Danger Danger - Revolve
Low Dice Records
Melodic Rock
11 songs (48:22)
Release year: 2009
Danger Danger
Reviewed by Ben
Archive review

Shiiiiiiiiiiiiit, I'll be the first one to admit that my weirdly huge love for anything Danger Danger, is kind of, well, weird. To many folks in metal land, and this was myself for a long time too, this is one of the examples of the worst of the worst of dumbed down hair metal. The two big singles everyone "knows" are Naughty Naughty and Bang Bang. Thankfully, none of their other songs are as wretchedly titled. Once you get past the pretty awful eighties cock rock veneer, you run into some hidden talent. For one, the band has always had a strong sense of melody, two, they had a decent lyrical theme going on that consists of: chicks, poker and gambling metaphors, gun analogies and rock n roll, and three, they utilized keyboards pretty well for a cock rock band. Lastly, you had their original guitarist, Andy Timmons, shed the skin of glittery spandex and become a well respected Ibanez guitar player with his own signature guitar, replete with his own signature DiMarzio pickups.

Looking back on Revolve eleven years after it came out makes me realize that this was a really strong record for the time. Things had not been kind to the band. Bassist Bruno Ravel was doing producer work, Paul Laine, the singer who replaced original dude Ted Poley, was struggling, and I think Steve West was playing in whatever he could. Hell, before this album came out, the last studio release was crapped out in 2000. So, with the re-introduction of original singer Ted, and new guitarist Rob Marcello, the band finally records a new album. And lo and behold it's one of the better ones in their career and went nowhere!

First things first, this is NOT glam rock. Somewhere along the way, songwriters Bruno and Steve picked up a few things and they have morphed into a decent melodic rock group. Huge harmonies, lots of melody, and tons of virtuosic guitar solos fill this album to the brim. There are a couple of the prerequisite ballads, but they sound almost...indie rock? The reason I say this is because something like Fugitive is very minimalist with it's guitar and vocal arrangement, and Rocket To Your Heart sounds like something that could have been a sleeper radio hit. It has spacey sound effects which, oddly enough, are credited to former singer Paul Laine. As a person who despises ballads, this one is just quirky enough to pay attention to.

Two songs vie for the contender of "lead single in an alternate universe where this band gets singles in 2009" and they are the opener That's What I'm Talking About and track fo', Hearts On The Highway. The album opener is a rousing foot stomping anthem and heavily announces the comeback of the band. When I say this doesn't sound like cock rock, I mean it. Guitars actually sound crunchy and the drums aren't eighties sounding to the max. For the most part, That's What I'm Talking About is an excellent way to introduce the return of the band. Hearts On The Highway however is the sound of the band personified. This is just a monster of a song. Ted Poley's voice, while definitely not the most powerful, is truly unique and can carry a ton of emotion. Mix that with Rob Marcello's exuberant and excited guitar playing, and you get a "hit" single in said alternate universe. Two last big songs worthy of mention are F.U.$ (read: Fuck You Money, as in I need some) and Dirty Mind. F.U.$ is a broke man's paeon to the virtues of being rich. The lyrics are all pure fantasy escapism and somehow this has a slight melancholy vibe to it. Probably because no one is getting rich in Danger Danger. Dirty Mind closes out the album with a very poppy vibe. It's almost too sugary sweet with it's saccharine melodies, but when you listen to the lyrics it's actually pretty funny. The song is basically about attractive womenfolk the singer meets in real life and then he later jerks off while thinking about them.

For as enjoyable as Revolve is, and for how much it was heralded as a "comeback" album, this so far has been the only studio Danger Danger album released since 2000! Ted Poley has had a few recent solo albums, and then get this, everyone else in the band got old singer Paul Laine to jam with them and release music as The Defiants. Throw on top of this the fact that Danger Danger still does live shows with Ted Poley and even gets Andy Timmons every now and then to play with them. This is the type of incestuous band relationship I like! None of this Bobby Blotzer's Butthole Birthday Bash or having three versions of LA Guns out there touring at the same time.

Killing Songs :
That's What I'm Talking About, Hearts On The Highway, Keep On Keepin' On, Dirty Mind, Fuck You $
Ben quoted 74 / 100
Other albums by Danger Danger that we have reviewed:
Danger Danger - Live And Nude reviewed by Ben and quoted no quote
Danger Danger - Cockroach reviewed by Mike and quoted 87 / 100
Danger Danger - The Return Of Glider Sleeves reviewed by Chris and quoted 73 / 100
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