Reinventing The Steel

The self-styled "heaviest band on the planet" aren't about to relinquish that mantle just yet, on the evidence of Reinventing The Steel, and they waste no time in letting us know. Titles like 'Death Rattle', 'Revolution Is My Name' and 'Hellbound' are pretty much par for the course as the one-time poodle perm bearers stick to the formula that has served them well since 1990's Cowboys From Hell: industrial trash metal played at breakneck speed with thunderous drums, squealing guitars and Phil Anselmo's serrated vocals.

The opening 'Hellbound' sets the tone: all stabbing bursts of staccato guitar, with Anselmo informing us that "the dragon lives inside of my mouth, and it speaks in tongues". Meanwhile, 'Godamn Electric' has the frontman musing about the secret of eternal youth, which he maintains is a strict diet of whiskey, weed and Black Sabbath.

Indeed, the overriding sentiment throughout Reinventing The Steel is that all you need for the perfect lifestyle is cannabis, bourbon and a selection of heavy metal albums.

Anselmo & Co. must be in their 30s now. I wonder if they still believe in their oft-visited themes of rebellion and angst or if they have a good laugh about it at the end of another long day in the studio? Take the extremely dumbed-down 'Uplift', where Anselmo extols the virtues of substance abuse over organized religion: "Give me alcohol extremities instead of proofless Christianity/Drunkdeep in a coma state/Critics disgusted but a smile on my fucking face". Can the man be serious?

From start to finish, Reinventing The Steel is an album of adolescent ideas played by men old enough to know better. It lacks the sheer talent and exuberance that set acts like Metallica and even Slayer apart. These are the kind of guys who grew up thinking that to be a great musician they had to play superfast guitar solos. Hopefully the 'Death Rattle' they eulogise is their own.