RATING: RRRR
LABEL: NAPALM RECORDS
REVIEW BY: ALAN
HOLLOWAY
Love him or loathe him,
there's no denying that Dee Snider is a bit of a legend in heavy
metal circles, from his work with Twisted Sister and his defiance of
the notorious PMRC to his Broadway, radio and TV work. Always larger
than life, he is who he is and anyone not with the program is free to
fuck off and find their own way.
The unsubtly titles
'For The Love of Metal' sees Snider at his snarling, heavy best, with
twelve tracks that are heavy yet not offensively so. The titles tell
you all ypu need to know about Snider's current attitude with 'Lies
Are A Business', 'American Made' and 'I Am The Hurricane' letting you
know that what's coming is going to be uncompromising. Featuring
contributions by members of such bands as Lamb Of God, Killswitch
Engage and Arch Enemy, and produced by Hatebreed vocalist Jamey
Jasta, 'For The Love Of Metal' has a pedigree most would sacrifice
their first born for.
As you can see from the
score, this all works very well indeed. At the core is Snider
himself, as he should be, who still has a fine voice for fast paced,
aggressive metal, although he doesn't have the high notes of the old
days. This gives the album less of a pop feel and roots it firmly in
metal territory. That said, there's plenty of melody, as no song is
allowed to go too over the top. Perhaps the lightest track is lead
song 'Become The Storm', which you can check out on YouTube. It's a
good indication of what you're in for with the rest of the album.
'For The Love Of Metal'
is a fine example of a classic rocker coming back and giving his all,
with music that straddles the old and new eras of Snider's career
admirably. There's no instant anthems but it still manages to hook
you on the first listen purely because of a decent songwriting,
playing and singing. Dee still wants to Rock, and I'm glad.
