Review by Daniel for Rods, The - Wild Dogs (1982)

I wasn't a huge fan of the 1981 debut self-titled album from New York three-piece The Rods. The band were all quite capable with Ronnie James Dio’s cousin & former Elf guitarist David “Rock” Feinstein being a pretty talented musician & front man but the song-writing was a little bit flat & it was more of a bluesy 70’s inspired hard rock record than a legitimate heavy metal one. In fact, the decision to include it here on the site was more or less based on the metal credentials of The Rods subsequent material more than it was on those earnt by the record itself. And so that leads us into The Rods sophomore effort “Wild Dogs” which was released in 1982 with the same lineup.

This time we hear the band championing a sound that sits right in the middle between hard rock & heavy metal but is probably metal enough to qualify for inclusion here in its own right on this occasion. The bluesy 70’s hard rock influence of the debut has been greatly reduced in favour of a more modern & commercially accessible 80’s metal sound. The production is pretty good for the time & David’s vocal approach seems to have changed substantially with a tougher & more bad-assed delivery favoured over the more classic & smooth bluesy style he’d gone for previously. I think it suits the music here better although I was more of a fan of his earlier sound if I’m honest. There are times when the vocals sound very similar to The Cult’s Ian Astbury too but I suspect those might be coming from another band member because they’re so different to his usual style. David’s guitar solos are generally pretty frenetic with more electricity than virtuosity. His heavy use of legato & trills allows him to fit as many notes as possible into a short time period & drummer Carl Canedy employs some impressive double kick work at times too.

There are definitely some party time songs included here with accessible backing vocals & anthemic choruses. Opener “Too Hot To Stop” is far too similar to Van Halen’s “Everybody Wants Some” in my opinion while album highlight “Violation” is pure AC/DC worship. There’s heaps of Judas Priest influence throughout the record too. I guess you could say they sound like Saxon or Accept only with a more American sound. Riot might be a reasonable point of reference. Unfortunately there's an absolute shocker of a cover version included too with The Rods' rendition of The Suprmes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On" being by far the weakest song on the album. It’s really very hard to fathom just what the band were thinking with it actually. Perhaps it was out of their hands?

Overall, “Wild Dogs” is a step up from the debut & I find it be a pretty solid example of US metal that should appeal to fans of both rock & metal.