Warrant was one of the most popular and successful rock bands to emerge out of Hollywood, CA in the late 80's and early 90's. In 1989, they released their debut ‘Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich’, which immediately entered the charts and launched the hit singles “Down Boys,” “Sometimes She Cries”, and “Heaven”, which climbed up to number two on the US charts. They toured hard and soon that album had racked up sales of more than two million within the States alone. In the summer of 1990, their second album ‘Cherry Pie’, was released with even greater success and the singles “I Saw Red” and the rock anthem “Cherry Pie” received massive airplay. Fast forward to 2017 and the boys are back with their tenth album, and incredibly the line-up is only slightly different from those early days with “new boy” singer Robert Mason (Lynch Mob, Cry of Love) joining original members Joey Allen (guitar), Erik Turner (guitar), Jerry Dixon (bass) and Steven Sweet (drums). Mind you, the new boy has been there since 2008, so it is no surprise that he sounds at home.
The guys always had some similarities with bands such as Poison, Quiet Riot and even Motley Crue and Faster Pussycat, and this album just reinforces that. I have no idea why it has taken them six years to follow on from “Rockaholic”, but let’s just hope that it doesn’t take so long for the next one as this is a blast from start to end. True, it does appear that grunge, black metal or thrash has never taken place, and that we have been transported back to mid-Eighties America, but I don’t have an issue with that. This is American hard rock that is quite naïve in its innocence and bubblegum joy, but it’s as infectious as hell and even the obligatory power ballad doesn’t seem out of place. This is hard rock for people who don’t like hard rock, music destined for the airwaves in the States, and for large arenas where people can hold up their iPhones showing that stupid candle app (so that they don’t have to hold up lighters) during “U In My Life”. There is even a song played on acoustic guitars!
It is cheesy, it is out of date, but most of all it is bloody good fun. When I finished playing it I immediately dug out some Poison and put that on for a change, two bands whose music can be enjoyed without really thinking about it. ‘Louder Harder Faster’ may be full of music that isn’t fashionable any more, if it ever was, but Warrant know exactly what they are doing, and they are doing it very well indeed.
