Label: Frontiers Music Srl.
Release date: 5. 11. 2021
Production: Danny Rexxon
Length: 44.34 min
Genre: Glam Metal Revival/Hard Rock
Rating: 8.5/10
Crazy Lixx are one of the most convincing bands of the new era when it comes to reviving eighties hair and glam metal. The Swedish quintet from Malmö, under the tireless leadership of chief visionary, composer, producer and singer Danny Rexxxon, is hitting us after 14 years in the game with yet another fresh-sounding, fired-up record: their seventh studio album overall, »Street Lethal«.
No debate. If any band belongs at the very top of the most credible acts reheating the old hard rock stew and digging through eighties clichés, it’s Crazy Lixx. They have an unbelievable knack for repackaging (already heard) stuff in new wrapping and serving it up as the freshest-smelling, crunchiest treat around. «Street Lethal» is, in fact, another in a string of the band’s outstanding achievements, the kind you can instantly label a proper ‘party time’ album, landing among the music-loving masses at exactly the moment when times are getting pretty weird and unpleasant, and a carefree, sunny musical spirit is needed most.
On the new record, too, the band has delivered some seriously strong moments that could grow over the years into a full bouquet of treats and become staples of their live sets. Even though eleven tracks are listed on the album, only nine are what a fan of the band would truly expect. The album opens with a one-minute instrumental intro, and Final Fury, sitting somewhere in the middle as the album’s second instrumental, works more like an (imposed) prelude to the excellent title track than something that absolutely had to be on the new album.
Danny Rexxon is not running out of creative fire or incredible inspiration. Keep in mind that Danny previously wrote an entire album for British singer Chez Kane, which came out this March and, even as 2021 winds down, is still considered one of the best hard rock releases of the year (RockLine review). And he keeps that fire burning on »Street Lethal« too. The first part of the album rides in on the wings of ‘napalm sprinkling’ with the adrenaline-pumping assault Rise Above, which grabs you with a leaping, ultra-musical pomp in the chorus. Next comes the socially critical and partly mockingly parodic Anthem For America (especially if you watch the video that goes with this single), with the biggest dose of eighties glam/hair metal in its bones. There are moments here that once again remind you Rexxon and the gang went to school on Def Leppard. The same goes for the strongly anthemic Power, and, in the second half of the album, Caught Between Rock ‘N’ Roll (this excellent track, with its southern-flavored intro, was contributed by guitarist Chrissie Olsson) and In the Middle of Nothing. The mid-tempo Reach Out follows the melodic development of Journey at their best, while its character, partly thanks to Rexxon’s vocal approach, leans toward Bon Jovi.
After the atmospheric instrumental ‘time filler’ Final Fury, which is really more of an intro instrumental and a welcome addition on the B-side of the vinyl edition, Crazy Lixx hit you with one of the strongest tracks on the new album. That’s the title track, a three-minute wrecking ball, easily the most ruffled-up cut on the record and also its darkest moment. The closing stretch of the album, its final finale, is especially tense and powerfully expressive. Stamped with authority. One Fire – One Goal is one of the album’s most seductive and convincing songs, and in vibe and structure it’s the equal of the opening Rise Above. In other words, the two tracks could easily swap places on the tracklist. But above all, the closing, almost seven-and-a-half-minute Thief In The Night is a story all its own on this album. Here the band allowed itself more eighties AOR aesthetics in the arrangement (synthesizer sound), and the song really stands out for its extended outro, built from a series of brilliant guitar solos that Lundgren and Ollson trade wildly and sensually, and that deal in an incredible build-up of mood toward a brilliant closing crescendo. The outro itself is one of the album’s peaks, and it makes it easy to hit play on »Street Lethal« from the top again (and again, and again).
What can you say in closing this essay, whose lines were written by the author in bursts of enthusiasm and sunny spirit, which is exactly what the new Crazy Lixx album embodies in every way? Few come close to them. Few among the revivalists. Simple as that. »Street Lethal« is yet another in a string of extremely strong studio achievements that keeps Crazy Lixx riding the crest of a giant wave of creativity as one of the leading Scandinavian bands of glam metal and hard rock revivalism, with only the cherry on top still missing. Namely, catching them (again) on stage as soon as possible!
Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Tracklist:
1. Enter The Dojo
2. Rise Above
3. Anthem For America
4. The Power
5. Reach Out
6. Final Fury
7. Street Lethal
8. Caught Between The Rock N’ Roll
9. In The Middle Of Nothing
10. One Fire – One Goal
11. Thief In The Night
Line-up:
Danny Rexon – vocals
Chrisse Olsson – guitar
Jens Lundgren – guitar
Jens Anderson – bass
Joél Cirera – drums
