The Revenge of Alice Cooper – Bluesy Snoozefest or Shock Rock Revival?
The Alice Cooper band has returned with a new album titled The Revenge of Alice Cooper, 50 years after their breakup. An attempt of a shock rock revival or just a bluesy snoozefest? Let’s find out!
As mentioned, this is a record signed by the band, not by solo artist Alice Cooper. That makes it the eighth album in the career of this group and the first since 1973’s Muscle of Love. It should not be confused with the twenty-two releases that the legendary singer has put out under his own pseudonym.
Michael Bruce, Dennis Dunaway, Neal Smith, as well as Vincent Furnier himself, describe this album as what they had actually wanted to create instead of Muscle of Love back then, considering that release didn’t live up to expectations following the high bar set by the legendary Billion Dollar Babies, released earlier that same year in 1973.
The intention and idea to release an album in 2025 is certainly worthy of great respect, but when it comes to success, it seems to fall somewhere in the middle — one could say it’s a mixed result.
There are some interesting songs here, no doubt, but somehow too few. On top of that, the album is too long by today’s standards of consuming music, with its fourteen tracks. If they had cut it down by about four songs, it would’ve felt more solid. I’m mostly referring to songs like Money Screams, Intergalactic Vagabound Blues, What Happened to You, and I Ain’t Done Wrong — unnecessary bluesy stuff without any real vibe.
I simply can’t pretend I’m in the ’70s and that these kinds of tracks appeal to my taste and ears. Although, maybe they are some reheated demo versions from back then. Who knows.
On the other hand, what really works and deserves attention are the fantastic Kill the Flies, which is a classic Alice Cooper story with a ’70s feel, just enough to hypnotize you and really take you back to that time for a few minutes. One Night Stand also gives off similar vibes, with an extra dose of horror and something evil. Up All Night is a party rocker, while Black Mamba bites and spits venom on first contact. The surprise comes with the track What a Syd, while Crap That Gets in the Way of Your Dreams is a kind of joke track.
The album closes with See You in the Other Side, in which Uncle Alice literally says that we’ll be listening and rocking even when he’s no longer around: I’m gonna be with you on the other side / We’ll rock and roll all night away.
All in all, it’s likable at first glance, but as I said, kind of halfway there and with too many unnecessary songs.To make a person scared like it says on the cover? Not really.
Did you know?
- Robbie Krieger from The Doors plays on the song Black Mamba.
- Guitarist Glen Buxton, who was a member of the Alice Cooper band and passed away in 1997, can be heard on the track What Happened to You.
In short:
- Top three songs in my opinion: Kill the Flies, One Night Stand, and Black Mamba
- To skip: Money Screams, Vagabound Blues, What Happened to You, and I Ain’t Done Wrong
- Question: I don’t know what drives Alice to go back to recording albums with the old band when he already has amazing songwriters in his current lineup, like Tommy Henriksen, Nita Strauss, and Ryan Roxie. I’d rather hear what their guitars have to say!
- Album Cover: The cover is fantastically done. It looks like a teaser for some obscure low-budget horror movie. Definitely one of those “if this were back in the day, I’d have bought it just for the cover before even hearing it” kind of deals.
Rating: 8,5 out of 14
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