Lizzy Borden

It’s funny: I was excited when this latest from ’80s U.S. shock/glam/trad metallers Lizzy Borden showed up, then it took me a month to get up the gumption to listen to it. Clocking in at 53 minutes, it seemed too daunting. Will it be a cheese-fest in all the wrong ways? Well, the crazy high-pitched voice is still there, sounding like a try-out tape for Crimson Glory, and the metal is still melodic, hook-laden and oozing that sunset strip meets sub-par thrash metal from 1985 vibe. Songs like "The Death of Love” are undeniably catchy, but the crazy thing is it’s a lot like Dokken (true story: I just read in the liner notes that George Lynch plays guest lead guitar on that very song, while Dave Meniketti of Y&T and Hate Eternal’s Erik Rutan also show up). And yes, it is a cheese-fest, with little redeeming value besides a nostalgia trip, but it’s one best visited by exploring the band’s past catalogue. Because at least then they had the excuse that it actually was the ’80s.