Maximum Metal Rating Legend

No matter what the current state of affairs the Ratt camp is in...and believe me that is a mess I'm not even bothering to sort through here...Pearcy still remains really active. Since 2000 he's had six studio albums including this new one, 'Smash', a book and live tours. It makes sense that eventually Pearcy finds his way to Italy's Frontier Records label. The company has seemingly taken over hard rock with an emphasis on resurrecting a lot of 80's hard rock and AOR. Like last week's Jack Russell's Great White album, Pearcy weighs in with another quality effort that should please fans looking for that classic Ratt sound. With cuts like "Jamie" and "I Can't Take It" (the latter mixed by longtime Ratt man Beau Hill) that Ratt signature sound is clearly evident. It's mid-tempo fluffy hard rock with Pearcy sounding as if he's really just having a ton of fun with it. The music has room to breathe and guitarist Erik Ferentinos co-wrote a lot of this stuff for that purpose. While the rock rocks, the ballad "Summers End" to close the show is a dramatic staple. Overall, this is an incredibly enjoyable rock and roll album that I can't stop playing.