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THE LAST VEGAS
Bad Decisions

AFM (2012)
Rating: 9/10

For those not in the know, The Last Vegas are a Chicago-based metal band who were spotted by Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx, and Bad Decisions is their fifth full-length outing. Proof that here is another of those criminally underrated acts that I’m praying will not slip by the wayside.

The Last Vegas offer no frills – they don’t have to, because they serve up a menu of searing hot rock ’n’ roll that combines sleazy glam with metallic garage punk, fronted by the ever enigmatic and swaggering Chad Cherry, whose rasp comes across like a lethal hybrid of AC/DC’s Brian Johnson and Cinderella’s Tom Keifer.

It’s not just about the fire however, the five-piece sure know how to write a catchy tune too. This European release of the album, on AFM Records, comes as a digipak and boasts 13 classy, sassy cuts to get your teeth into, topped off with a rousing hair metal ballad in the form of ‘Good Night’, which is equally as potent as ‘Apologise’ from their last record, Whatever Gets You Off (2009).

There is something refreshing about The Last Vegas, a band who clearly have no reason to reinvent the wheel, but instead find it more comfortable sticking to what they know best, combining a Zepp-ish strut on ‘Evil Eyes’ to the slow building pomp of ‘She’s My Confusion’ and the AC/DC twang of ‘Devil In You’. The twin guitar attack of Adam Arling and John Wator give the record a raw yet beefy sound that spits with attitude, which is something that can’t be said about so many other so-called rock ’n’ roll bands of this day and age.

First single, ‘The Other Side’, sees Cherry vomit out the line, “Oh yeah boy ya better be ready”, and I’m hoping the metal world is finally ready for a cool band like The Last Vegas, because not since Buckcherry has there been such a high voltage and sincere sound that grabs you by the balls. The Last Vegas need to be heard and over the last few years have been given support slots for Buckcherry and Mötley Crüe. Let’s hope they’ll be coming to a town near you. Don’t miss this rock ’n’ roll train!

Neil Arnold