Stephen
It's already more than a decade since their last eponymous studio album in 1999 and I never thought they'd come back and put out another record, but this time they surprised me twice. They reunited, and they unleashed a super killer release. Carlos Cavazo, who's famous with Quiet Riot, filling in the late Robbin Crosby's shoe, and with an unsettled dispute with original bassist, Juan Croucier, Ratt decided to keep Robbie Crane, their long time bassist from 1997's Collage era. "Infestation" will take you back to their glorious era with thick and naughty riffin' from the twin guitar attack, Pearcy's raspy and sleazy howl, and Blotzer's blasting beat. The sound production is awesome and clean.
"Eat Me Up Alive" kicks off with a memorable riffs and furious rhythm, this one will blow you instantly and emerged strong as the greatest song. The next big thing is "Best of Me", a midtempo commercial rocker with a gorgeous chorus. "A Little Too Much" is a bodyshaker tune packed with a wild-and-wacky guitars and catchy chorus. "Last Call" is a wonderful upbeat track, and again, with a superb chorus. "Take A Big Bite" displayed a stunning duel between DeMartini and Cavazo. The rest of the songs are also well written and interesting, some were taken from the classic hits pattern such as "You're In Love", "Lovin' You Is A Dirty Job", or "Lay It Down". Several other great tracks to watch here are "Look Out Below", "Lost Weekend", and "Don't Let Go". I found the weakest track here is the ballad, "Take Me Home", and it doesn't surprise me as I always think from day one, Ratt isn't a good ballad author, considering their best one, "Givin' Yourself Away", is actually was written with Diane Warren.
This is a magnificent return-to-form attempt by one of the glam metal pioneer and the vocal, the guitars, the songs, are just tight and amazing. If you take away the modern sounding element from this album, this can simply be a record falls between "Reach For The Sky" and "Detonator", so if you're a fan of those two albums, "Infestation" is pretty easy to swallow. If you like those earlier efforts, this is also still a highly-recommended album, but you might need a little more time to digest the updated sound, but overall, this is the album the fans wanted. Welcome back, Ratt!