Having toured with W.A.S.P and listing acts such as AC/DC, Free and Deep Purple, it should come as no surprise at all that Ratzmataz play hard rock with a touch of sleaze thrown in for good measure. This, the band’s first full-length albums since they formed in 2006, is a throwback to the days of the eighties when Guns ‘n’ Roses ruled the airwaves and proficiency was valued only insofar as it came hand in hand with the right attitude attached. Happily Ratzmataz have both attitude and proficiency in spades and ‘Global Revolution’ is liable to make fans hankering for the sexy sound of alcohol-fuelled hard rock choke on their beer and head for the mosh pit.
Opening with the title track it’s clear from the off that Ratzmataz are pulling no punches – a grooving riff is offset with chugging verses and spit ‘n’ polish vocals that are one part Brian Johnson, two parts Dave Mustaine , the vowels sneered and elongated with relish and then a brilliantly OTT solo is peeled out demonstrating that Loris Marchiori (who handles both guitar and vocals) is a more than capable guitarist. ‘It’s alright’ hardly slacks off the pace, the driving riff backed up by throbbing bass and lyrics designed to send the PC brigade running for the hills, their beige trouser-suits smoking in the sun light as Ratzmataz emerge from their underground layer, panties clasped between the teeth and a malicious, lascivious grin plastered across their leather-clad features. Short and to the point, ‘It’s alright’ barely makes it past the two minute mark, whilst ‘take me home’ heads off into Alice Cooper territory with its grinding riff and creepy vocals. Title of the year award, meanwhile, surely goes to ‘go to Gay Pride’, a track laden with irony that has a chorus that truly deserves to be sung by the stadiums of the world!
With its direct title and a spiritual link to the Deep Purple album of the same time, ‘Burn’ is a fast moving rocker that recalls ‘UYI’-era G ’n’R with its heavy riffing and hook-laden chorus and then the first of two power ballads is unleashed in the form of ‘angel’ a track that gives Aerosmith a run for their money with its vaguely eastern-sounding intro and a smooth, hard-rock central riff. It’s a ballad, indeed a power ballad, but it is delivered with style and it sounds far from cheesy despite the fact that you feel it probably should do. Like all good rockers, Ratzmataz know that having delivered a ballad, you need to bathe in its glory without overshadowing it and so ‘her love is stronger than my pain’ comes on like the incongruous love child of U2 and Meat Loaf yet sounding better than both (well, perhaps not ‘bat out of hell’… but then that’s an awesome song by any standard). ‘Nobody needs somebody’, meanwhile is a return to the days when tight trousers were the uniform of choice on MTV, Bon Jovi stickers were given away with kids’ cereal and Europe had only just slain an entire generation with ‘the final countdown’ and the best thing is it sounds fresh, vital and exciting. ‘Before sweet’ (which, we are informed, is a live studio-session) opens with a well-worn tom-attack whilst the guitars bask in the bluesy light of AC/DC at their darkest for a track that you can imagine going down well with hordes of denim ‘n’ leather-clad festival goers of an evening before ‘sweet lady’ kicks off a good-time vibe with the prime rock ‘n’ roll sentiment of “you drive me crazy” before the chorus invites mama to tell the band… well, something or other. It’s vibrant, energetic and delivered with just the right mixture of humour and passion so that you can take the band seriously (unlike Steel Panther) whilst still revelling in the OTT elements that make it all so much fun. ‘Too late’ is an after-hours ballad, powered with heavy riffs and loved-up sentimentality and then ‘Priscilla’ closes the album on a suitably radio-friendly ballad in the vein of Aerosmith’s ‘living on the edge’ – i.e. melodic, stick-in-the-head-like-bubblegum-in-hair chorus and huge guitars powering the whole thing forward.
Music has so many different functions it’s hard to credit someone who only ever enjoys one genre. Whilst in the right mood technical death metal, ferocious, politicised lyrics, or downbeat grunge can be exactly what you need to hear, there will always be a place for the good-time vibes and simple, sexy power of a great hard rock track – just ask millions of AC/DC fans worldwide the value of a good riff and a knowing lyric. Yet hard rock is the oft-overlooked genre, journalists forever chasing the next big thing and forgetting that there is rarely anything as powerful as the energy of a band who are simply very good. Ratzmataz are very good at delivering solid, powerful rock ‘n’ roll. They are not reinventing the wheel, nor (does one suspect) do they wish to. What they are doing is taking the best elements from Aerosmith, G ‘n’ R, AC/DC and Deep purple and moulding them into a one-stop shot of 80% proof heavy riffs, blinding solos, ass-shaking rhythms and brilliantly delivered lyrics. If you dig vital, adrenalin-boosting hard rock then give this band a spin, you’ll not regret it for a minute.
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