Friday 3 August 2018

Album Review: DEE SNIDER - For The Love Of Metal

Dee Snider - For The Love Of Metal

01. Lies Are A Business
02. Tomorrow's No Concern
03. I am The Hurricane
04. American Made
05. Roll Over You
06. I'm Ready
07. Running Mazes
08. Mask
09. Become The Storm
10. The Hardest Way
11. Dead Hearts (Love Thy Enemy)
12. For The Love of Metal

After his curveball 2016 solo album We Are The Ones, which incidentally I didn't like one bit, it's nice to not only hear Dee return to full on Heavy Metal, but a more savage, hard-edged, contemporary Heavy Metal. This is no doubt due to producer and Hatebreed front-man Jamey Jasta, who's really smashed it out of the ball park with this record.

By Dee's own admission, he didn't write anything on this record. Even the lyrics were written for him, albeit in his own style. I don't think that this is such a bad thing. Firstly, his last solo album was utter crap. Both Widowmaker and Twisted Sister had some great songs, but to replicate those musical styles in 2018 would make Dee sound really dated. I'm sure all of his fans who are over 50 would have liked that, but For The Love Of Metal is heavy and savage enough to appeal to a younger generation and keep Dee relevant. Having said that, some of the lyrics are a bit naff, and they really do come across like Dee had written them himself back in the 80's, most notably on I Am The Hurricane and Become The Storm. This is no big deal though as the songs are just so good.

The music is heavy and chunky as fuck, and for the first time in a very long time Dee Snider finally has some seriously badass Metal to sing over, which really highlights the fact that vocally, he is still one of the best. With Twisted Sister refusing to put out new music, and Dee not having the right team to work with, I feel his monumental talent has been wasted. Finally, he's back in the game.

For The Love Of Metal is a seriously strong album. My personal favourites include the 'Classic Metal-meets-Thrash' rampage of Tomorrow's No Concern, and the full-on Metal onslaught that is Roll Over You. Other stand-out songs include the title track which is both furious and anthemic, bringing to mind modern day Accept and Rob Halford's Resurrection album. Also, The Hardest Way which features a guest vocal from Light The Torch and ex-Killswitch Engage front-man Howard Jones, which is a monster of a track too. I have a feeling that my favourites will change over time as this is one of those records that is packed full of great songs and is very listenable as an album in its entirety.

I would go as far as to say that, aside from Twisted Sister's Stay Hungry album, this is the best record Dee has ever been on. The production is perfect, the songs are there, and somehow despite his age, his vocals are sounding better than ever. What more could I want from a Dee Snider record?

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