Warning: This contains material that might be considered suggestive and unclean. If you are offended by jokes and comments about and references to suggestive themes and content, then you should probably be not reading this. From what I came up with for this entry, I can definitively say that this is NSFW, or Not Safe For Work for those who don't understand internet lingo. But don't be discouraged if you're not at work or able to handle certain topics, this can be considered SFP, or Safe for Parties for those who don't understand my lingo. But to repeat myself, reader disgression is advised.
In the days of yore, when pop music meant something, it was filled with nourishing musical ideas and showed the tides of progress. But then something happened, the ability for it to fill our soul has nearly vanished, and the masses are starved on good music. There’s the occasional quality track that stays good after multiple spins, but it has gotten to the moment where even good pop music gets stale. We live in a white-bread world in mainstream music. However, there’s salvation from the drek that the masses need to know about. In the words of Marie Antoinette, or more accurately The Rods quoting her: “LET THEM EAT METAL!”
In the days of yore, when pop music meant something, it was filled with nourishing musical ideas and showed the tides of progress. But then something happened, the ability for it to fill our soul has nearly vanished, and the masses are starved on good music. There’s the occasional quality track that stays good after multiple spins, but it has gotten to the moment where even good pop music gets stale. We live in a white-bread world in mainstream music. However, there’s salvation from the drek that the masses need to know about. In the words of Marie Antoinette, or more accurately The Rods quoting her: “LET THEM EAT METAL!”
Hello degenerates,
heathens, weirdos, and deviants. I am the Rock Otaku, and I’m here to
show you worlds such as hard rock, metal, punk, alternative rock, movies, TV,
anime, video games, and anything that makes us scream, shout, and run with the
devil.
This series is
dedicated to the best that heavy metal can offer. As you will read, I will take you on a
journey though the annals of heavy metal’s storied history from its beginning
in early 70s, its crystallization in the late 70s and early 80s, its
breakthrough into mainstream conscience in the early to mid-80s, its maturation
in the late 80s and 90s, its dominance (sort of) in the 2000s and even today,
and the rare moments that very few talk about unless in the company of
like-minded fans. Not in that order, but
I’ll be looking at the footnotes oh metal history in the order I desire. In short, this series is about metal, plain
and simple.
Today, I delve into a
form of heavy metal that is not just more mainstream, but is more likely to
tell tales of sexual exploits, intoxication, wild parties, and adventure on the
road, with possibly real-world problems like destitution, crime, and that time
you got a booboo on your finger. The
style I am referring to is pop metal.
Yes, I have covered traditional heavy metal, speed metal, power metal,
and progressive metal already, with some proto-doom and thrash metal, but never
straight pop metal. Why? There seems to be a stigma against the whole
idea. When you think about it, pop music
is simple, safe, and unlikely going to challenge your notions on life, the
universe, and everything. Here’s how pop
music handles that:
Heavy metal, on the
other hand, tends to dive into darker themes, more terrifying thoughts, and
obscure influences that lead into more complex, edgier, and eye and ear-opening
songs that can expand the mind, causing you to wonder what the question of
life, the universe, and everything actually is.
Here’s how metal handles that as well:
As a result, if the
two mix, you get some happy songs that deal with darker themes with the aplomb
of The Joker while a sense of disappointment would result from both
parties. The pop acts would rather go
back to safe, PC rubbish while metal starts taking testosterone pills and
adopting alt-right rhetoric to keep pop away.
And no, I am not stating what actually happened to both scenes thanks to
second-wave glam metal. But I’ll finally
review an album from that era next. This
week, I’m reviewing the album that, alongside Too Fast For Love and Pyromania,
codified glam metal and its tropes: Van
Halen by Van Halen.
Now here’s where I
discuss the origins and history of the band album by album before this one to
illustrate what went into this album, but this is their debut album, and it’s
considered one of the greatest debut albums of all time, up there with the
debuts of Guns N’ Roses, Queen, Pearl Jam, Ratt, KISS, and so on (that’s off
the top of my head, other bands took a while to strike big). All that’s left is to discuss how the band
started in the early 70s thanks to two Dutch-American brothers found interest
in rock music while learning classical, learned guitar and drums (you can guess
which ones took up which instrument), then started a band that had one name,
then legal troubles led them to use their last name as the band name. And during this time, they decided to hire a
guy as singer so one of them can focus on guitar, and the hired singer was more
of a flashy performer than a technical powerhouse. Then something about sending a tape of theirs
to Gene Simmons of KISS, which got them in league with a producer at Warner
Bros. Records, who signed them with a producer to make their debut. Such humble origins leading the
Pasadena-based hard rock outfit Van Halen, with guitarist Eddie Van Halen,
drummer Alex Van Halen, singer David Lee Roth, and bassist Michael Anthony
(gee, I wonder when they will replace him with a bassist who has a 3 word name,
such as the son of the guitarist) rounding up what would ultimately be their
classic lineup (not their mainstream lineup, if you count Sammy Hagar as a
singer for the band). The result of all
of this? A flashy, metallic, no-BS hard
rock album that, alongside the works of Aerosmith, KISS, Scorpions, and Judas
Priest, would define the L.A. pop metal sound (and drive Metallica to San
Francisco, a city so campy that James Hetfield now lives in the Rockies).
