ALBUM REVIEW: Sweet Poison – The New Roses

German rock band THE NEW ROSES are back with their fifth studio album Sweet Poison – a record that promises to deliver, “stadium rock that would make the likes of BON JOVI proud.” It’s a very ambitious aim, however since they’ve toured with the likes of SCORPIONS and SAXON, and have upcoming support slots with legendary bands JUDAS PRIEST, FOREIGNER and KISS, maybe they have the right be confident in their abilities.

However, you’d be forgiven for being unsure of that confidence with the first three tracks. My Kinda Crazy opens with a rock ‘n’ roll guitar riff that may have your attention at first but begins to falter once you make the connection with, essentially, every 80s rock band ever. Now on the one hand it’s nice to reminisce but on the other it’s not good when you sound like a bland copy rather than being unique in your own way. This issue continues with Playing With Fire, which, again, sounds like every 80s rock band ever, and All I Ever Needed that sounds like a blatant rip-off of a rock love ballad done by AEROSMITH.

At this moment you’re left wondering if this is going to be a summary of the entire album but luckily we’re rescued once Usual Suspects begins. This track is where things become a lot more interesting with the cool gruff vocals, insane guitar riffs and an anthemic chorus featuring lyrics about being rebellious. Warpaint has an intro that one can only describe as ‘hot’ and we’ve now definitely escaped the knock-off 80s sound and have switched to a more modern sound that makes you want to get up and dance along. And Dead Of Night is a brilliant grungy and rather dark sounding track that you can picture this being used in a fight hype-up scene in Buffy The Vampire Slayer, or in a TV series of a similar genre, or even an intro track for a wrestler on WWE. So, if that’s ever been your fantasy, there you go.

Of course, not everything is fun and energetic. A rock album is barely complete without an acoustic love and/or heartbreak song. True Love, whose title gives the subject matter away a bit, is an acoustic ballad about love and the pain that goes with it. It’s a little bit cheesy with some predictable lyrics and comparisons, yet it still remains raw and real, as opposed to being overdramatic and silly. Closer The Veins In This Town also pulls a 180 where the high energy portrayed throughout the majority of the record now switches to a moodier and more melancholic feeling, but still remains a strong finish.

One can say that Sweet Poison is a little bit of an emotional rollercoaster with the first three tracks leaving you disappointed with your head in your hands before completely eating your words by the time you get to track four onwards. So, let’s ignore the first three tracks and safely agree that the album is simply cool, fun and filled with headbangers.

Rating: 7/10

Sweet Poison is out now via Napalm Records.

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