CRASHDÏET-Rust

Frontiers Music srl

September 8, 2019 by Edwin van Hoof - More about our team

Crashdïet’s past is that of every 80s hard rock band summarized into the story of only one. Suicides, substance abuse, line up changes and losing their big record deal; all ingredients to a sleaze story much like Crüe’s “The Dirt”. This turbulence and countless challenges however only strengthened the band that maintained to tour relentlessly. `Rust’ is studio album number 4, picking up where they left off on `The Savage Playground’ in 2013.

14 years in and only 4 studio albums released for obvious reasons. It is the story of Crashdïet that is more compelling than their discography perhaps suggests. The Swedish however remains stubborn and unleashes their sleazy hard rock upon a growing mass of followers and fans. `Rust’ is packed with the band’s well-known ingredients. Hard driving guitars, tons of panache, and memorable hooks and melodies. The title track opens with a bass riff soon accompanied by raw guitars paving the way for Gabriel Keys’ genre specific voice. The chorus is slick melodic and nesting. All of the above in place the band routes through 11 new songs adding to their posture. ,,Idiots” and ,,Crazy” are genre specific rock tunes with the typical structures kept in place. Less appealing is ,,Parasite” which falls short due to a less rock heavy production from the hand of Chris Laney (Zan Clan, Pretty Maids). The ingredients are all kept in order, it just feels more generic. I get this same feeling with the opening of ,,Stop Weirding Me Out” but the song has an overall more band typical approach. Short on production, high on appeal. No, better hit us with ,,Reptile”, the high paced and action packed turmoil kicker that will definitely land on the set list of their upcoming live tour. The song is exactly what makes the band tick so well. Less sleazy and more melodic rocking is ,,We are the Legion”; open and widely appealing with wonderful melody and hooks. The song is produced by Eric Bazilian (Hooters) and adds value.
Absolutely wonderful is the mandatory semi-ballad ,,In The Maze” which packs great momentum and delves deep. Even more intense is the power ballad ,,Waiting for Your Love”. Slick and tender moving forward to unload in 80s grandeur. Sure; we heard it all before, but it adds to any of your playlists packed with 80s classics. More a-typical is the ,,Into the Wild” which displays a different side of their composing strength. The song has a different drive and musically it draws from a wider spectre without losing the typical Crashdïet sound. The track just keeps evolving and has a specific gut feeling I can’t put in words. It just hits you. ,,Filth & Flowers” is another highlight. Predictable genre elements blended with the band’s feel for drama. It is the missing link between Skid Row’s ,`Slave…’ album and their `Subhuman Race’. Tacky, sticky, and very nesting.

Though `Rust’ is far from rusty, Crashdïet proves their best moments being the ones crafted outside the typical genre’s structures. Especially when they delve deep with uncontainable passion and drive (,,Filth & Flowers”) they light up the sky. `Rust’ is an album for all fans of the genre, but won’t attract many new following. But certainly worth a listen…