As for me, this is
practically a part of my development into a metal head alongside Aerosmith,
Scorpions, Guns N’ Roses, KISS, and Queen, even before I knew my musical tastes
were skewing towards heavier rock. I probably
listened to this and their debut with Sammy Hagar, 5150, multiple times with my
dad and even my mom, all around the same time I was obsessed with Bill &
Ted’s Excellent Adventure and the Back to the Future trilogy (collectively,
those 4 movies have all aged well, and helped me jump the hurdle of Star Wars,
Harry Potter, and Disney during my development as a cinephile). And as a result, I consider Van Halen to not
just be one of my all-time favorite rock bands, but probably one of my
influences as a heavy metal fan, a guitarist, and a ladies-man (I’ll get to
that). And plus, being that this is my
first foray into blogging for February, and my whole inaugural “Real Rockers
Wear Pink” event, it makes sense to review an album that will get a girl more
into you when you decide to play metal for her (that’s assuming you’re a dude).
No really. I’m serious about this. The sensuality throughout this record will
get her hot and ready for whatever you both decide to do. Like from Little Caesars (I just had to go
there).
Anyway, time for some
rock n’ roll:
1. Runnin’ With The Devil:
Do I even need to talk
about how awesome this song is? I’ve
mentioned that this would be considered one of the first pop metal albums to
codify the genre, and its legacy is known.
Plus, this song along with a few others gets radio play to this very
moment. What can I bring to the analysis
of this song?
DANK MEMES!
 |
| Really? Doge? |
What, it fits here (a little, though). Anyway, the way this song starts off with what sounds like a car horn being
honked then mixed in a way that makes it sound like a siren’s wail. After the automotive siren calls you in, the
bass, drum cymbals, and guitars kick in in order, with the guitar harmonics
played as if it sounds like a twinkling piano.
Then, with the rest of the drums, that riff kicks in. That riff.
It’s the kind of riff that screams pulse pounding hard rock with its
ascending chords, chika-chika sounds (referring to the sound you make when you
dampen strings while playing guitar) and slides. Then you get David Lee Roth wailing across
this riff. After that, the verse starts
where Roth sings about living a hedonistic, sinful life without love, without
family, being on his own, and realizing that things are much more complicated
than they seem. Punctuated by this is
the guitar, which is based around sustained chords and notes with a low melody
to match the vocal performance, with the middle of the verse featuring a lick
that is either harmonics or legato from Eddie that shows his guitar mastery. After that, the dank riff comes back for the
chorus, which features David’s screams, the title melodically sung by Michael,
Eddie, and possibly Roth, and no loss in intensity. During this song are two 4-measure, classical-inspired
guitar solos that are differentiated by the notes toward the end of the third
measure and the guitar squeal that concludes the first one. It’s heavy, intense, a great introduction to
the band’s sound and attitude, and catchier than most pop music today (and
considering what Todd put on his best-of list, especially at numbers 7 and 1,
that’s saying something). But where this
song is undone is the fact that the guitar solo(s) is nowhere near as glorious
as the one that comes next. What I mean
is that it is beginner level material closer to what Nick Jonas is almost
capable of.
 |
| Let me explain with the next track. |
2. Eruption:
Before Kämpfer Akane
realizes that I just dissed both Nick AND Joe Jonas (who knew a Revy fangirl
was into DNCE), let me say that this song is probably too easy to
recommend. Why? Because without this song, we wouldn’t have
shred guitar as we know it today, and it wouldn’t have had exposure outside of
progressive rock and jazz fusion. As a
result, most rock, metal, guitar, and even music critics have gone into length
into why this 100+ second guitar instrumental is so iconic. So due to how unoriginal it may be if I went
into detail about every single movement, I decided to use images and gifs of a
certain moment in anime to compare.
