The Rods - The Rods
#414
September 1981
The Rods
The Rods
Genre: Holy Diver, Batman!
4 out of 5
Highlights:
Crank It Up
Nothing Going On in the City
Get Ready to Rock and Roll
Do not be deceived by the Ramones-esque cover. This is metal attack.
But let’s concentrate on the leader of this trio. David “Rock” Feinstein.
Is.
Ronnie James Dio’s cousin.
What?
Did Dio ever play with his cousin? Who, in another world, is revered for his guitar shredding and manic fingers. I don’t think I’ve heard a trio from this era with more power and energy besides Motorhead. Maybe I’m being hyperbolic but, holy crap can these guy bring it.
It’s cocksure rock and it’s sure listenable to those of us who dig this genre. But I’m not sure they are bringing anything new to the table. Maybe they were just fortunate that Arista wanted to branch out into the hard rock field and signed em.
Look at a track like “Music Man”. It’s a song, sure. And it goes on forever because Feinstein wants to noodle all over that endless outdo chorus. And from there we get to a very 70s psychedelic tune, “Woman” and it’s obvious that these guys are from a bygone era. They aren’t pushing anything forward, just basically catching up. I don’t know if they keep it up cuz I can see them catching the metal wave in a couple years and riding that lightning. But I wish they would decide what they want to be because Side Two opens with the best Judas Priest song Priest forgot how to do, “Nothing Going On in the City” (of course, it being the best track here…this guys didn’t write it).
But that doesn’t malign the rest of the record. This is a find for fans of this burgeoning metal sound.
https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-rods/1481110397
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