Review
Meat Loaf’s voice has been associated with hard rock before — most notably his contribution to Ted Nugent’s Free For All album — but no one would seriously consider him to be an influence on the genre.
However, on his latest album, Hell in a Handbasket, Meat Loaf excels when he’s behind the wheel driving rock songs like “Live Or Die” and “Stand In The Storm.” But the real heavy song of note is “Party of One.” Meat may not be Freddie Mercury — mastering the mix of grandiosity to a heavy sound — but he does show how well his voice maintains a monster rock riff. “Party of One” has one of those Blackmore-esque riffs that thunders throughout the song and Meat directs it forward like the pro we know him to be, making for a real enjoyable ride.
Headbangers may scoff at the idea of Meat Loaf really motivating them, but anyone into the hard rock genre will agree that “Party of One” is one helluva hard rocker. It may be worth the album purchase itself (Hell in a Handbasket out stateside March 13, 2012). Otherwise, check “Party of One” out via iTunes if need be.
