2014
Pardon the cheesy one-liner Party Animals, but you had me at "Fuck You Baby"! This balls-to-the-wall, sexy sleaze rocker opens up "Light a Fan Cool" and from that moment on lead singer Andre and her band-mates had me just where they wanted. This "100% Rock'N'Roll Band From Italy" takes a page or two from early Mötley Crüe on this brutally real opener. The only difference being Vince Neil and company never managed to put me in a situation where I was literally peeling myself off of the ceiling after a song like "I Wanna Get It All"! But for Party Animals, which first formed back in 2012 (releasing their debut-EP, "Rock 'n' Roll",later that year), it all comes across as oh-so-easy and sick & sleazy especially when you've got a kick-ass front-lady like Andre manhandling the mic! Fortune favored this Italian four-piece when, in May of 2013 after original lead singer Sabrina had vacated the position the previous February, Andre (of the well-known Italian metal band Ravenouse) stepped up to the challenge at hand and if their 10-track full-length debut album here is any indication at all then Party Animals should keep the good times going for a l-o-n-g, l-o-n-g time! Now, back in the late eighties/early nineties albums like "Light a Fan Cool"** would have been the talk of the town. At the time bands like Mötley Crüe, Cinderella, Guns N' Roses and Poison, all of which influence this hard rocking band in one way or another-from looks to hooks (along with the likes of W.A.S.P, Ratt, Twisted Sister, Kiss, Skid Row and AC/DC!) ruled the radio and MTV. That was then though and this is now. All of which begs the question then as to what can Andre and her cohorts (guitarist Max, bassist Gian and drummer Ile) hope to offer modern day rockers? Quite a bit as it turns out! Well, that's mostly if you're A) A long time fanatic of hard rock, hair metal, glam metal and sleaze metal (as in the long hair of yesteryear might be falling out and the denim jacket might be fading, but you still say proudly proclaim "I Love It Loud" and how you want "Nothin' but a Good Time"!) or B) A fan of the retro hard rock revival. Still, Party Animals packs a nice wallop and they could have easily fit into the collections of the "A" crowds and, thanks to the fact that this album is peppered with not only great rockers like (the aforementioned) "Fuck You Baby", "Damned Road", "Set Me Free" and "Hellfire"(just to name a few as this album is loaded-down with more gritty little rockers then you can wave a stick at!), but well-arranged ballads like "Lace And Spurs" (part Cinderella/part Bon Jovi), they could EASILY wipe the floor when it comes to the bulk of modern day hair metal bands (none of which have an Ace in their pocket named Andre!). Honestly I did not expect to love this one as much as I do now. When it first arrived the album cover gave me pause and the band's name*** didn't exactly have me drooling in anticipation. The music though is what matters. And the music here is everything you could ask for when you're talking about hard rock. These tracks offer hooks, well-arranged parts, cool choruses and more then anything serious ATTITUDE making them perfect soundtrack for your Friday and Saturday night activates! They are also the proper response for when people come up to you and try to argue something stupid along the lines of "women can't rock" or how every female fronted hard rock is as lame as Vixen (both of which I've actually heard within the last few months-man, we live in an ignorant world!). Italian hard rockers Party Animals are the real deal folks. Whether Party Animals can push on through here in the States does remain a question (you wouldn't believe the roadblocks in place for some bands when they find themselves ready to tour the U.S.-it's a story for another day though), but for now we have their debut album (which naturally comes highly recommended!) and maybe that will just have to do.
www.facebook.com/PartyAnimalsrock
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*Maybe it's these lines "I can't repress my arousal again. I'd like to taste you, would you like to taste me?" but there is just something about Andre that peaks my interest!
**Per the promo material: "Light a Fan Cool" is a wordplay based on the similarity with an expression from the band’s hometown (Udine) that means “Fuck off!”.
***Quite literally hundreds of cover bands from California to New York have used the name Party Animals so I'll admit that the group's choice of moniker could have been better.
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