It’s been well over forty years since Dave ‘Rock’ Feinstein and the power trio that was and still is The Rods first came to the notice of the music industry.
Their latest album suggests that time hasn’t changed them that much, nor has time allowed Dave to forget that he is the cousin of the legendary Ronnie James Dio, although that doesn’t have any real bearing on him or the band’s output apart from a shared love of heavy rock and metal.
On the latest album, Rattle The Cage Dave again holds guitar and vocal duties and is joined by fellow founding member Carl Canedy on drums with new guy Freddy Villano (Quiet Riot, Widowmaker) on bass. An unnamed keyboardist adds depth and colour throughout the record too. Sure, there are comparisons to be made with RJD’s and others’ output, but they maintain their own identity throughout.
One listen to the opener, ‘Now And Forever’ will remind you of Priest and Purple as well as Dio but in a catchy metal anthem that is all Rods. ‘Wolves At The Door’ is Dio meets Maiden but, again, with no doubt that you’re listening to Mr Feinstein and sharing his vision of metal. The title track is Priestly in the way that they could pen metal that transcends pigeon holes.
‘Metal Highways’ does exactly as the name suggests, as does the excellent Shockwave’: ‘Hell Or High Water’ is riff-driven metal that harks back to earlier times but is bang up to date. Do you want a ballad? Forget it, the relentless pace doesn’t relent on the final track, the powerhouse that is ‘Hearts Of Steel.’
This album is all rock, all heavy and all pretty damn good. It may even surpass his 2010 solo outing featuring and dedicated to RJD called ‘Bitten By The Beast’. This may not break new ground but when heavy rock/metal is so well interpreted, is modern and nostalgic at the same time and filled with potential crowd-pleasing anthems, who cares?
Rattle the Cage is out now Massacre Records
