RATT: 'Infestation' Artwork Unveiled; New Single Available For Streaming - Feb. 2, 2010
Californian hard rock veterans RATT will release their new album, "Infestation", on April 20 via Loud & Proud/Roadrunner Records.
Check out the CD cover artwork below.
"Best Of Me", the first single from "Infestation", is available for streaming in its entirety using the player below. The track is available digitally at Amazon.com. Other songtitles set to appear on the CD include "Look Out Below", "A Little Too Much" and "Garden Of Eden".
RATT vocalist Stephen Pearcy recently told AOL's Noisecreep about "Best Of Me", "You always think the grass is greener on the other side, but in fact it isn't. So you're letting someone know 'you're the best thing I got, but I had to go fuck around to figure it out.' It's one of those you-don't-know-what-you-got-'till-it's-gone kind of things. With me, I go through this shit every day. I'm married one day, then I'm not, but I am."
The band's first studio CD in 10 years, "Infestation" was produced by Michael "Elvis" Baskette, whose credits include PUDDLE OF MUDD, CHEVELLE, SALIVA, LIMP BIZKIT, ALTER BRIDGE and THREE DAYS GRACE, to name a few. The effort — which has been described by singer Stephen Pearcy as a cross between 1984's "Out Of The Cellar" and 1985's "Invasion Of Your Privacy" — marked the first time the group had stepped outside of Los Angeles to track a new CD in 20-plus years.
"The best part was having pre-production in Virginia, and getting away from our families and our personal shit and the L.A. scene," Pearcy told AOL's Noisecreep. "While we were recording, we actually all lived in the same compound. It was great. It was the first time we had ever done that. It was almost like when we lived in a one bedroom apartment we called Ratt Mansion West back in the old days."
Regarding the recording process, drummer Bobby Blotzer told Noisecreep, "It was a great experience, but there are always speed bumps in RATT. It's never an easy job to get to the finish line. We're kind of a dysfunctional bunch in the way that we work. It's not an English tea party. It's more like a pirate ship with a bunch of salty dogs. We work hard, we play hard, and it makes the aggression in the music come out more. But when we finally get where we're going, it makes the ride more rewarding."
On the subject of Carlos Cavazo's (QUIET RIOT) addition to RATT, Pearcy said, "He's perfect for the band. He co-wrote a couple songs and he plays like a motherfucker on this thing. Great live, great guy and great integrity for what he does. And as far as the double solos thing goes, he and Warren [DeMartini] knew exactly what they were doing. It was like the old days."
"Playing together was just like being old friends hanging out," Cavazo said. "Doing the record was fun and very easy. It was one of the easiest records I've recorded in my life. No one was arguing or yelling at each other in the studio. It went really smooth."
Marty
Number of posts : 3056 Age : 61 Location : windy city Registration date : 2009-01-16
Subject: Re: For all you Ratt fans... Wed Feb 03, 2010 7:53 am
Thanks Pete. Shelby posted a newRatt song and I didn't get passed the 1st chorus. I will try again today.
Pete
Number of posts : 19317 Age : 50 Location : Desolation Boulevard.. Job/hobbies : Sometimes... Registration date : 2009-01-15
Subject: Re: For all you Ratt fans... Fri Feb 05, 2010 3:49 am
It's no secret that RATT are back and raring to go. The band is proud to announce April 20, 2010 as the release date for their Loud & Proud debut, "Infestation", an 11-song opus that is their first studio record in 11 years. The first single, “Best of Me" (hear streaming audio below), is scheduled to impact rock radio on February 21. The song is available at all digital stores.
There's been a flurry of activity in the RATT camp in the past few years. Vocalist Stephen Pearcy has returned to the fold and the band has since signed to Loud & Proud/Roadrunner. The legendary Los Angeles rock squad, also featuring guitarist Warren DeMartini, drummer Bobby Blotzer, bassist Robbie Crane and new guitarist Carlos Cavazo, engineered Hollywood's much-heralded Sunset Strip sound in the 1980s.
“We wanted this to be like something that we would have written right after [1984's] 'Out of the Cellar'," Pearcy said. “We definitely went back to basics with the mindset of a band with a lot of excitement and some great songs to get out."
"Infestation" was produced by Elvis Baskette (CHEVELLE, ALTER BRIDGE) at his Virginia studio, marking the first time the band has recorded outside of Los Angeles. The album is full of attitude and of reflection, cycling through a range of emotions. There are party anthems that RATT are known for alongside more contemplative, thoughtful tunes.
"It took 10 years to get back to where we are now, but we're in a good place," Pearcy told Noisecreep. "It wasn't overnight. It took a therapist here and there. It took opening those wounds and stitching them again and closing them. And it's still going on. But we're older now and it's a business, and we've gotten to where we can work together again and make great music."
"I guess I was always hoping that we would settle our differences and get back to work," added DeMartini. "Our problems weren't about our sound or anything. The differences kind of continue to this day, but with the help of our manager and time, we've been able to get some distance from the emotions and create a platform we could both live with to continue from."
"Infestation" track listing:
01. Eat Me Up Alive 02. Best of Me 03. A Little Too Much 04. Look Out Below 05. Last Call 06. Lost Weekend 07. As Good as it Gets 08. Garden of Eden 09. Take a Big Bite 10. Take Me Home 11. Don't Let Go
Stephen Pearcy on several key "Infestation" tracks:
"Best of Me": "You always think the grass is greener on the other side, but in fact it isn't. So you're letting someone know 'you're the best thing I got, but I had to go fu*k around to figure it out.' It's one of those you don't know what you got till it's gone kind of things. With me, I go through this shit every day. I'm married one day, then I'm not, but I am."
"Look Out Below": "That's your good old relationship song, but I think when I said, 'There's no one better when you're on your knees.' It's saying, 'Yeah, that sex thing is good. But [at the same time], somebody's gonna get dead if I find out they're in my turf fuc*ing my woman.'"
"A Little Too Much": "I was doing too much of bad things and losing a lot of good things, and I think with this song I was trying to kind of let the other person know what was going on. And at the same time, it's kind of me talking to myself: 'You say let's stop, I say let's go. You say it's hot, I say it's cold.'"
"Garden of Eden": "Again, that's a place I was at to where I was unsure about my relationship to the point where there wasn't one for a while, even during the record. Even though I'm married, there was no relationship. So that song dabbles in that. It's saying, 'Here's my good place. Here's my garden of Eden.' But in this place there's lots of weird shit."
Chrissy
Number of posts : 9677 Age : 54 Location : Burbank, California Registration date : 2009-01-14
Subject: Re: For all you Ratt fans... Fri Feb 05, 2010 8:58 am
I like Ratt..always have...Carlos is a fantastic guitar player..I am really looking forward to seeing his work on this....
RFFB
Number of posts : 6436 Age : 111 Location : Anywhere but where I am! Registration date : 2009-01-24
Subject: Re: For all you Ratt fans... Fri Feb 05, 2010 3:28 pm
hmm...not sure about that new song.
Matty35 Admin
Number of posts : 1996 Age : 53 Location : United Kingdom Job/hobbies : Chuggin On The Low E Registration date : 2009-01-05
Subject: Re: For all you Ratt fans... Mon Feb 15, 2010 1:06 pm
Cool riff!, gonna take a couple more listens, but i'm starting to dig it