Starting with the drum
roll, it leads into the opening blast of guitar and bass that begins Eddie Van Halen’s
assault on what guitar playing in rock should be like…
 |
| That wave of fast picking and notes before the first brown note. |
Also, I’ve also
mentioned how he uses the whammy bar to create a very, very low note before
giving it a few more pumps. Then the
last bit of drum and bass delivers the basis for Eddie to launch into another
wave of fast notes, this time higher up the neck…
 |
| The golden hair signifies that this is Eddie’s fight from now on. |
Then more fast notes
come in, this time with a tasty section of tremolo picking before going down a
scale, leading into another brown note…
 |
| Sooner or later, Freeza’s going to regret getting Roth kicked out of the band. |
After that, with no
launching point from the rhythm section, Eddie does the launching himself with
his guitar. He begins the beginning of
the third movement with fast scales, alternate picking, bends, hammer-ons and
pull-offs, and tremolo picking…
 |
| Enough said. |
And this is the part
where the song gets the most praise. At
this point in time, Eddie cracked the code on not just how to play legato on
the guitar faster than ever, but found ways to replicate the classical music of
yesteryear on a guitar in the genres of hard rock and heavy metal. And it’s not fast for the sake of fast. It’s a more melodic ascending of notes that
start with the tapped note pulling off to the lowest note of the three used at
each point, then a hammer on with the pinky, then the tap. Rinse and repeat across the fretboard on the
B string (to get you’re guitar to sound like Eddie’s, the first thing to do
would be to tune your guitar half a step down).
And it’s not just one set of notes repeated. There are multiple variations adding more
notes to give the section a larger than life feel. All culminating in a melodic tapped line that
helped spawn neo-classical metal. After
that, the final whammy bar drop gives us the final brown note, with the song
ending with feedback…
 |
| And the first shred metal super saiyan transformed at last. |
I wonder how George
Lynch and Brian May reacted to this becoming a phenomenon?
But before we get to
the song that this segues into on radio, here’s some more shred guitar super
saiyans to show how far Eddie influenced the genre:
 |
| Randy Rhodes |
 |
| Yngwie Malmsteen |
 |
| Paul Gilbert |
 |
| George Lynch (after getting with Don Dokken) |
 |
| The current Falling In Reverse lead guitarist. |
3. You Really Got Me:
I kind of went over
the last one, so this one should be much shorter. Hopefully.
As for this song, I
may mention some trivia about it, but due to time constraints and a desire to
make my words my own influenced by my true feelings, I’ll leave that for
another day. However, I can mention that
this song’s approach to the original version by The Kinks and how it compares
to the original. Whereas the original
was based around a single riff and it’s variations throughout the entire song,
the cover plays with it and adds even more variations, such as how the riff is
played, the licks that showcases Eddie’s guitar playing. There are differences in the solo, where one
is based around certain frets on the guitar and the other incorporates tapping
and ends with the guitarist playing with the pickup switch and volume (thanks
to his modifications to his guitar).
There’s also the vocal performance where one is youthful and energetic
while the other is older, has more experience, and is more flamboyant while
still having the original’s energy.
Finally, the third verse after the solo is different for both songs, as
one continues the riff passage of the first two verses, and the other is driven
by David Lee Roth, the drums by Alex Van Halen, and a few notes from
Eddie. In short, it’s an iconic song
played in two iconic ways, and both have their positives and negatives, and
while I appreciate the original in how it did things, the cover is the one I
prefer due to nostalgia as well as how it held up. It feels as original and breathtaking as the
rest of the album.
The lyrics? It’s about sex and sexual attraction. Moving on.
4. Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love:
5. I’m The One:
I’m starting to think
that this is one of the three things David Lee Roth loves to sing about:
 |
| And you’d thought this would be a dry review. |
But with the fast,
palm-muted riff that feels like the kind of riff that’d launch a hundred L.A.
hair metal bands into existence, I’d expect parties to be the second thing on
Dave’s mind. The third?
As for the song
itself, it’s about how much of a sex god Diamond Dave is, and how his
experience with the ladies and worldview makes him suitable for the
listener. That and the band too, as the
first lines is “We came here to entertain you/Leaving here we aggravate you”
and the lines “I’m the one the one you love/Come on baby, show your love” are
harmonized with Eddie and Michael joining in.
