if you don’t know who “RATT” exactly are and your saying I’ve never heard their music, believe me you have actually. Countless 1980’s movies, and radio stations even today, on Sirius XM Satellite Radio and more play their music on a consistent basis. Most of you actually know their signature song as it is listed on most 1980’s & 1990’s Ballad Compilation CD albums. 1984’s “Round And Round.” I’m sure once you hear this song again you will be right on track here.

     Most may not know that the lead singer of RATT is none other than the Wild Front Man himself “Stephen Pearcy.” With most of their members now in their fifties its hard to imagine that they are rocking as hard as they still do but, one listen to this new album, will transport those of you who may have been around then, right back to 1984 and their very first album “Out of the Cellar.”

     That band is seen by many (including me) as an essential piece of the 1980’s hair metal scene, and transports us all back to a time at least (in this writer’s opinion) that was much simpler, and simply better in terms of music and the world. I salute the 1980’s as I sit here and write this and think back to a time of never ending parties, lights, and everything else we could never get enough of. I will never forget those days, how I do miss them.

On to the new album “Infestation.”

     Track One: “EAT ME UP ALIVE” comes out of the gate just as hard rocking as one could expect from the boys here and does not slow down, it is literally a straight to your face, sex driven innuendo, shot to your body that just puts you into that relaxed “To Cool For School” type of attitude.

     Track Two: “Best Of Me” is the track that will transport you back to the 1980’s. Just listen to the rhythm section and those guitars crank up and that once again hard edge rocking love song about someone, and love trying to leave, comes all flooding back, pleading to all of us with its chorus “No No, Please Don’t Leave Me, Standing Here Alone, You Got “The Best of Me” like a cry directly from the 1980’s to not go because the party is still going.

     Track Three: “A Little Too Much” is a track that spells it out for everyone. As it states in many more word “Here is the deal, and this is how it’s going to be.” Straightforward and Hard Rocking, as the Train we are on now for this journey just keeps rolling along with us in full swing with the rhythm carrying us along felt in this track.

     Track Four: “Look Out Below” is a track swimming in blues laced sludge. One listen to the Guitars and the Rhythm section and its slowed pace bring this right to the front for the listener. It’s almost like the music is in a sense going out of its way in a sense “coming to get you!” It is just Hard Rocking, and definitely a Truly Wicked track to listen to.

     Track Five: “Last Call” Well take me to the Bar with this one here. We pick the speed right back up, and flying down the road we go. This is Modern “Rock N Roll” at its finest (if you ask me). Just dancing with some Bluesy Sludge Undertones in the background harmonies for an extra-added nice touch. The moments of slowdowns and buildups are also a newer welcome change on this rock n roll track as your given just enough space to get back into the groove and keep right on going if you miss a step. This is definitely another track worth listening to here.

     Track Six: “Lost Weekend” This track folks really grabbed and stood out to me. It slams in hard and just takes you to the summer instantly, and you all know the day I’m talking about. It is the day where everyone piles in the car, the sun is out, the coolers are loaded down, and everyone is headed down to the beach for a weekend of fun in the sun, while we’re still so damn young and in high school with out a care in the world, and as we drive this song is playing while we watch the girls strip going down the road along side of us in their little hot to trot convertible or whatever sports car, and how we wish we’re in that car but we know they are headed to the beach too. This song is one of the “Ultimate” party anthems I believe of all time.

     Track Seven: “As Good As It Gets” Now this is the track where the sludge finally comes to the surface. This track is just covered, drenched, and dripping, in soulful southern blues, jazz, and good old-fashioned rock n roll. It has edge, it has soul, it just gets your body moving to the slow steady rhythm where everyone is just so damn cool as far as anyone can see at this party and can tell. Like they sing it is truly “As Good As It Gets” on this one. Let the rhythm carry you away here.

     Track Eight: “Garden Of Eden” This is a moment of literal “Rock N Roll” perfection to me. This song catches you in the beginning and just will not let you go. Not to fast, not to slow, it just puts you right in the moment that defined the 1970’s, blues swinging sludge, hard rocking, and just describes someone to a perfect literal T., and you know, it could even be me its talking about, so you (dear reader) reading this, might just have to personally meet me someday to find out if it’s true.

     Track Nine: “Take A Big Bite” Here we are folks on the home stretch of our trip, and the speed here is just insane. I can’t say anything else other than for this part of the ride I’m going to do just that and “Take A Big Bite.” This track is simply FUCKING WICKED!!!! HORNS UP \m/ \m/ Rock N Roll again at its finest!!!

     Track Ten: “Take Me Home” This track seemed a bit out of place to me for some reason. It’s still a definite good track, and it definitely has a slowed down, bluesy, ballad type of vibe that RATT has always been known for in the past. This track though (in my opinion) really didn’t fit in with the overall mix here, though it is a good moment to catch your breath as our journey is almost over.

     Track Eleven: “Don’t Let Go” Right out of the starting gate as we can see our destination back to the present coming up fast. “Don’t Let Go” gives it all its got, to get us there fast. Once again throughout this track you can almost hear the 1980’s calling out to us one last time, as the time portal closes behind us, giving us our last glimpses of what once was, and laid the foundation for the music we experience today. This track is definitely a blitzkrieg right to the ears and jugular, even for RATT” that’s pretty damn good to me!

