SMOKING SNAKES

As much as we all like to pat ourselves on the back for having impeccable taste in music, there are certain uncomfortable truths that no amount of cooler-than-thou posturing can disprove. Heavy metal comes in all stripes, of course, but the glam / hair metal movement of the '80s had a vast and enduring impact on everyone that strayed into metal's airspace during that decade. It is easy enough to point to genres and subcultures that hit harder and deeper, and there is no denying that a lot of the music from that era has dated poorly, but every self-respecting metalhead should have a little room for MOTLEY CRUE, RATT and W.A.S.P. in their heart.

Leather-clad upstarts from the mean streets of Gothenburg, SMOKING SNAKES certainly know their history. Audibly reveling in the opportunity to drag the glam metal sound screaming into the present day, they have the boomy drums, caustic guitars and riotous gang vocals that typified the '80s scene, as well as an admirable surfeit of songs that draw directly (and convincingly) from that earlier era. "All Lights On" is their second full-length album, and it is both a remarkable throwback and an invigorating slice of unapologetic, timeless and in-your-face hard rock. The hooks are huge, the riffs are sleazy, and the whole thing reeks of Sunset Boulevard. More importantly, SMOKING SNAKES never sound hogtied by nostalgia, despite the inch-perfect drum sounds and general air of whisky-sodden debauchery. "All Lights On" has plenty of contemporary power to back up its central conceit.

These are all great songs, too. SMOKING SNAKES may have spent more hours than is strictly sensible listening to RATT's "Out Of The Cellar", but their songwriting hints at a slightly more diverse array of inspirations. "Don't Touch" owes a sizeable debt to Blackie Lawless and early '80s JUDAS PRIEST but still scores highly on the sleaze-o-meter; "Trick Or Treat" is a backstreet brawl between SCORPIONS and QUIET RIOT; and the gloomy, tearstained "Look In Your Eyes" is a midtempo power ballad with a chorus that recalls several big songs from 40 years ago. But far from descending into pastiche, SMOKING SNAKES imbue everything with their own surly personality and a rugged, snotty heaviness that most original era glam metal bands studiously avoided with their reedy guitar tones and tinpot drums.

The greatest moments arrive when SMOKING SNAKES relax and let their swagger take over. "Screaming For More" is a stealthy, strutting thing, full of dogmatic power chords, rowdy backing vocals, and effortlessly cool lead guitar breaks; "Nasty & Wild" lives up to its title, sounding not unlike "I'm A Rebel"-era ACCEPT and letting fly with a euphoric chorus that oozes priapic menace; and "Pleasure & Pain" is flawless, muscular cock rock with plenty of dirt under its fingernails. If there has been a more convincing attempt to resurrect the music and attitude of commercial metal's '80s heyday in recent times, I am yet to hear it. SMOKING SNAKES sound like the real thing, because they are the real thing, and "All Lights On" is an absurdly entertaining rock 'n' roll triumph.