With more than a passing resemblance to Iron Maiden, Boston, Rainbow and other hard rock bands of the 80s, Chrome Molly's latest album harks back to the glory days of classic rock.
In The Beginning/ Can't Be Afraid Of The Dark opens the album with a Maiden style riff, repeat with Dickinson air raid siren vocals from Steve Hawkins. Some Kind Of Voodoo channels an inversion of Since You've Been Gone for the chord structure, before exploding into a stomping sing a long chorus; which was exactly the point of the album according to Hawkins - “we wanted to make an album that made us feel like we did in the ‘80’s, one that you can turn up in the car and sing along and play air drums and guitar to.”
Chrome Molly certainly embrace this goal with knobs on, it's so awesomely inspired by the classic hair metal sound and cock rock antics, that at times it breaks out into Spinal Tap brilliance. 'We live for metal!' Hawkins cries with a mighty theatrical roar – it won't be long before you are tapping your desk, nodding your head like the Churchill dog, and flaying your arms around in a Wayne's World frenzy (oh yes.)
With the vision of creating an album which imbues the spirit of a much loved genre, there's even a who's who during Pillars Of Creation (Albion) that acknowledges all the greats from Led Zeppelin to UFO and beyond.
Imbued with the spirit of 1983, the album continues to burst with huge anthems like Rock For You and Dial F For Freakshow, each track being packed with monster chords, chugging bass-lines and choruses as big as the 80's shoulder-pads, hair and sock-stuffed trouser snakes. For those of us who hark back to a day when rock was fast, furious and fun, the Mollies retrospective on the halcyon days is a thoroughly enjoyable ride.
Groupie Rating: 3/5
