RTX – JJ Got Live RaTX

Wayne's World! Wayne's World! Party time! Excellent! Anyone remember that film? Yeah of course you do. Anyone remember the soundtrack? It was rammed with cheesy power-metal played with tongues (sadly) firmly out of cheeks and the riff count only matched by the amount of hairspray used per live show. RTX seem proud to carry on this tradition, albeit 18 years later, with the awkwardly titled 'JJ Got Live RaTX'. Like Murderdolls, RTX are having a good stab at keeping alive glam and hair metal, and if you like said glammed haired metals, you'll love this album.

'JJ Got Live RaTX' positively leaks pomp and posture, from the song titles which include such gems as 'You Should Shut Up' and 'Cheap Wine Time', to the sleazy guitars and ridiculously overproduced drums that layer the pieces. 'How'd You Do It' manages to add a bit of kookiness by having a fairground theme sampled in the introduction, before throwing some good old 80s stomping snares and choruses that were just made for headbanging along to. The production of 'JJ Got Live RaTX' seems to be a bit more lo-fi and gritty than actual hair metal of the era, sounding more like garage demos than full, polished studio quality songs. 'Virginia Creeper' has some very dubious guitar tones, with distortion and fuzz penetrating the ears much more noticeably than the notes actually being played. When it all kicks into the straight 4/4 power beat and riff combo, it isn't that much of a problem, but on the quieter sections it does make it sound a bit amateurish. That may be the desired effect though, a little something to make the music sound a bit more authentic. And it does kind of work, you do get the impression that RTX really want you to believe that you're back in the 80s, and to be fair to them they do a pretty good job of it. However, this kind of metal was always a bit of a marmite genre, and if you never liked Def Leppard, Motley Crue, Alice Cooper and co, you will most likely hate this album with a passion. And I'm sure from that previous statement all the metal elitists and "Sunset Strip" band lovers will be up in arms with those comparisons, but sorry chums, I normally fall into the 'hate' category, so at least this is an objective review rather than an all out subjective panning.

There's no doubt that these songs are well thought out and played with technical flair and grace. Songs like 'Hash' show great, moody and at times dazzling fretwork, even though the vocal line 'Fuck that, we don't give a shit, its our prerogative to act like kids' is a little bit too cliched even for this style of music. Although if you do want an anthem to be selfish to, this is the baby. Even though I'm struggling to like the songs contained on 'JJ Got Live RaTX' at times, with 'Hash' being a good example, you've got to hand it to RTX that they are ticking all the boxes. Weighing in at 10 tracks, this is no rock odyssey, but a sneering rock statement that stays for long enough to trash your room and kick you in the head, but leaves just before the police turn up. Songs like 'Are You A Boy Or Are You A Girl' are grotesque and insulting, but perversely interesting. Don't expect any major deviation from the classic rock formula though, with tracks like 'Rainbow High' and 'Birthday Song' being two of the major contrasts, pumping rock and stomping rock, and everything else ends up in between. Finishing track 'Too Badd', irritating spelling aside,is a clapalong and a half, the extra half being added by the fact the claps are already there. Live suggestions obviously not being enough for the standard metal audience, they have to be drilled into the mind via record as well.

To re-iterate my earlier point, if you love this kind of music, you'll love RTX. If you don't, don't even bother. It's as simple as that. As much as I wanted to be, RTX just isn't enough to convert me to the proverbial dark side. I just don't get the motivation behind it, but at the same time, I can see the appeal. And 'JJ Got Live RaTX' is a very well crafted album, sounding genuine and powerful without being too cheesy. But what it won't do is make any new genre-hopping fans. The hair/power/sunset strip/whatever metal crowd are going to love it. Everyone else won't. So, for all you fans, I'd imagine it'd be 80%, and for everyone else, I'd say 40%. And for TLOBF (I'll have to give them a final score, otherwise they'll kill me), the result is.... 60%

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