     RATT have definitely recaptured that “SPARK” that made them one of the Hair Metal Gods of the 1980’s and their new album “Infestation” does not fail, as it simply picks right back up where it left off in 1985. Infestation is Eleven Solid Tracks of Rock N Roll that transport us back in time to the 1980’s with modern day technology and sound, showing where we have been and where we are now. This simply is a great album and (at least for me) it does stay in constant heavy rotation in my music choices so go check it out, and experience a little piece of a time when the party never stopped.

Catch you all on the WILDSIDE!!!!

 - JB

Real Music "PUNK ROCK, THRASH METAL, & HEAVY METAL."

Hello everyone in Internet world, all of my fans, friends, and followers especially, JB here with you all once again. Yes I know it has been awhile. I am sorry for that, things and time just keep getting away from me it seems, and with so much going on in my life anymore, things get a bit hectic.

I write to you all today, in a sort of continuation from a previous blog of before, where I reviewed and talked about “Punk Rock” music in which I was at that time and am now once again currently listening to. Now let me explain some things here. Number one, I am a music minded, music business individual, and with that said it also goes without saying that I like and enjoy all types of music, from all types of musical genres. Just ask anyone that knows me personally well today.

Everyday I am always listening to different types of music, from all over the world, and I have noticed something about today’s music that is much different than yesterday’s music. Do you know what it is or could be? If not that is okay. I can at least tell you what I believe it to be and it might just make some sense. No one style of music is created equal. Not even one song is created equally. So some reading this may have an issue with what I’m about to say.

MOST MUSIC OF TODAY HAS NO HEART, SOUL, CREATIVITY OR INDIVIDUALITY.

Now I know what you’re probably all thinking and or saying at this point. How exactly do I know this, or how can I even begin to think that way about a form of artistic expression that is subject to interpretation?

Let us start with the music of today. Most individuals at this point in time are only familiar with the Technological age of the Internet and digital downloaded albums and songs from iTunes, Rhapsody, and others. Even fewer individuals are familiar with Compact Discs known as “CD’s” and still even fewer individuals, are familiar with the origins of Recorded Music in the Mediums of Cassette Tapes and LP Records known by us “Old-School” individuals as vinyl.

Most people of today do no visit their local records shops, to even search for gems of albums (and you should), as many and more of these once great places to find these precious musical gems close their doors and go out of business each and every single day. People today buy songs or “Singles” as it is known in today’s current online marketplace, and with that we have witnessed the significant loss and subsequent destruction of artistic creativeness found in albums, songs, and even the artwork of these albums.

What people buy today and listen to this week is usually on its way out the door, forgotten about, and onto something newer happily referred to as “the next big thing” by the start of next week.

With all of that stated and now said and off my proverbial chest, it brings me to my main point. I unfortunately have been thoroughly disappointed in the styles and offerings of many music genres for well over the past 10-20 years. Now I know I am just one individual but I believe, that there may be others who feel like me out there in the world today.

Artists and Bands of today seem only concerned about quick financial compensation, and for at least some that fact, I can understand this with the world we in which live in today. We face great personal financial struggles everyday with the world’s current economic status. Hey I feel it too, I am no different! So wanting to make lots of money to keep living and enjoying the better things in life is something I want just as much as anyone else reading this.

Music today though almost seems to have no substance anymore. Now as for the artists who actually do still hold true to these values and practice them of yesterday gone by, right there is point number two. You almost never hear out of those artists and or bands today. If you want to, you have to go looking for them, and most sadly today do not because they don’t want to take that time and effort to find a gem of musical masterpiece creation.

What a crying shame that is because there is still so much beautiful and amazing music that is not being heard today, thanks to corporations, money, politics, TV Reality shows, and a whole list of other reasons.

This all really needs to stop in my opinion. We need to get back to the “Old-School” ways of doing things and especially in making music and actually look forward to a new music release and what it means to us. Not just for the next big thing coming down the pipeline to fill another moment in time for some stupid club party.

So recently I decided to go back to modern music’s roots, and I mean all the way back to the late 70’s and early 80’s. Right back into the punk and thrash worlds of musical creation. All to get back in touch with why I fell in love with music in the first place. Back to the feeling of when it all was right and seemed right.

Listening to Bands recently like “The Adolescents”, “The Germs”, “Bad Brains”, “The Dead Kennedy’s”, “Circle Jerks”, The Sex Pistols”, “TSOL”, “X”, “Agent Orange” and I did not stop there. I also went back to the early days of Heavy Metal and Death Metal bands as well, with the likes of: “Morbid Angel”, “Carcass”, “Celtic Frost”, “Mayhem”, “Burzum”, “Twisted Sister”, early “Metallica”, “Megadeth”, “Slayer”, “Anthrax”, “Venom” my personal favorites “Motorhead” and early “Sepultura” with the Brazilian brother’s Max and Igor Cavelera at the helm.

This to me, are the times, and days and ages, when music was all about fun, the world, and just being who you actually were, and enjoying the moment you were in or wherever you were at.

What happened to this? Where did the heart and soul of music go? Why is it all now all about money and nothing else? I just don’t get it myself. May be it was me who missed something along the way. Let’s change this and go back to the days of the 80’s and yesterday. Who wouldn’t benefit from that?

 - JB