Sounding thoroughly modern and self-aware, he comes back as a man who knows both life and the business he’s in. There surely were demons to be driven out on this record, and judging by the peaceful closer “Exquisite Tenderness”, Lee did manage to get some heavy stuff out of his system. The guitar answers her challenge with a measured, knife-on-glass nastiness - not as hysterical, but unhinged enough for the track to start resembling an exorcism. Here the industrial riff – slow and deliberate – serves as the launching pad for Brink going berserk in spasms of soul-baring paroxysm. “Slave” unravels this familiar-meets-the-unexpected game further: a 70s-style pop-metal tune clashes with jagged avant-garde guitar so that sparks keep flying while you are trying to figure how he can make a classic format sound so new.īut you have to wait for “Big Mouth” featuring guest vocalist Maria Brink for tension to reach the absolute apex. Even when he tackles traditional heavy metal as on “Wasted”, the slide solo takes the formula outside of the box and into open space. More exploration follows on “Fall from the Sky” where with almost child-like honesty the guitar tells a story within a story, digging so deep you know it’s the heart speaking, not the ego – a rare case with players of such phenomenal technique as Lee’s. Standout “Feeder” may boast banging verses and an instant-grip chorus, but when it comes to the guitar leads, you get the first taste of the rough-edged disquiet brewing underneath. And it’s not all party sparklers or metal riff-mongering. Soaring leads set over a powerhouse groove together cook up a good-time anthem to light up the choosiest radio waves.īut top-notch songwriting shouldn’t surprise you – Lee had enough time to accumulate a treasure trove of hooks and riffs during his downtime. On opener “Deceived” the chorus struts the vibe of Lee’s time with Ozzy with such swagger, and the hook delivers such a soulful payoff to Ratt, the pride he takes in his history couldn’t be more obvious. There is no getting away from one’s roots, though. Lee’s playing goes straight for the gut, bypassing the need to prove his shred god status or to recreate the past. But that’s not the only thing that tells you this album is about being yourself, and not what anyone expects you to be. The tunes are brand new, and so is the band which enlists his old friend Ronnie Mancuso on the bass, and the singer and the drummer who are no superstars but hard-rocking daredevils recruited through Facebook. Lee comes out of semi-retirement with a coup of an album.
Fifteen years after he last released original material, Jake E.
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