Throwback Thursday: "Shout at the Devil", by Motley Crue

By 1983 a little known band by the name of Motley Crue had put out their debut album Too Fast For Love to some decent response, but they had yet to make much of a real splash. That all changed drastically however when those starry eyed glam metal kids wrote and recorded their sophomore effort, the still famous and considered classic to this day Shout at the Devil, after which things skyrocketed for them.

Shout at the Devil shows the band taking a MUCH heavier and darker sound than their previous album, which had basically been 70's glam rock but given some more driving and distorted guitar. The album featured such staples as "Shout at the Devil", "Too Young to Fall in Love", "Looks That Kill", etc. Needless to say, the overall sound of this album resonated much more with the market they were aiming for at the time.

"Shout at the Devil" is such an anthemic track. That opening riff backed by that slow pulsing hit on the bass drum and bass guitar just thunders through your body and makes you want to pump your fist and shout along with the band. This is definitely some of the most raw and primal song writing that bassist and primary Motley Crue song writer Nikki Sixx has ever done. That dark youthful energy just pummels this song to a whole new level.

The Crue also did a cover of the Beatles classic "Helter Skelter" on this record. Honestly in my opinion it is probably the best cover version of this song and comes second only to the original. It definitely has some serious balls to it with heavier guitars, louder rhythm, and howling vocals that come fairly close to Paul McCartney's. This cover really was a match made in heaven for Motley Crue.

Honestly, Shout at the Devil is one of the most important albums that Motley Crue ever put out. Had they not put it out when they did, they might not have made it as huge as they did. It has some of the best song writing and definitely much of Mick Mars's best guitar work of his entire career. They held nothing back when putting this to tape. This is one of the albums I would advise a new Crue fan pick up and listen to first.

Shout at the Devil, by Motley Crue receives 4 out of 5 stars.

Track List:

1. In the Beginning
2. Shout at the Devil
3. Looks That Kill
4. Bastard
5. God Bless the Children of the Beast
6. Helter Skelter
7. Red Hot
8. Too Young to Fall in Love
9. Knock 'em Dead, Kid
10. Ten Seconds to Love
11. Danger

Buy the album on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Shout-At-Devil-M%C3%B6tley-Cr%C3%BCe/dp/B076W9J4GP/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1522392502&sr=8-1&keywords=shout+at+the+devil