Artist: Crazy Lixx
   Title: New Religion
   Label: Frontiers Records

As a die-hard Glamster I’ve longed for those days when the Sunset Strip paraded the best of the hair bands of the 80's, then just when you thought those days would never come back a new generation of Glamsters labeled "The New Wave of Swedish Sleaze" come our way.

The likes of Hardcore Superstar, Backyard Babies, Fatal Smile, Babylon Bombs and Vains of Jenna have taken to waving the spandex and leather flag from their native Sweden and leading the pack are Hard Rocking Glamsters Crazy Lixx.

The album is a real boogie fest from the off as things get off to a great start with ‘Rock And A Hard Place’.  It's not often the first track off an album gets me excited to hear what’s to come from the rest of the album, but this one does just that and to say I was overjoyed with the rest of the album would be an understatement.  This slick grooved filled opus just gets better as each track unfolds.  Yes there are touches of Poison, Def Leppard and Danger Danger and a whole lot more on the album, but who cares it just rocks by boat big time.

As the continues with ‘My Medicine’, the ‘Unskinny Bop’ and ‘Rocket’ similarities aside, this is one of my favourite tracks off the album.  I could easily don my dancing shoes (or should I say best Cowboy Boots) and strut my funky stuff to this one.

Another superb slice of sleaze filled rock has to be the rocking ’21 Til I Die’, this ones for all the Vain and Danger Danger fans out there.  You can almost taste Chris Laney’s production on this one, great guitar licks by Andy Dawson that are all wrapped around Danny Rexon’s great vocals.

I defy fans of 80’s Glam and Hard Rock to find fault with this album, there is so much on this for fans of that era.  Also the band haven’t got lost in nostalgia with the album, there is more than enough modern edged rock on here for the band to appeal to the younger crowd.  Take the likes of ‘Road To Babylon’, the excellent ‘Children Of The Cross’ and the thumping Hard Rock of ‘The Witching Hour' for instance, three great tracks that still retain that Sleazy 80’s vibe but with that modern edginess that comes from the whole "New Wave Of Swedish Glam" movement.

But if it’s true Glam you want then check out ‘Lock Up Your Daughter’ this is as old school Glam as you can get.  Then there’s the Hard Rock element again with ‘She’s Mine’ before the album brings us what else from a band influenced by the best of 80’ rock then a power ballad.  ‘What Of Our Love’ is a touch of class and shows the band in a different light as they show they can come up with the goods even on the ballads.

The album has a short interlude with a touch of Southern steel slide guitar before wrapping things up with another favourite of mine ‘Voodoo Woman’, so the album finishes as it started with groove filled rock.

'The New Religion' is coming so all dig out your spandex and leather and worship at the church of Crazy Lixx, you never know you might get converted. 

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