Album Review: VAIN - Rolling With The Punches

01. Rolling With The Punches
02. Deliver The Passion
03. Long Gone
04. Dark City
05. Bury Some Pain
06. It's a Long Goodbye
07. Inside Out
08. Don't Let It Happen To You
09. Sacrifice
10. Show Your Love
11. Sip The Wine (Bonus Track)

Vain's debut album No Respect is an unsung classic. It's fantastic throughout and in addition to the magnificent title track, it boasts Beat The Bullet which is one of my favourite Sleaze Rock songs ever. Lead singer Davey Vain's voice is pure magic and perfect for this genre. Their second album was shelved by the label for many years as they had dropped the band, probably due to the industry concentrating on the Grunge scene. Vain's subsequent albums never really cut it for me. I loved the debut so much, I kept buying their albums, but I can't honestly say that any of them ever came close to rivalling that debut. The last record (2011's Enough Rope) is definitely the closest they got.

I didn't even realise that there was a new Vain album on the horizon until it was already out, which tells me that there was a micro-budget behind this release. The terrible artwork was also a bit of a giveaway. The first thing I noticed when I put the record on for the first time was the poor production. It's not horrendous, but the bar has been raised really high by a number of bands in this genre, so by comparison this album sounds cheap and dated. It's a shame, as it has some really good songs, such as Deliver The Passion, Dark City and Sacrifice. Davey Vain still sounds great too!

If they had a bigger budget and a production similar to Crazy Lixx, Steel Panther or Ratt's Infestation album, Vain could be making waves again. Unfortunately, with things the way they are, I can't see anyone caring about Rolling With The Punches who isn't already a fan.