RATTLESNAKES

For a country that has the only credible claim to have invented heavy metal in the first place, the UK has a bizarrely cynical attitude towards its creation. While the rest of Europe delights in new and classic examples of old-school heaviness, the British metal press has become increasingly unlikely to treat power and traditional metal with the seriousness it deserves, the ubiquitous, too-big-to-be-ignored IRON MAIDEN and JUDAS PRIEST aside. It would be a slight overstatement to say that things are changing in that regard, but thanks to the emergence of bands like RATTLESNAKES, we may be entering a period where excuses for ignoring this stuff become too desperate to be tolerated. British to their core, and steeped in the traditions and musical identities of the aforementioned giants of the genre, this Nottingham-based quintet are very obviously the real, rampaging thing, and "Shadows In The Night" is an absolutely thrilling response to the frankly ludicrous notion that "old school" necessarily equates to "old-fashioned".

Assuming that you haven't been gulping down the '90s-obsessed Kool-Aid, RATTLESNAKES' debut album is guaranteed to set your leather trousers on fire. From the opening adrenalin rush of the title track, this is such an exhilarating, exuberant and effortless demonstration of heavy metal in all its bombastic glory that you may be forced to wonder how we ever got to the point where this kind of music was considered peripheral to mainstream metal's commercial core. Every one of these songs has a hook the size of Rob Halford's coat collection, and enough energy to power a thousand, precariously stacked Marshalls. The production is simultaneously glossy and raw, in the finest tradition of all those classic albums from the hallowed '80s, and the whole scintillating enterprise is infused with raging, celebratory attitude. RATTLESNAKES are fiercely proud to be an old-school heavy metal band, and it shows. Listen to the magnificent "Forever" — an instant, stone cold classic that sounds like several of your favorite bands at once — or the truly vicious and punishing "Destroyer", which sounds like MAIDEN after an amphetamine binge, and try to argue that metal really started in 1991 and grown men in colorful spandex is something that belongs solely in the past. It can't be done, primarily because this is genuinely fucking exciting and as vital and relevant as any self-consciously post-modern pop-metal crossover. More so, in fact.

The final icing on the top of this gloriously rowdy and energetic cake is the voice of frontwoman Rowena Neale. On first listen, I let more than one "Jesus fucking CHRIST!" slip from my lips, because RATTLESNAKES have gifted the world one of the most powerful and distinctive voices in recent metal history. Not since Noora Louhimo pinned us all to the wall when she joined BATTLE BEAST has there been a female singer with this much charisma and dynamic oomph. Whether it's the breathless speed metal sprint of "Breakdown" or the AOR-tinged splendor of the jaw-dropping "The Other Side of Midnight", Neale's vocals are an absolute revelation, and her bandmates seem to be audibly emboldened by her very presence. The high note she hits at the beginning of "Lost Nor Found" will have people throwing claws and horns with deranged abandon. Fucking WOW.

Listenable Records have unearthed something truly special here. RATTLESNAKES are already great songwriters — the progress made between their debut EP and this full-length is nothing short of startling — and their reputation as a formidable live act is gathering strength and momentum by the week. Ultimately, if you love heavy metal and would like to feel like you are tethered to a runaway train bound for Hell (but in a fun way),"Shadows In The Night" is the essential and life-affirming sound of now. Other styles of music are still available, of course, but none of them rip as hard as this. Hallelujah.