Star*Rats – Screw The Consequences

site | label | buy

For their third album Denmark’s Star*Rats signed to Sweden’s SwedMetal Records and have shown they are what Velvet Revolver should have been; the kind of slightly anguished, sleazy vocals that characterised early ’90s grunge over the heavy glam riffs of Mötley Crüe. Massively heavy, sleazy riffs, almost metal-like in some cases, like Who Cares?, Brand New Soul, Boozehound (featuring Zodiac Mindwarp guitarist Cobalt Stargazer), Get Nasty and I Could Die Here, alternate with punk-influenced rockers like Raise Your Hands To Rock, Loosin’ It and Psycho You, with occasional Guns N’ Roses-class like Land’s End with a superb solo and great male/female harmonies (guest vocals from Danish pop-rock star Celina Ree). The heavy, punked-up version of Bon Jovi ballad I’ll Be There For You doesn’t work at all, but that’s the only real weak link. The punk-influenced songs tend to sound fairly similar, but no two are back-to-back, so this is not as noticeable as it could have been. The grinding, heavier numbers are easily the best though (as well as Land’s End) and the production and playing hit the mark on everything. A very solid, very enjoyable listen.

Written by Andy Lye
More: Albums, Hard Rock, Quick.Play Reviews, Star*Rats