CRASHDIET – Rust [Japan Edition +1] (2019)

Swedish sleaze rockers CRASHDIET will release their fifth studio album, “Rust”, on September 13 via Frontiers Music, but this Japan edition plus bonus track appeared today. The record marks the group’s first full-length effort with vocalist Gabriel Keyes, who joined the band in December 2017.
This is one of Crashdiet most complete albums to date, and if you don’t like ‘sleaze’ you better don’t miss this CD because of that; “Rust” is much, much more than sleaze: there’s hard rock groove, melodic rock, and even some AOR on this record.

“Rust” is the first Crashdiet studio album in six years and is the follow-up to 2013’s ‘The Savage Playground’, and well worth the wait. Co-produced by guitarist Martin Sweet and Chris Laney (mixer too), who previously worked with the band on their critically acclaimed debut Rest In Sleaze.

Title-track “Rust” introduces us to the chugging and rumble of a double bass drum that has GN’R Welcome to the Jungle vibes but with more heft. What makes this a great opening track is that for fans of Crashdïet this picks up right where they left off. This song is so perfectly in their wheelhouse that it flows effortlessly and could just as easily have made its home on 2005’s Rest in Sleaze or 2010’s Generation Wild.
However, there is the distinction of the core of this song and its message of persistence, determination, and being the exception not the rule when it comes to outshining the competition. The addition of Keyes vocals in place of former frontman Simon Cruz, brings a note of darkness, depth, and intensity in this and all the other songs on the album.

“Into the Wild” has similar energy when it comes to being Crashdïet branded, but in the chorus is where things get a lift. The echoic and effervescent quality of the chorus is what gives this song moments of refreshment and intrigue. Plus the dual axe-wielding powers of Peter London and Martin Sweet, especially in the bridge, where their guitar and bass play off one another with such ease they swiftly carry the listener through the song before they know it.
In “Idiots’ the band dares us to explore the world around us through a different lens and be critical of how aware of not only our society but of ourselves. Do you dare bow to the opinions of others or do you take your life by the horns go for broke? That is the question.

“In The Maze” is a midtempo / semi ballad addressing what it feels like to get so lost in the noise and little things in life that you get separated from the one you love- emotionally and physically- and the many different paths you can take to find your way back. This track has some of the most heart on the album, and musically incorporates soe modern AOR melodies, and a stylized production sound.

While most of the album is the result of Martin Sweet’s production talents, there are two songs that came to be thanks to some outside help. Thanks to the collaborative efforts of Chris Laney and Eric Bazilian we have “We Are The Legion,” and “Parasite,” respectively.
Laney has worked with the guys before on previous releases including their infamous single “Riot in Everyone” on their debut album Rest in Sleaze. If Bazilian’s name sounds familiar it may be due to his impressive resume of having worked with the likes of Scorpions, Bon Jovi, Cyndi Lauper, and Patty Smyth.

Then “Waiting For Your Love” is an anthem of longing and love lost that ebbs and swells with such grandeur and drama that it swallows you whole. Waves of sound and sorrow and regret crash throughout this dramatic heavy ballad.
Nearing the end of the album comes “Stop Weirding Me Out” and “Filth & Flowers.” The first of these two come with some C.C. Deville-esque guitar riffing and classic ’80s Hardl Rock vibes. Ever think you know someone and then they start to change and acting differently and you know something’s up? That’s the vibe of this song.

Wrapping it all up is “Filth & Flowers” which true to its title is equal parts lovely and gritty. That is actually the overall theme of this entire album – the lovely and the complicated, the truth and the lies, the heart of the old with new energy.
“Crazy” is the song placed a middle of the album, and anthemic melodic rocker with a true Scandi sound. The remix version of this track is the bonus of this Japan edition, a little more slow in peace and less bombastic.

Crashdïet obviously isn’t reinventing the wheel with their stylistic borrowings from the classic ’80s hard rock / metal essence we know and love, but the energy and effort they put into it is what make this their own.
They aren’t regurgitating the exact same riffs and chords and calling it special, like scientists in a lab they’re finding new combinations and experimenting with sounds and messages to paint their own picture using a familiar palette.
Crashdïet knows how to make things fun and differentiated from their predecessors enough to keep it interesting and keep you listening.
As said, “Rust” should be their most complete albums to date, and one of their best.
HIGHLY Recommended

01. Rust
02. Into The Wild
03. Idiots
04. In The Maze
05. We Are The Legion
06. Crazy
07. Parasite
08. Waiting For Your Love
09. Reptile
10. Stop Weirding Me Out
11. Filth & Flowers
12. Crazy (Remix) (Japan Bonus Track)

Gabriel Keyes – Vocals
Martin Sweet – Guitars
Peter London – Bass
Eric Young – Drums

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www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/KICP-1997