Rust n' Rage: Showdown

If, like me, you are yearning for the good old times when the name Mötley Crüe was associated with good fun and catchy melodies rather than constant bickering and dirty confessions, you should go and grab Rust n' Rage debut called Showdown. It may not be what Shout at the Devil or Dr. Feelgood were for the Crüe guys, but quality-wise it's certainly somewhere between Theatre of Pain and Girls, Girls, Girls.

The perverse thing is, obviously, that the members of Rust n' Rage weren't even born when Theatre of Pain and Girls, Girls, Girls were first released. These four Finnish youngsters who are now in their twenties certainly did their homework, though, and carefully listened to all classic hair metal records (taken, I believe, from their dads' collections). You can sense this when listening to the highlights of Showdown, namely: the powerful opener "Secret Highways" (track #1, "Road to Nowhere", is just a short instrumental piece that works pretty nice as an intro), the unbelievably energetic "This Time" or the more lengthy and unpredictable "Black Rose" that closes the album.

Thankfully, Rust n' Rage aren't simply Mötley Crüe impersonators and they are happy to throw several more hard'n'heavy inspirations into the mix – for example, some convincing Iron Maidenesque guitar work (listen carefully to the aforementioned "Secret Highways" and you'll have no problem finding some of it right there). The musicianship throughout the whole album is fine – not genius, mind you, but they're young boys, they can get there yet! – and I like the carefree vocals of Vince quite a bit. Perhaps you can't really say that Showdown is one of those all-killer efforts, as it's fairly easy to point out several greatest songs on it, but it shows great potential for the band and I believe when the follow-up is released some time in the future, it may seriously mess up my Top Hair Metal Bands list!

Tracklisting:
1. Road to Nowhere (Instrumental)
2. Secret Highways
3. Hotter Than You
4. Locked n' Loaded
5. This Time
6. Hit the Ground
7. Thrill Me
8. Where the Angels Go to Die
9. Hollow Life
10. Sounds of the City
11. Black Rose

Added: February 7th 2013
Reviewer: Bartek Paszylk
Score:
Related Link: Band Facebook Page
Hits: 2449
Language: english

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