Motley Crue - Shout At The Devil

Released in 1983

Shout at the Devil is Motley Crue at their hardest and sleaziest – you can almost smell the smoke and alcohol in the air as you listen to this album. To some fans, this was the high point of their career – gritty and heavy rock with little commercial undertones. While I think there are definitely some album highlights worth listening to, I'm not one to place this album on a pedestal.

The controversial and sometimes borderline satanic lyrics within this album are by no means convincing, nor do I think they were ever meant to be. This album tries almost too hard to push societal buttons, and whereas in today's music scene the lyrics would hardly raise an eyebrow back in the early 80's they were actually quite shocking to some. There is little doubt that these rockers were hard boozers and druggies, but beyond that their attempts at pushing the envelope rings a bit hollow.

You will hear the definitive Motley Crue sound throughout this album, but it's a grittier and more aggressive Crue than you might have experienced when they started achieving commercial success in their three successive albums. While it seems the boundaries of metal continue to be pushed further with each generation, at the time Shout at the Devil was one of the hardest metal albums to have been created. Even today it maintains its fury, though it's far, far more accessible than what we consider to be extreme metal by today's standards.

Some of the album highlights are:

• Too Young To Fall In Love – Perhaps the most accessible song on the album, this rocker has addictive musicianship, solid vocals and a fantastic chorus.
• Shout At The Devil – High octane metal with a chorus that makes you want to pump your fist in the air. Classic 80's metal.
• Bastard – A sleazy, adrenaline-fueled rockfest that should satisfy any fans of the Crue.
• Helter Skelter – This remake of the Beatles' original takes the song to a new level.

Fans of 80's heavy metal should enjoy this solid album. Although Motley Crue became known as a hair metal band, I consider Shout at the Devil a bit too hard-edged and gritty to fall into the hair metal category as their later albums would. Either way, it's accessible in its fury and if you can overlook the attempts at controversial "bad ass" posturing, you'll very likely enjoy this 80's classic.

Rating: 7

Track List In the Beginning Shout at the Devil Looks That Kill Bastard God Bless the Children of the Beast Helter Skelter Red Hot Too Young to Fall in Love Knock 'Em Dead, Kid Ten Seconds to Love Danger Shout at the Devil (Demo Version) Looks That Kill (Demo Version) Hotter Than Hell (Demo Version) I Will Survive Too Young to Fall in Love (Demo Version) Looks That Kill (Video)

Additional Resources

• Too Fast for Love Review
• Theatre of Pain Review
• Girls, Girls, Girls Review
• Dr. Feelgood Review

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