CD REVIEW: RATT "Infestation"

CD REVIEW: RATT - "Infestation"
Rating: *** 1/2 out of *****

Randy “The Ram” Robinson: “God — they don't make ’em like they used to.”
Cassidy: “F—’ ’80s man, best s— ever.”
…
Randy “The Ram” Robinson: “Then that Cobain p— had to come around and ruin it all.”
Cassidy: “Like there’s something wrong with just wanting to have a good time?”
Randy “The Ram” Robinson: “I’ll tell you somethin’, I hate the f—’ ’90s.”

The dialogue from Darren Aronofsky’s 2008 film The Wrestler — where the two main characters are bonding over the RATT song “Round and Round” and a love of the ’80s — is the first thing that came to mind when listening to RATT’s latest album, Infestation.

While not mind-blowing, the CD (released more than 10 years after the 1999 self-titled reunion album) captures the rock ’n’ roll excess exhibited by Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard, Dokken, and even RATT itself, that made the ’80s so cool (albeit with some raspier vocals from founding member Stephen Pearcy and cleaner production).

From the opening metal riffs of “Eat Me Up Alive” to the album’s closer “Don’t Let Go,” there are enough memorable moments on Infestation that it may even surpass the band’s early classics, Out of the Cellar and Invasion of Your Privacy, that helped spawn the hair-metal genre.

Read the FULL REVIEW on The Daily Iowan's website.