Ratt – Infestation

A welcome return to the scene for the band with this release. One glaring fact about this record is that the production, especially on percussions, is stellar. 14 years later and I still have to turn my radio down when a song from this release begins playing on my ipod. It still has the cheesy moments one has to expect from this band, but the guitar work is on par for DeMartini, and the structure and melodies are actually better than any of their other efforts. The lyrics could be better (I know that's not saying a whole lot considering it's RATT), but they're not quite up to snuff with their prior contributions. You can tell that some effort was actually put into this one which is more than one can say about the 1999 self-titled heap of garbage that was 'Infestation's predecessor. I don't believe that taking a decade or more in between studio albums has shown to produce better music than the 60s, 70s, and 80s way of releasing a new studio LP every two years. I can't think of any album that took more than 5 years to come out that is better than the bands' earlier records. 'Chinese Democracy' is a prime example. As a postscript, do yourself a favor and the Japanese bonus track from this LP entitled 'Scatter'. It is THE best song from these recording sessions and is in my personal Top 5 RATT Tunes Ever list, for what that's worth. That song should've been on the worldwide release as well as being the first single. It's way beyond anything else on here and certainly the best thing they've written since 'Nobody Rides For Free' from 'Ratt & Roll 8191' and the 'Point Break' soundtrack.