A lot may have changed in the years since the last
Lizzy Borden
album,
Master of Disguise
, but the band, bless their souls, have stuck to their heavy-metal-meets-glam-in-a-dark-alley aesthetic. That's consistency for you. Not to mention an enviable ability to stay blind to musical trends. After disappearing for nearly a decade, thanks to legal wrangles, and then regrouping with a new lineup,
Lizzy
still sound like the missing link between
Skid Row
and
Iron Maiden
. The songs are simplistic, the guitars are over the top, and the lyrics are standard-issue
metal
schlock. Which are minor misdemeanors considering that the album packs in more hooks than a fisherman's kit. With its crunchy anthems, stomping choruses and overall fondness for pedal-to-the-metal excess
Deal With the Devil
is as infectious as chicken pox. On two tracks,
aim to stretch their wings --
"Zanzibar"
wears its Eastern influences on its sleeve;
"We Only Come Out at Night"
adds a dash of industrial rock to the mix. There are a couple of covers that make up in vigour what they lack in originality: a torqued up, take-no-prisoners run through
Blue Oyster Cult
's
"(This Ain't) The Summer of Love"
and a version of
Alice Cooper
's "Generation Landslide" that manages to replicate much of the sneery edge of the original. And, yes, there's some great cover art by
Todd MacFarlane
as well. Loud, flashy, unpretentious, and with not a single
ballad
in sight,
is good, cheap fun and proof that
grunge
never happened. ~ Leslie Mathew