As for the guitars, there’s a lot of shredding, fast licks and riffs
that pretty much tell you that “Eruption” was far from a fluke, and that Eddie
is one hell of a virtuoso. There are two
solos here that scorch the earth they play on and are the kinds to melt faces
to. You also get a lot of whammy bar
abuse, as if the above image was seen by Eddie and he had the natural reaction
of playing with the tremolo arm. And you
also have Michael’s and Alex’s rhythm section.
This may sound short and underwhelming in concept, but this is a song
you NEED to listen to in its entirety. A
song that’s face-melting sleaze metal and has a doo-whop bridge after the
second solo needs to be heard to be believed.
This kind of genre-mixing and redefining, incorporating hard rock, speed
metal, and even jazz is one that I’m sure is going to be a favorite for most of
you; it was released with one of the singles, so you must have heard it if you
are old enough. As for pop reviewers who
get suckered into songs for the beat, good or bad, here’s a hint to this song’s
beat:
 |
| Caption: Who the hell do you think I am? Someone who wouldn’t use this meme? |
What do you get from this?
6. Jamie’s Cryin’:
Now that we let off
some steam with Bennett...
 |
| I pretty much wrote myself here. |
 |
| Caption: Finally, a reference to One Piece here. |
7. Atomic Punk:
I want to see a
legitimate hard rock or heavy metal band have this title as their band name. Imagine all the attention that it would bring
to them. It’s evocative, it’s reflective
on current events, it gives off a retro feel because no one wants to be
creative anymore, instead wanting to rehash old stuff, it’s a reminder of
anything from societal to apocalyptic, it’s badass, it’s the embodiment of
“rule of cool”, it’s something that you’d expect from the rock genre instead of
some cutesy or emo name like “Falling In Reverse,” “Metro Station,” “Cute Is
What We Aim For,” “DNCE,” or even…
 |
| Wait, you want me to talk about the song? |
Okay then, the
song. Why I say this should be the name
of a legit metal band rather than be stuck to Van Halen tribute bands is
because of just how legitimately heavy this is.
Of the songs of the album, this is arguable among the five heaviest
(“Runnin’ With the Devil,” “Eruption”, and “Ain’t Talking ‘Bout Love” are
easily the first three, and I’ll get to the last one). Hell, it’s heavier than the three songs I’ve
mentioned in the parentheses-separated comment.
It starts with Eddie’s flanger-filled opening guitar line with light
cymbal bashing that gives this song its initial edge (which might have
influenced the opening to “Mr. Brownstone”).
That edge never disappears, as the main riff is nothing short of pure
metal mastery, with a tasty line filled with atomic menace, powerful chords,
and loads of whammy bar use. Then another
heavy riff comes in for Diamond Dave’s sleazy, rebellious, assertive vocal
delivery, proclaiming his status as top dog in the underworld, the ultimate
badass, the “Atomic Punk”. All will fear
him. Also fearful is the more aggressive
rhythm section, with pounding bass and drums to keep the energy pumping. All of this capped off with a strong guitar
solo that showcases both Eddie’s more aggressive side as a guitarist. It may not be as tasty or technical, but it’s
still as menacing as his earlier solos, if not more so (plus there’s some
massive dives and tremolo arm abuse).
This is a song to strut to in the middle of the night to classify
yourself as alpha dog. Alpha punk. THE ATOMIC PUNK. Plus that ending, where Roth screams at the
top of his lungs (not the bowels, mind you, this predates death metal) the
title, ending with a massive punch of guitar, bass, and drums is nothing short
of beautifully dangerous.
8. Feel Your Love Tonight:
How many of you know
“I Just Can’t Wait To Be King”? How many
of you know “Can You Feel The Love Tonight”?
How many of you haven’t seen The
Lion King? If the last one for you
was a strong “no”, imagine this happening to those two songs, and the tone is
closer to the former:
You get this Van Halen
staple. With its opening guitar line,
which could arguably be my favorite melodic guitar riff from this band ever,
this song kicks into gear with the necessary sexual energy to ensure that when
a couple hear this, they make plans to pork (blame Honest Trailers for that
one). And continuing that theme, David
Lee Roth sings about how this woman he met at the bar has him like this:
However, I’m sure for
most of you, this may make the song make more sense:
But this isn’t as
perverted as that wolf (nor The Mask), this is a lot more controlled, but still
horny. The mid-tempo beat from the bass
and the drums manages to keep this song from going overboard and blowing Dave’s
and Eddie’s collective loads (I’ll get to the latter), but Roth’s proclamations
manage to give the song the high sexual energy that this song is both notable
and beloved for. It’s catchy as hell,
and I swear you’ll be humming the riff and singing the chorus before this song
is over. Plus, until the third verse,
the guitar work is more controlled, with a more “are you sure this chick is
worth it” vibe until Roth’s mention of his work schedule, and probably getting
a glimpse of her assets and personality, gets EDDIE riled up. After that, he plays the guitar equivalent of
the moment when they get it on, with his amazing technique filled with legato,
bending, tapping, tremolo picking, harmonics, and whammy bar use before the
song decides to have the band’s excited voices drive the rest of the song to
the outro chorus. Overall, this is a
song that should have headlined its own single rather than be an album cut or
piggybank off another single. This is a
deserved classic. And it isn’t the last
time Dave shows his love for the ladies.
