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Rattle The Cage

    
       
       
       
     
             
The Rods are a heavy metal band from the USA formed in 1979 releasing ten albums across an incredible forty five year career...    
             
...a career that's seen two-thirds of the band remain constant, Carl Canedy (drums) and David "Rock" Feinstein (guitars. vocals), the three piece outfit completed by Freddy Villano (bass) for the bands tenth album 'Rattle The Cage', released in 2024. Featuring ten songs over forty eight minutes, the new album is as powerful, dynamic and relentless as everything the band has ever released - maybe even more so! So prepare yourselves for a bout of intense head bang ability from the American stalwarts, as 'Rattle The Cage' storms into life with the galloping "foot on the monitor" traditional metaller 'Now And Forever'. Pounding the ground hard with a power driven metal torrent similar to legends Judas Priest, The Rods are red hot from the off, 'Now And Forever' scorching the Earth as it storms on by.    
             
A simply sumptuous opening, 'Rattle The Cage' roars on with the iconic guitar tone of the NWOBHM evolution courtesy of 'Wolves At The Door' - The Rods may be four and a half thousand miles away from the birthplace of heavy metal (in the UK), but boy do they live and breathe the essence of heavy metal! 'Wolves At The Door' is more mid paced than the previous song, yet the power pouring out of it is incredible, the band keeping their foot firmly on the monitor for the heavy foot stomper 'Cry Out Loud' - a little menace rising high in the air! The Rods echo the anthemic metal style of countrymen Manowar here, 'Cry Out Loud' a rabble rousing call to arms anthem that'll have every listener, fan and follower raising their fists high and punching the air. The opening threesome has been sizzling hot, 'Rattle The Cage' powering on with the title song 'Rattle The Cage', and the return of the classic metal gallop! The band combine pace with a punchy bombastic nature to deliver a hard hitting yet highly melodious metal come rock romp! 'Rattle The Cage' (the song) is one of those genre hopping boundary breaking songs that's gonna appeal equally to fans of both metal and rock. Awesome stuff from (dare I say it) the old guard!    
             
And maintaining the recent bombastic barrage, 'Can't Slow Down' is a meaty swagger, and an example of how a metallized version of AC/DC might sound like! The Rods take on board the iconic AC/DC boogie, heavy it up, and add weight to deliver ear candy of the sweetest kind - 'Can't Slow Down' an irresistible and infectious slice of incredible heavy metal come hard rock! And even after four decades as a band, The Rods continue to stun and amaze metalheads everywhere with a brand of metal that's so fucking good it's great! Can 'Rattle The Cage' (the album) get any better? You bet your bottom dollar it can - an electrifying change of pace and power sees the album take off at high speed, 'Metal Highways' powering along the freeway at full throttle! And a chance for every diehard head banger everywhere to vigorously rock their head back and forth - what an absolute corker! The intensity level since the album began has been sky fucking high, The Rods pushing it even higher now - just incredible! 'Hell Or High Water' sees, or rather hears, the metallized AC/DC sound make an emphatic return, the band not content to just deliver traditional heavy metal from the centre of the heavy metal genre - The Rods are on their travels, visiting every corner, nook and cranny along with trips over the border wall into rock territory. Superb stuff from the metal elders, showing the young guns how heavy metal is done! And done properly!     
             
And without relenting on intensity too - the album roars on with the metal rocker 'Play It Loud', displaying the highest infectious level of any song on offer! Not to mention the incredible sing a long-able chorus which every listener, fan, follower and concert goer are gonna scream along to, "Play it loud, loud, loud, Play it loud and proud, Play it loud, loud, loud". Fuck me I'm drooling right now, excuse me while I wipe up the puddle! Okay - I'm back, and so are The Rods, sending shockwaves around the entire planet with their terrific tenth album - an album that storms on at high velocity with 'Shockwave', the band planting their collective feet firmly on the monitor to adopt the classic pose of heavy metal. 'Shockwave' is a blistering head banger, every mosh pit around the world turning into a sea of head banging metalheads going totally wild! And for me, 'Shockwave' is the best song on offer, The Rods bringing 'Rattle The Cage' (the album) to an end with the Motorhead-ish 'Hearts Of Steel' - a punk metal attitude coming to the fore! The albums final brace has been breath taking, the American outfit rattling everyone's cage with an electrifying blast of full on, power driven heavy metal.    
             
Overall, a traditional heavy metal gallop featuring immense head bang ability and an infectious level second to none.    
             
             
Review by Iron Mathew Collins    
             
Reviewed for Metal Gods TV    
             
             
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