Label: Universal Music AB
Released: October 3, 2007
Even as an undercurrent to mainstream rock, a glam revival was one of the last things I expected to see. But this year has proved that a genre that was crumbling under its own bloated self twenty years ago might still have a little bit to offer. Sure, it’s full of “reunions” where one original member is trying to cash in on past success that they often never deserved in the first place. The big glam event of the year, Rocklahoma, was a nostalgia fest at best despite its commercial success, because it focused on the has-beens. What it ignored was that some things going on in the glam scene have more to offer than just the past. The latest Hanoi Rocks is a change in tone, yet one of their best albums, the Gypsy Pistoleros have infused old sleazy hard rock with a Latin flair and now Crashdïet has shown that a little youthful energy goes a long way even when rehashing the stupidity of a shallow genre.
Silly stage names and umlauts didn’t bode well for Crashdïet and while there’s nothing musically new about The Unattractive Revolution, it’s clear from the opening track that they have enthusiasm for what they’re doing. Granted the revolution is a fake and the lyrics, while pretty literate by hair metal standards, are an inane treatise on hedonism, but that does little to interfere with their high-energy rock experience. At their best, they mix the heaviness of metal with the swagger of sleaze, walking a line that most of their predecessors never attempted in lieu of the slick soulless formula. They do get off track at times, sounding a little too much like Motley Crue here (minor flaw) and drawing a little too much from Bon Jovi there (major flaw), but these moments are the exception rather than the rule. It may be of note to some that Mick Mars helped out on two tracks, but his skills being what they are, it isn’t really noticeable.
While I don’t think you can trade intoxication for salvation as Crashdïet would propose, you can trade passion, even somewhat misplaced, for a new sound…at least sometimes. For whatever reason, Crashdïet gets away with it on The Unattractive Revolution. If you like to spend a lot of time in the superficial world of glam, Crashdïet is a much better alternative than the Bang Tangos and Faster Pussycats of the world who stake their claim to the past on one original (often old and tired) member.
Rating: 6/10