Released by: earMUSIC
Release Date: July 25th, 2025
Genre: 70s Rock
Links: https://alicecooper.com/
Line Up:
Alice Cooper – vocals, harmonica
Glen Buxton – lead guitar
Michael Bruce – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Dennis Dunaway – bass guitar, backing vocals
Neal Smith – drums, backing vocals[8]
Gyasi Heus – lead guitar (additional)
Rick Tedesco – lead guitar (additional)
Robbie Krieger – lead guitar (additional on “Black Mamba”)
Tracklisting
“Black Mamba” – Alice Cooper, Bob Ezrin, Michael Bruce (4:57)
“Wild Ones” – Cooper, Dennis Dunaway, Ezrin (4:17)
“Up All Night” – Cooper, Ezrin, Bruce (3:07)
“Kill the Flies” – Ezrin, Neal Smith, Cooper (4:13)
“One Night Stand” – Ezrin, Smith, Cooper (3:06)
“Blood on the Sun” – Dunaway, Cooper (6:03)
“Crap that Gets in the Way of Your Dreams” – Ezrin, Smith, Cooper (3:00)
“Famous Face” – Bruce, Cooper (4:19)
“Money Screams” – Bruce, Smith, Cooper (3:44)
“What A Syd” – Dunaway, Cooper (2:42)
“Inter Galactic Vagabond Blues” – Ezrin, Dunaway, Bruce, Smith, Cooper (3:11)
“What Happened to You” – Glen Buxton, Ezrin, Dunaway, Bruce, Smith, Cooper (4:00)
“I Ain’t Done Wrong” – Keith Relf, Cooper (3:43)
“See You on the Other Side” – Dunaway, Smith, Cooper (3:58)
Total Runtime: 54:20
With an interesting spoken intro that brings back to the fore a band lineup that last worked together in 1974, The Revenge of Alice Cooper reunites the original members of the Alice Cooper Band with their first album in 51 years.
What a difference modern production techniques make as we sit here in Islington’s Union Chapel listening to a playback of the album before Alice performs with Judas Priest in London at the O2 Arena the following night.
The music, with more than a little wah-wah pedal to evoke memories of those albums from so long ago (I was 3 when they last released material) immediately takes us back to an era that delivered pure Detroit rock ‘n’ roll.
With Bob Ezrin in the chair and co-writing opening track Black Mamba, smiles are wide as we embrace what can only be described as honest garage rock from the early 1970s.
Obvious early single Wild Ones follows immediately with a chorus to die for, riffs galore and a groove that is led by Dennis Dunaway’s bass. It makes you wonder what Coop and the rest of the band could have done in the intervening years rather than waiting so long to make a comeback.
To be fair, new music has been on the cards since the band joined Alice on stage a year or two back and clearly that reunion spark has ignited the creative juices and resulted in an album that somehow manages to straddle both the 20th and 21st century with ease.
Photo Credit Jenny Risher
The songs don’t have the polished perfection of classics like Poison but do have that slightly dirty, raw feeling that we came to expect from the band in their early days and it’s very welcome, reminding us of an artist and band that helped shape the sound of rock music decades ago.
Kill The Flies features many signature Alice moments both with the menacing music and also the spoken elements that take us on a journey that frankly, only Alice can.
People are, these days, all too quick to dismiss artists and material, focussing on just the commercial tracks and Kill The Flies might not get much in the way of airplay but it’s definitely one of those songs that fans will call for in years to come as a deep-cut that might or might not get the odd live appearance. I for one hope the former!
As the album progresses, one forgets just how old the collective members of the band are. With a collective age approaching 300 among the 4 members of the band (excluding dear old Bob and supporting musicians) that they can put this together reflects not only the experience that they bring to the table but also the simple quality of musicians who knew how to actually write good material. Something modern artists could learn a thing or two from.
An alternative version of Greg Lake’s “I Believe In Father Christmas” kicks in with Blood on the Sun. Whether it’s the same chord sequence at the beginning or something else I don’t know but I can’t shake that comparison. Maybe I’ll play this on Christmas Day instead! As the song dives past the first chorus, it gains its own identity and ramps everything up a notch or two, ultimately winning me over.
The solo work is second to none on the track and reminds me why I decided to become a writer/reviewer and not a musician. Simply stunning.
The familiarity continues with Crap That Gets In The Way Of Your Dreams with a riff that pinches something from The Kinks All Day and All Of The Night. Again I’m singing the wrong words to the song but somehow it fits. No complaints but Ray Davies has a case I think!
60s/70s Alice returns with a classic slice of high school rock ‘n’ roll on Money Screams. It’s the sort of song that wouldn’t be out of place on the Rocky Horror Show soundtrack and even name checks Billion Dollar Babies at the end.
The same can be said of What A Syd which has a real Stray Cats vibe to it thanks to the bass work. Again it feels like a pure Broadway moment that could easily prop up a new rock led musical. Definite Stray Cat Strut vibes.
Intergalactic Vagabond Blues is then followed by the poptastic What Happened To You with its catchy chorus that burrows deep in the brain before I Ain’t Done Wrong brings back the wah-wah pedal to great effect.
The latter track evokes images of blue collar Detroit workers clocking out at the end of a shift and dealing with the obvious work/life balance. This especially takes you back as Detroit is definitely not the same city it was 50 years ago.
The album closes with See You On The Other Side and draws to a close a reunion album that no one ever expected might be released.
The slower intro has an almost REM “Everybody Hurts” feel to it which feels odd for a closer where we might be hoping for a bit more of a punch.
It’s only when you listen to the lyrics that it makes all the sense in the world. Singing about friends they’ve lost and seeing them again for a gig on the other side. What better way to celebrate friends and musicians lost over the years, even more poignant given I’m listening to this in a live playback in London. It feels almost as if this were written for those we’ve lost when of course it also relates to Glen Buxton who passed in October 1997. Take a look below at the London session with our gallery and embedded video of the event.
So, final verdict, what does an Alice Cooper Band album sound like in 2025? On the whole, for the fans this is wonderful. For the casuals, there are maybe a couple of missteps but there are 10 or more great tracks that make this an essential part of the band’s legacy.
Score 9/10
Reviewed by Adrian Hextall
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