If there’s one band who deserved a better ending than the one they were dealt, it was Alice Cooper. As one of the most celebrated hard rock acts of the early ’70s, Alice Cooper captivated the globe with their unique brand of dark, horrific glam rock (un-glam rock?) and larger than life stage show, the latter of which set the bar for all arena spectacles to follow. Of course, we all know what happened from there. The band splintered, rather unceremoniously, in 1975, when their lead singer would adopt the band name as the moniker for his solo vehicle, hence causing quite a bit of confusion in the decades to come.
As the years went by, Alice Cooper the band faded into the background, collectively viewed these days as a mere launching pad for their singer’s solo venture, which couldn’t be more A. Inaccurate and B. Disrespectful. Sure, Alice Cooper the singer couldn’t have had the career he did without Alice Cooper the band, so I guess the “launching pad” assessment is technically correct. However, the band were indeed that, a band, who wrote and collaborated together as such. Come the tragic passing of guitarist Glen Buxton in 1997, the surviving members of Alice Cooper have sporadically reconvened for the surprise reunion gig or odd one-off song. All of this has subsequently culminated in the band’s first album in 52 years, The Revenge of Alice Cooper.
Sonically speaking, Revenge picks up right where Muscle of Love left off: A collection of brash street rockers that lie somewhere between hard rock, blues, glam, and proto-punk, with the band’s signature brand of chaotically campy lyrics on full display. In other words, all of the classic Alice Cooper ingredients are there, even down to producer Bob Ezrin, who gives the album the full ’70s treatment. At its finest moments, comparisons can be drawn to the AC highlights of yesteryear. The opening “Black Mamba” and mesmerizing “Kill the Flies” channel the unease of the Killer days, complete with the Coop going Vincent Price spoken word mode for the intro of the former. Other highlights include four on the floor rockers like “Crap That Gets in the Way of Your Dreams”, a Kinksian slab of garage goodness, and “Money Screams”, which showcases the band’s classic power pop muscle.
The remainder of Revenge boasts varying degrees of success in terms of staying power, but never deviates from the classic AC formula. Off the top of my head, I’d axe the sleazy “Up All Night”, shuffling “Intergalactic Vagabond Blues”, and novelty-tinged “What a Syd”, amongst others, but all three sound straight out of a time warp, caught somewhere between School’s Out and Billion Dollar Babies. There’s even the obligatory psych-prog foray in “Blood on the Sun”, which despite paling in comparison to “Dead Babies”, “Killer”, “Ballad of Dwight Fry”, is a commendable attempt at ambitious songcraft, especially over half a century since the band last attempted such a piece.
What’s coolest about a new Alice Cooper album in 2025 is that (most of) the band are still with us today, and able create music in a world full of subgenres they were responsible for having a hand in shaping. For example, “One Night Stand” is full blown deathrock in the vein of Christian Death. At first I found it odd, but then it hit me. No Alice Cooper, no deathrock: A genre completely built on the gothic and gloomy themes explored by AC way back in the early ’70s. That, my friends, is the true revenge of Alice Cooper, and that’s something we’ll feel for centuries to come.
6 out of 10
Label: earMUSIC
Genre: Hard Rock
For fans of: KISS, Aerosmith, The Stooges
A 6 is a bit conservative imo haha