Crazy Lixx's 'Street Lethal' - Album Review

Despite the fact that I was quite into the Scandinavian hair metal revival that took place throughout the late 2000s and early 2010s, Sweden's Crazy Lixx were not a band that I really listened to at the time. I remember a friend somewhat being into their 2007 debut album Loud Minority a year or so after it came out, but I recall thinking that it was extremely derivative of Mötley Crüe - and I thought that the band's name was ridiculous. I did end up picking up 2012's Riot Avenue, the band's third album, a year or so after its release when I had become more open to properly giving the band a go - but outside of a few songs it did not really do that much for me. For ages I paid the band no more attention as a result, but last year I decided to give them another go - and picked up a copy of their 2016 live album Sound of the Live Minority. I am not sure why I decided to do so, but I am glad that I did as the live album really impressed. I think that part of the reason why I revisited the band was because Andreas Eriksson, who's work with Inglorious I enjoyed, was Crazy Lixx's guitarist for a while. He has not been in the band for quite a few years at this point, but whatever the reason I am glad that I finally properly entered the world of Crazy Lixx. Better late than never, as the saying goes, and over the past year or so I have been filling my Crazy Lixx connection. I am still missing a couple of their albums, as some of them seem quite hard to track down (as is often the case with older Frontiers Records releases), but I now own most of them - all of which I enjoy. Crazy Lixx have moved on from the extremely derivate Mötley Crüe-esque sound of their debut - and now operate in more of an arena rock/AOR style. There is still plenty of hair metal in Crazy Lixx's sound, but the band are closer to bands like Bon Jovi these days than they are to Mötley Crüe - but with a slightly cinematic edge, a style that founding member and frontman Danny Rexon's songwriting has expanded into in recent years. 2019's Forever Wild, the band's sixth album, felt like Rexon's best set of songs to date. The mix of arena rock, AOR, hair metal, and cinematic synths came together perfectly; and it is an album that I have returned to quite a lot since picking up earlier this year. Last month it was the turn of the band's seventh album Street Lethal to be released - something which I was looking forward to being a newly-minted Crazy Lixx fan. Despite the album containing some strong songs however, for me it is a bit of a step down from the heights of Forever Wild. Forever Wild was pretty much all killer no filler, whereas Street Lethal feels a bit patchy in comparison. There were also a slew of outside songwriters involved this time around, something which has generally been quite rare for a Crazy Lixx album in the past given Rexon's songwriting prowess, and I do wonder if Street Lethal has suffered from something of a too many cooks-type situation rather than playing to the band's strengths.

The album opens with the instrumental piece Enter the Dojo, the first of two synth-heavy scene setters that, for me, add little to the album overall. Crazy Lixx are the sort of band who should open their albums with a big riff (with a huge chorus not too far away), but instead the album's powerful kick off is delayed. The Oriental melodies make the song sound like something from the Karate Kid soundtrack, which might have been the intention, but these themes are never revisited throughout the album - so its inclusion feels somewhat tacked on. The album's opener proper, Rise Above, is a great track, however, and is how the album should have started. A huge drum intro from founding member Joél Cirera heralds the album's first of many big riffs, which both Chrisse Olsson and Jens Lundgren nail - who are both on their third studio outing with the band here. The song is everything that the band's fans will have come to expect from Crazy Lixx over the years - and their trademark mix of arena rock and hair metal sounds great. The chorus soars with AOR-esque hooks, and Rexon's synths constantly add a cinematic depth. The guitars dominate however, and the verses have a real strut to them thanks to a sleazy riff - before a lengthy shredded solo adds some melodic virtuosity. Anthem for America continues in a similar vein, but the sleaziness is dialled up even further - and the track is a real throwback to the 1980s hair metal era. Rexon has clearly written the song to be a bit of a tongue-in-cheek tribute to that era, as well as what has gone wrong since, and it captures that vibe perfectly. The riffs have a great mix of groove and sunny melody, while every vocal hook has been crafted to sound anthemic - with Cirera's crashing drums accenting each big anthemic hook perfectly. The chorus walks the line between sleaze and AOR perfectly, and it is one of the album's hookiest moments as a result. A stripped back version of the chorus that appears towards the end of the song, complete with big, staccato drums, showcases this - and the track is sure to become a live favourite for the band going forward. The Power reins in much of the sleaziness of the previous two songs, and instead goes for a flat out arena rock vibe with a big keyboard presence and plenty of big Def Leppard-esque vocal harmonies. In fact the song is a like a mix of Hysteria-era Def Leppard and 1987-era Whitesnake - with a chorus from the former and a verse from the latter. The verse's chord pattern is very hair metal-era Whitesnake in its smouldering power, while the choruses explode with a glam rock stomp and plenty of huge vocal harmonies. It is another powerful song that is made for the stage, and also showcases Rexon's love of the 1980s.