9. Little Dreamer:
Of all the songs on
this album, this is arguably the closest this album has to filler. Not to say it’s terrible, as it has a sort of
melancholic tone that fits when the party gets completely out of control, but
it isn’t something that would be desirable for said parties. But the sad part, this is arguably a more
notable ballad than “Jamie’s Cryin’”, which was slightly more pop metal decking
Arlong in the schnoz than power ballad.
The best part is definitely that guitar riff at the beginning, with a
mix of softer tones and heavy playing, establishing the darker tone of this
song. As for the lyrics, Roth croons
about how the person the title is referring to had all these goals and
ambitions and was unable to accomplish any of them. It’s rather depressing to think about, and
it’s somehow more relevant as time goes on.
I mean, it’s not as if my entire generation is that of little
dreamers. But if there are silver
linings to this song, it’s the instrumentation and vocal performance. With David Lee Roth’s deep croon, Eddie’s
guitar skills, and Michael and Alex’s bass work and drum work, respectively,
this song ends up as another showcase of their skills, all topped off with an
excellent solo from the guitar maestro.
The only flaw is that the chorus doesn’t stick as well as with the other
songs. In short, this isn’t an amazing
song, but it’s a good reflection on being unable to succeed if you were in the
situation the band sings about.
10. Ice Cream Man:
Here’s a surprise that
you should know about: this is a cover.
Apparently the song was originally recorded by blues artist John
Brim. Why is this important, because
this song, with its riff, vocal delivery, and very, very dirty lyrics evoke ye
olden days of the blues. What I mean is
that this song starts with a shuffle riff on acoustic guitar while David Lee
Roth channels his inner blues singer, singing about how his selection of ice
cream will satisfy a woman he’s into. To
review this properly, and for people to understand what I’m talking about, what
color is Vanilla Ice Cream? Why do you
think it’s the flavor of choice for jokes involving sailors, pirates, the Navy,
and so on? Anyone? Time to explain.
This song
uses the metaphor of the ice cream man to be about sex. It’s not as if you’d not be tipped off by Diamond
Dave singing about how he’ll make the girl feel cool (as in, she’s likely “hot”
when he stops by). And for a while I may
have confused one of the lyrics as mentioning vanilla when the lyric there
actually said “good lemonade,” which has me like this:
 |
| That’s somehow worse. |
And trust me, they get
a little dirtier, as he mentions stopping by at eleven o’clock, which I don’t
think is in the evening:
 |
| “Dude, she just had brunch.” |
But what if I read
that wrong, and it isn’t 11 in the morning?
 |
| “Isn’t ice cream better in the daytime?” |
But he has more than
vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry flavor.
He has them all and push-ups too:
 |
| Caption: Shock in 3, 2, 1… |
Yes, I feel he doesn’t
mean the frozen treats. Not sure if I
can make the song sound even more wrong if I could have. Of all the songs about lust here, I had to
analyze the one that’s going to ruin ice cream trucks for us. Or Push Up Pops in general. As for those Push Up Pops, it’s best to
assume that there are many possible flavors of them. Such as vanilla?
 |
| “Review the instrumentation. REVIEW THE INSTRUMENTATION!!” |
Okay, okay. Going back to the bluesy aspects of the song,
the opening acoustic guitar has a shuffle beat to it while Dave sings in a
huskier, crooning style that evokes the blues of old, which I already mentioned,
but I forgot to mention the moment when Roth says “All right boys.” At that moment, the rest of the band kicks in
and the guitars go from smooth to pulse-pounding electric with the bass and
drums plowing in as well.
 |
| “Why would you...” |
Musically! Not like that. Yeah, this song hits into overdrive and stays
that way for the rest of the song, including a very fast solo that mixes blues
with shredding, officially confirming that Eddie Van Halen is a guitar god not
to mess with. With its bends, bluesy
lines, fast alternate picking, and a tapping line or two, Eddie rocks the
house.
 |
| “Tapping? Like with...” |
When I said tapping, I
meant on a guitar! Seriously, how many
of you get triggered when words with sexual connotations are brought up? Or is it me having anime characters stand in
for PC-promoting millennials who would rather complain about sex in media and its
effects on the female psyche through Tumbler rather than loosen up and give in to pleasure, or
become like Miley Cyrus when their urges build up to the ultimate breaking point. News flash: You don't want to be like Miley Cyrus!
