Ratt - Infestation

Yep, this is the same Ratt from the platinum Pop Metal height of the 80s to the depths of 90s to endless retro-tours in the 00s.  Vocalist Stephen Pearcy, guitarist Warren DeMartini and drummer Bobby Blotzer are joined by recurring bassist Robbie Crane and new guitarist Carlos Cavazo (ex-Quiet Riot) for was is easily the best Ratt album since Invasion of Your Privacy.  No, this isn’t a sick joke. It’s Ratt and Roll folks.

Ripping right open with “Eat Me Up Alive,” Ratt proves there are out to claw at your ears.  With a chugging riff and Pearcy sounding spectacular even with a bit more gravel in his voice, the track proves to be a great head-banging anthem. Both DeMartini and Cavazo drop some nice shredding and Crane’s bass sounds like a diesel engine rumbling along.  The Pop Metal sensibilities come right back into play with “Best of Me.” But this isn’t the Pop junk that clogged up their late 80s albums.  It’s got a groove, grinding guitars, pulsing bass, a chorus with a mean hook and everything else that used to top charts. 

“A Little Too Much” combines the best of the previous two tracks and continues the jaw-dropping awesomeness. Again the shredding is top shelf and Pearcy snarls out some provocative lyrics.  Things get even better on “Look Out Below.” The grinding riffs and throbbing rhythms make for Ratt at their heaviest. But it’s “Last Call” that brings the pack back to Pop Metal bliss. A faster tempo and punchy riffs make for a song that should close out every Rock n’ Roll bar from now on.  The song teeters between chugging grooves and bluesy rock but never lets up the momentum. The song’s melodic hook is mind-blowing the track has got so much swagger that chicks could start dancing. 

What is perhaps the theme to driving home after three-days of straight partying; “Lost Weekend” could smooth out a hefty hangover. The big chorus might be a bit much, but the song continues to drop those vicious Ratt hooks that continue Infestation’s command of your stereo. “As Good As It Gets” probably should have been the name of this album, but the slow, sleazy rocker just owns and the song’s solos are among the best on the album. “Garden of Eden” let’s Pearcy snarl out “I’ve got a bad reputation” and that reputation Ratt has from contemporary crud like “Way Cool Jr.,” just got put to bed.  Again Ratt turns up the groove and heavier riffs to grind out a sinister vibe and a hellacious track.

The slightly silly lyrics of “Take a Big Bite” can’t sour the sizzling guitars, slick melodies and grand slam grooves.  And right before it seemed like there wouldn’t be one on Infestation, “Take Me Home” pops up as the gratuitous ballad.  But this one injects a lot of pow into Power Ballad.  Blotzer’s drums never let up, the chorus still has plenty of room for some hard hitting riffs and slaying solos.  And then the party returns with the roaring “Don’t Let Go,” which closes out the disc on the same level as it opened.

How it was possible for Ratt, to in 2010, let loose an album that should have and could have been released after Invasion of Your Privacy is unfathomable. Sure, the production has more of bite and would be a smidge too heavy for mid-80s Rock standards, but Infestation mops the floor with the still-worthy Dancing Undercover and dismisses the clunky Reach for the Sky, dull Detonator and 1999’s forgotten bluesy-return, Ratt.  Seriously, Infestation sounds like a lost album.  And if you want to rock and party, it will be a hard choice between spinning the triple-platinum Out of the Cellar or Infestation.  That is how good and ultimately surprising this album is.

Ratt is older, wiser and now thankfully wearing leather instead of spandex.  Infestation is one of their best and any fan of their first two multi-platinum masterpieces will love this disc.  It may have taken nearly 10 years and several tours and line-up changes to get going, but the reunited Ratt is alive and kicking not only our asses, but their “greatest hits only” peers still languishing around on summer stops in half-filled amphitheaters. So go find a hot chick unafraid to tease her hair and cement it in place with Aqua Net, hit up the local pub’s Retro Rock Night and party hearty.  Whether the jukebox spins 1984’s hit “Round and Round” or 2010 hit “Last Call” is your choice.  You can’t go wrong with either. Highly recommend and classic Ratt and Roll!

Release Date: April 20, 2010
Label: Loud & Proud / Roadrunner

TRACK LISTING

1.  Eat Me Up Alive
2.  Best of Me
3.  A Little Too Much
4.  Look Out Below
5.  Last Call
6.  Lost Weekend
7.  As Good as it Gets
8.  Garden of Eden
9.  Take a Big Bite
10.  Take Me Home
11.  Don’t Let Go

Total playing time:  42:14

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Reviewer: Rottenbucher

February 11, 2011

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