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Feb 18, 2025 Web Exclusive By Frank Valish

Eighties metal surely did hang on well after its expiration date. Of course there’s the infamous story of perpetual LA bangers Warrant going into Columbia’s offices to discuss its new album and seeing an Alice in Chains poster instead of its own hanging on the wall. The album in question was 1992’s post-Cherry Pie production Dog Eat Dog. And say what you will about Warrant’s Dog Eat Dog (actually, the less said the better), it at least showed a band trying to update its sound to the changing times. And then there’s Wildside.

Wildside’s backstory has the band supposedly ruling the strip in the late ’80s as Young Gunns before having to change its name due to the movie and then getting signed (supposedly after a bidding war!) and releasing one album on Capitol in 1992. But unlike Warrant’s last ditch effort to stay relevant in the Nirvana era, Wildside came unabashedly like it was still 1987. And in musical terms, that five years too late might as well have been an eternity.

Under the Influence understandably didn’t make much of a dent in 1992 (in fact, this reviewer, a high schooler and himself a somewhat late ‘80s metal holdover at the time, had never even heard of them until this Real Gone Music vinyl reissue). But alas, here it is again, this time on vinyl for the first time in the United States.

Starting with the sound of sirens and a driving drumbeat before segueing into the most ’80s metal guitar riff and best Vince Neil vocal impression this side of, well Vince Neil, Under the Influence unapologetically mines well-trodden territory throughout its 12 glam metal tracks. I would embarrassingly be able to reference any number of ’80s metal also-rans that Wildside could be easily be mistaken for with a simple blindfold test (Danger Danger, anyone?), but we’d be essentially splitting hairs, which is to say it doesn’t really matter.

The opening track, “Hang on Lucy,” is the song that could have catapulted Wildside toward a healthy several-years-long career if only it were 10 years earlier. There’s a song here hilariously titled “Monkey See Monkey Do,” which is as silly-sounding as its name suggests. “Just Another Night” is just another power ballad. “Lad in Sin” features the lines “mothers keep your little girls inside” and “here I am, the eye inside the storm.” There’s a couple songs about getting or being drunk, one which includes an acoustic slide guitar and harmonica (very “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” for you Warrant fans).

A couple other meaningless tidbits: Under the Influence was produced by Van Halen producer Andy Johns, and the album was in fact the first recorded by an outside artist in Eddie Van Halen’s 5150 studio. But honestly, who really cares? Under the Influence is a predictable, fun-in-places romp through a long-gone musical landscape. It’s the ultimate if-you’re-a-fan-of…you’ll-enjoy album. So scratch off the dates on the back cover and file aside your old Mötley Crüe records. (www.realgonemusic.com)

Author rating: 5.5/10