I graduated from High School in 1985 and at that time the epicenter of American Metal was Los Angeles and at the center LA Metal was Motley Crue and Ratt.
I first saw Ratt open for Iron Maiden, because of course their were no hard genre boundaries. Then it was all just metal. It was a great show. I was already a fan but became more of one after the concert. I remember outdoor keg parties with Ratt blasting out someones car stereo with all their doors and trunk open. It was the time of immortality.
Now Ratts' notorious front man has released a fantastic record called SMASH that many classifiers and taxonomists will put into a genre box.
The Album borrows some 80's sensibilities and gives you that feeling of summertime. It does however belong firmly in 2017 and is a much needed record.
I listen to everything from the late 60's through the blackest of black metal, but occasionally I crave something totally different and SMASH is just what the doctor ordered. I encourage anyone to cleanse their sonic palate with this record.
When the opportunity to interview Stephen Pearcy came up, I pounced and below is the audio from that interview:
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The Gauntlet talks to Stephen Pearcy of Ratt and his New Solo Album SMASH
In the 1980s aka the Decade of Decadence. There were two Genre choices NWOBHM and LA Metal. But there were no genre's then. It was all just SMASHed together.