Shout at the Devil [Original recording reissued, Import]

Motley Crue | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 1, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued, Import
• Label: Beyond Records
• ASIN: B00000J7I5
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #28,655 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. In the Beginning

2. Shout at the Devil

3. Looks That Kill

4. Bastard

5. God Bless the Children of the Beast

6. Helter Skelter

7. Red Hot

8. Too Young to Fall in Love

9. Knock 'Em Dead, Kid

10. Ten Seconds to Love

11. Danger

12. Shout at the Devil [*][Demo Version]

13. Looks That Kill [*][Demo Version]

14. Hotter Than Hell [*][Demo Version]

15. I Will Survive [#][*]

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A quintessential 80s heavy metal album, October 13, 2005

By 

Daniel Maltzman (Arlington, MA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shout at the Devil (Audio CD)

Although Motley Crue's debut album "Too Fast for Love" is a fine album that is held in high esteem today, upon its release in 1982, it failed to gain attention. Not detoured by their debut's lack of success, the Crue hit the studio once again with producer Tom Weirman to record their sophomore classic "Shout at the Devil" (1983).

"Shout at the Devil" is the album that put Motley Crue on the map and thrust them into superstardom. While "Dr. Feelgood" (1989) remains the Crue's best selling album, many fans regard "Shout at the Devil" as the band's magnum opus.

Eschewing the punk styling of their debut, the Crue opted for a heavier, fiercer look and sound for their second album. If "Too Fast for Love" paid tribute to the Clash and Generation X, "Shout at the Devil" barrowed a little from KISS and Aerosmith; but made the sound heavier. Song after song, "Shout" takes no prisoners. Indeed, "Shout at the Devil" is the bands heaviest, most intense release.

While "Shout" isn't exactly a concept record, defiance against corrupt authority seems to be the album's central theme. "Shout at the Devil" depicts a world without morality, a hopeless, empty, sorrowful place. Evil abounds, but you must fight it, be strong, and fight back.

One reason "Shout" is such a great album is the band really gives 100 percent effort. The Crue had not yet slipped into complacency and went into the studio full force. It's as though with "Shout," they wanted to make a statement. They wanted to tell the world that they were the meanest, baddest, loudest, fiercest band on the planet. With "Shout," Nikki Sixx (bass), Tommy Lee (drums), Mick Mars (guitar), and Vince Neil (vocals), give the performance of their career.

Not only did the Crue have the image and the attitude, they also had great songs to back it up. Simply put, Nikki Sixx's best songwriting is from this period. The songs are heavy, but also highly melodic. The whole album has great hooks and grooves, but is never overly commercial or contrived. While the Crue's later work was excellent if uneven, "Shout" is virtually flawless.

The album starts out with an introduction titled "In the Beginning," which describes a world gone to hell. The narrator tells the listener to fight back, "be strong and Shout at the Devil!" This introduction is essential to setting the atmosphere for the rest of the album and is a great lead-in the album's title track. The mid-tempo "Shout at the Devil" has a magnificent pounding beat with a sinister riff and groove. The rapid-fire "Looks that Kill" is probably the album's catchiest song, which may be why it was chosen as a single. The hard-hitting "Bastard" is good, if not excellent, and keeps up the momentum.

The album slows down a bit for the haunting instrumental "God Bless the Children of the Beast," which is a nice change of pace. This leads perfectly into a cover of the Beatles "Helter Skelter." "Helter Skelter" is considered by some to be one of the first metal songs ever written, so its inclusion is not entirely out-of-place. The Crue more-or-less stick to the original sound of the track, but give it a little more of a metal trimming. Although not quite up-to-par with the original (it is The Beatles after all), it's definitely a worthy cover and a great addition to "Shout." "Red Hot," while not the album's most well-known song, is quite strong and infectious. "Too Young to fall in Love," another Motley staple, is the closest the album comes to an actual balled. The intensity of the album only increases as it winds down with the no-holds-bar "Knock `em Dead Kid," and "Ten Seconds to Love." The intensity levels off with "Danger," which makes for a good closing number.

The remastered edition has plenty of bonus material that should be of interest to fans. Demo versions of "Shout at the Devil," "Looks that Kill," and "Too Young to fall in Love" show the songs as works-in-progress and are of important historical value. The demo "Hotter than Hell" was re-worked, and re-titled "Louder than Hell" for the Crue's follow-up album "Theatre of Pain" (1985). It's cool to hear a "Theatre of Pain" era song as it might have been used for "Shout." The unreleased "I Will Survive" is good, but not great.

Released in 1983, "Shout at the Devil" has held up fairly well. It may seem a little dated and tame when compared to something like Marilyn Manson's "Antichrist Superstar" (1996) or other more recent metal bands, but "Shout" was one of the first of its type. It should be noted that Manson himself is a big fan of this album. So without "Shout," there would be no "Antichrist Superstar."

Along with "Too Fast for Love," and the highly underrated self-titled "Motley Crue" (1994), "Shout at the Devil" remains the Crue's best work. Although there were many imitators, some good, some bad, "Shout at the Devil" remains a quintessential 80s heavy metal album.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Seminal, June 11, 2004

By 

loomis (akron, oh) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shout at the Devil (Audio CD)

Shout at the Devil is a critically important album. While its predecessor, Too Fast for Love, was quite good, SATD lunged forward with a fury that left the aforementioned release in a glamorous dust. SATD is heavy--in pacing, in mood, in lyrics, in its mantra. But it's an image of a moment in musical time and location that will never happen again. It never could happen again. Ask anyone who survived it. You can hear the Sunset Strip beginning to unravel even here in 83'--well before Cobain--and in many ways this sad imminent doom is every bit as punk as albums that are officially labeled as such. This album never tried to be punk; it just is, and that is what makes it so, even if it is in a non-standard way.

Knock em Dead Kid -- Loomis

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow, does this rock!, April 15, 2003

By 

Brad (CT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shout at the Devil (Audio CD)

Motley Crue always had a heavy sound, but never more than on this early '80s hard rock classic. No one can claim this effort sells out, as it has a raw sound with no ballads. The title track is a legendary, fist-pumping hard rocker, while "Looks That Kill" just shreads. "Helter Skelter" is a catchy, hard rocking cover. "Red Hot" flat out smokes. "Too Young To Fall In Love" is a classic, catchy anthem--not near a ballad but perhaps the closest thing to one on this album. "Ten Seconds To Love" is another fist-pumping anthem.

This is, quite simply, one of those albums that opened the doors for 1980s "glam rock", "hair metal", or whatever you want to call it. Sure, the stuck-up music critics and "flavor of the week" pop music groupees deride this kind of music today; but if you listened to this stuff in the days it was most popular, you know how much fun this music is. Not to be taken seriously--just something to have fun and rock out to. What a concept!