Reach Out follows, and it is the first of a couple of songs here that seem to have been written by a committee - with three outside songwriters credited, and Rexon only penning some of the lyrics. It is not a bad song by any means, but following three great tracks it falls flat. It lacks the band's usual bite, and instead sounds like typical Frontiers Records AOR fodder - although I do not recognise the names of most of the songwriters. The great thing about Crazy Lixx is that they have always managed to combine big AOR hooks with sharp riffing and an overall punchy sound - but Reach Out does not really sound like Crazy Lixx. Only Rexon's voice really keeps it from sounding totally out of place on the album - and I would have preferred the track to sound much heavier. The album's second synth instrumental Final Fury then follows, but again it adds little to the album. There are some good spacy guitar leads this time, but overall it feels like a bit of a time filler. The album would not have been overly short without both Enter the Dojo and Final Fury, so their inclusion feels a little pointless - especially as they do not even really act as proper intros for the songs that follow them. The album's title track, with lyrics co-written by bassist Jens Anderson, gets the album back on track however. It is a hard-hitting riff-driven song that ups the pace, and returns to the great sound of Rise Above rather than continuing on the overly poppy sound of Reach Out. Olsson and Lundgren rip it up throughout the track, their powerful riffs keeping the song moving, while Rexon really unleashes vocally with some throaty high notes and plenty of big hooks. Another big chorus hooks the listener in too, and there is certainly a little bit of the band's older Mötley Crüe-esque sound in it - albeit with sweeter vocal harmonies. Caught Between the Rock n' Roll is the first of two songs here written by Olsson. Rexon has pretty much always been the band's main songwriter, although a couple of the band's former guitarists also contributed a lot to their earlier albums, so it is nice to see Olsson getting involved here. His efforts are certainly better than the committee-led songs too, and the track is an anthemic stomper - which again recalls Def Leppard, although pre-Hysteria this time. The track is slightly heavier, but is packed with that 1970s glam rock-esque sound that Def Leppard really dragged into the 1980s. The chorus has a bit of a heavier Sweet vibe, with Cirera's staccato drumming punching through everything to give the song its strut. It is another song made to be played live, but the studio version it is still a lot of fun.

In the Middle of Nothing is the album's ballad, but it is a hard-hitting one in classic Crazy Lixx fashion. There is no stripping everything back to leave a lonely piano here, instead the band still rock pretty hard - with the pace slowed and the bite of guitars slightly reduced. There is again a strong Def Leppard vibe present throughout the track, but I also hear bits of bands like Warrant - especially in the big backing vocals and the soaring guitar solo that is packed full of melody. A lot of modern hair metal ballads can be a bit too sugary sometimes, but In the Middle of Nothing still wants to rock - despite also wanting to get somewhat more emotional. Rexon's somewhat gritty voice works well throughout the song, and there is plenty of emotion featured throughout - despite the tougher overall sound. One Fire - One Goal is another committee-written song. It is better than Reach Out in my opinion, but it still lacks that classic Crazy Lixx sound. It is amazing how close a Frontiers Record band is to sounding like a generic Frontiers Records project if a little creativity is given over to outside forces, but that being said the song is still enjoyable. The guitars lack their trademark crunch, but the chorus is pretty strong still - with some big hooks that will certainly stick in the brain. I just that the wish the song had the band's classic sound, as it could have been a great addition to the album rather than merely a good one. I feel the keyboards are too prominent here, which has rarely been Crazy Lixx's thing other than to create cinematic depth, and a more guitar-heavy sound would have been welcome. The lengthy Thief in the Night, written by Olsson, closes the album out. There is a lot to like about the song, but at just under seven and a half minutes long it drags a bit. It opens quite slowly, with some soaring guitar leads atop of a synthy bed, but it then morphs into a mid-paced rocker in the classic Crazy Lixx style. The riffing throughout the verses is packed full of subtle attitude, while the leads that back Rexon's vocals add a lot of depth. The choruses are powerful too, with driving keyboard stabs and some more big vocal harmonies. Crazy Lixx have always managed to pack their songs full of soaring harmonies, and this album is no different. In fact, some of the choruses here might be their most layered to date - and it helps the album to soar sound-wise. The song could have probably done with having some of its fat trimmed, however. Its closing fade out goes on for far longer than it needs to - and I am not sure that the slow-burning intro adds that much to the song, despite it sounding good in and of itself. That style is just not Crazy Lixx - but the song overall is strong and packed full of hooks. The Street Lethal album as a whole is strong one, but as mentioned earlier for me it is a step down in quality from Wild Forever. The synthy interludes serve little purpose for me, and there are a handful of songs that feel too generic Frontiers for me to truly latch onto. There's still a lot to enjoy however, and the great moments that are found throughout certainly make the album a worthy purchase for fans of hair metal and arena rock.

The album was released on 5th November 2021 via Frontiers Records. Below is the band's promotional video for Anthem for America.