But seriously, this
song kicks ass, and its ending is great with the vocal line from Roth that
exudes charisma and stage-presence as well as sensuality and the old-school big
rock ending. Overall, it’s a fun song to
sing along to, but a dirty little ditty about being a sleazy ice cream
man. I’m sure that this won’t have any
effects on my ability to take people to take up the profession of ice cream
truck driver seriously or as moral defenders.
 |
| Caption: Wait, is that Rupert Grint? |
 |
| “Cheer up, Mikey. He’s doing theater.” |
I better finish this
review before things go overboard (I’m good without making a Klondike Bar
joke).
11. On Fire:
Ladies and gentlemen,
the final song on the album, and it’s a heavy one. With its opening guitar chords, this song
kicks into gear and never lets up for a second, with the pounding drums, bass
and vocal delivery. Each part all
contributes to one hell of a heavy metal anthem, dealing with themes of being
rock stars and dominating your world. It’s
loud, aggressive, and intense to boot, with several heavy riffs, Roth’s howling
vocals, filled with metal screams out the wazoo, and one hell of a slaying
guitar solo. The lyrics, as I’ve
mentioned, are pretty basic, dealing with how the band knows you’ll play their
song on the radio and even at home with your headphones on. It’s also about being as loud as possible,
matched by the aforementioned music. It’s
a great way to close this album and provide a sonic punch to your
eardrums.
And yes, like how a
metal anthem started the album, a metal anthem ends it. This makes this album closer to metal than
you’d think. Plus, it’s weird how I start
with dank memes. It’d be ironic if this
started memes.
And now for my final
thoughts. Most people have considered
this to be one of the greatest heavy metal and hard rock albums to have ever
come out. Any comments that can be
mentioned have already been mentioned.
What I can say about this album that has already been said? Almost everything. It isn’t perfect, but for what it is, it is a
breathtaking album that has, surprisingly, aged extremely well, being as fresh
today as it was in 1978. It hits hard,
it’s filled with energy, the guitar playing is revolutionary, the rhythm
section is stellar, and the vocals are a force to be reckoned with. Every musician here, Eddie Van Halen, David
Lee Roth, Alex Van Halen, and Michael Anthony, is at their a-game here. Where most other bands would do something
safe and part of a trend to start before doing the weirder stuff, this band
decided to do their own thing from song 1.
And helping matters is Ted Templeman’s production, which gives the album
its flair as well as its edge. Plus, the
recording techniques for this album gave it a sense of unpredictability as it
was recorded mostly life with most if not all imperfections and blunders kept
in the songs, giving off a raw sense of instant energy. The single sticking issue that may hurt the
album for some of you may be that this album, between “Eruption” and “On Fire,”
may have too many songs about making love and that being a theme that pervades
this album, despite only 3 songs in this cluster not being directly about sex
(other themes include being on your own, desiring more than a one night stand,
being the alpha, and broken dreams). To
me, that gives the album its rock ‘n’ roll credentials easily, so different
strokes for different folks. Plus, David
Lee Roth makes a better ladies-man than most of our current “artists,” so there’s
an advantage here. If it wasn’t for “Little
Dreamer” not being as catchy or memorable as the rest of the album, this would
have been a perfect 10, but songs like “Runnin’ With The Devil,” “Eruption,” “You
Really Got Me,” “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love,” “I’m The One,” “Jamie’s Cryin’,” “Atomic
Punk,” “Feel Your Love Tonight,” “Ice Cream Man,” and “On Fire,” or the entire
rest of the album, ensure its final rating.
In short, this is a rock and metal MUST OWN! If you don’t have it on Vinyl, Cassette, CD, or
even MP3, get it. If you haven’t
listened to it at all?
Final Rating: 9.5/10 (Guitar-driven
hard rock at its finest)
Next time on Let Them
Eat Metal:
Until
next time, this is the Rock Otaku. Live
Loud, Play Hard, and Eat Metal.
All used references
are done under the rules of fair use and are owned by their original creators.
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