ALICE COOPER: Paranormal (ROCK): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

Despite his big reunion with his gang, Alice Cooper had cruelly lacked relevance on his previous album, a collection of songs, an too long album and a lot of useless guests. With his new album illustrated by an evil doppelgänger, will our friend Vincent Furnier find his way back to the theatre of cruelty?

After the mistakes of "Welcome 2 My Nightmare", Alice Cooper seems to have made amends. If he anecdotally reconnects with the original members of the band on two tracks, Alice has not giving up on hiring the services of prestigious names and the list seems at first sight more appealing than on the last album, with the presence of bassist Roger Glover (Deep Purple), drummer Larry Mullens (U2) or Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top).

The Coop' has decided here to go back a few years : "Dead Flies" evokes "Caught In A Dream", "Rats" and the class ringtones of "Paranoiac Personality" recall the good times of the album "Schools Out", we can hear the riff of "No More Mr Nice Guy", "Holy Water" evokes "Some Folks", the words of "Fallen In Love" refer directly to his greatest songs.

The fan can rest assured, the weather is fine, the guitars are banging, the riffs are raining, the rhythm section is zebra-style and the compositions are lightning fast. 'Paranormal' sounds like a new hymn to the nightmares of the night, helped by Roger Glover's terrifying bass and a guitar solo that is as disturbing as it is enjoyable. 'Paranoiac Personality' escapes from its heavy straitjacket on the verses to bring us an anthology chorus with backing vocals. 'Dynamite Road' runs at full decibels on motorways that were once used by ZZ Top or Motörhead. And when the stormy ballad "The Sound Of A" comes along, the listener thinks that Alice Cooper has found a new youth. We may regret 'Fireball' which, despite its steamroller rhythm, crushes Alice's voice and the organ (played by Bob Ezrin himself).

Alice Cooper has often embroidered around a fantastical-horrific canvas but without having enclosed all the tracks in a single theme, preferring to broaden the horizons. This album will not contradict this principle, the themes of his songs are focused on the author's favourite subjects: bogeyman (loving entity on 'Paranormal', executioner on 'The Sound Of A'), cannibal ('Dead Flies') or rodent ('Rats') sects, paranoia ('Paranoiac Personality') or even profession of faith via a self-portrait as an authentic girl in a plastic world (''I'm a rock and roll queen in a hip hop world''' he sings on 'Genuine American Girl')

However, one could blame this album for its length. Once again, the Coop has decided to release some live excerpts where he revisits the jewels of his repertoire. If the listener is getting tired of these bonuses that add to the already long duration of the record, it is difficult to remain insensitive to an explosive collection: Alice Cooper is indeed a (night) stage animal. "Paranormal" proves that at nearly 70 years of age, Alice Cooper's venom can still hit the mark! - Official website

ALICE COOPER

PARANORMAL

EAR MUSIC

ROCK