By 1983, MOTLEY CRUE had cemented their legendary reputation as the most notorious heavy metal band on the Los Angeles Sunset Strip.
The band’s sophomore release, SHOUT AT THE DEVIL, can be summed up as NWOBHM meets L.A. Glam with a generous infusion of decadence, debauchery and just a dash of the occult for good measure (because let’s face it: if it terrifies the establishment enough to put a “Parental Advisory” sticker on the cover, you know it’s GOT to be awesome!).
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Released September 26, 1983
Recorded April–July 1983
Studio Cherokee Studios, Hollywood, California
Vince Neil – lead vocals
Mick Mars – guitars, acoustic guitar, backing vocals
Nikki Sixx – bass, bass pedals, backing vocals
Tommy Lee – drums, backing vocals
Tom Werman – producer
Geoff Workman – engineer
Doug Schwartz - assistant engineer
George Marino - mastering at Sterling Sound, New York
Bob Defrin - cover art
Side one
1. "In the Beginning" 1:13
2. "Shout at the Devil" 3:16
3. "Looks That Kill" 4:07
4. "Bastard" 2:54
5. "God Bless the Children of the Beast" 1:33
6. "Helter Skelter" (The Beatles cover) 3:09
Side two
7. "Red Hot" 3:20
8. "Too Young to Fall in Love" 3:34
9. "Knock 'Em Dead, Kid" 3:43
10. "Ten Seconds to Love" 4:17
11. "Danger" 3:51
Total length: 34:57
Check out the Crue here
Check out their 2022 Stadium Tour here
Listen closely for the squishy sounds in the background and “always remember” to order up some Krell kabobs as you JOIN US for a heroic dose of the sleazy debauchery and hedonistic excesses of “The Caligula of L.A. Metal” as Metal Nerdery salutes the band and the album that made The PMRC Filthy Fifteen and scared the Hell out of parents everywhere!
IN THE BEGINNING: In 1983, this was absolutely magic. A sonic sorcery that created a new dimension of sound and sucked you in without mercy. The entire sonic landscape sounds like an apocalyptic movie.
“So come now, children of the beast, be strong and shout at the devil!”
SHOUT AT THE DEVIL: THIS was fucking heavy metal!! There’s always been that “in-between-period” from when hard rock made the jump to heavy metal, and 1983 was certainly a landmark year for this, especially for Motley Crue. The Drop D tuning didn’t hurt either…it only added heaviness. It was almost as if saying “Shout ‘GO FUCK YOURSELF!’ At The Devil”, and it was equally hilarious, glorious and somehow righteous.
“Be strong and laugh and…”
LOOKS THAT KILL: That’s almost “pre-Thrash” (or maybe “pre-power metal”). That Tommy Lee drum sound is on par with the John Bonham drum sound…it’s absolutely huge and lends a tremendous amount of weight to the overall sound.
“And believe me you, she’s a number thirteen…”
BASTARD: As much as real musicians (like guitar players) hate to admit, the power of the drummer can define the overall power of the entire band. Tommy Lee’s power behind the drum kit absolutely made Motley Crue heavier than they would have been otherwise (and Mick Mars’ gigantic guitar sound certainly didn’t hurt either).
“Make it quick, blow off his head…”
GOD BLESS THE CHILDREN OF THE BEAST: It’s an instrumental…basically.
Almost has a NWOBHM feel to it…definitely heavy metal.
HELTER SKELTER: What a fucking BRILLIANT cover!!! For most of us, this was our first exposure to The Beatles (and specifically, Motley’s version of this song from The Beatles’ eponymous White Album, which is still apologizing for being white to this day…). They really heavied the fuck out of this. Excellent Work, boys!!
“Well do you don’t you want me to love you?”
RED HOT: Flip that cassette over… its time slide into Side 2! What a fucking killer opener, with DOUBLE BASS no less! I believe they played this at show #2 at The Omni in Atlanta, GA back in November 1987…and I believe I was just as enthralled then as I am now listening to it in the comfort of my 34th Floor Inverted Bunker Poon Studio apartment.
“Together we stand for the youth…”
TOO YOUNG TO FALL IN LOVE:
Everyone remembers the video for this from back in the day (or everyone with MTV anyway…). In some ways, Motley Crue was like a heavier, scarier version of KISS.
“Why don’t you just set me free?”
KNOCK ‘EM DEAD KID:
If you listen to this album enough you can feel the darkness of it. No one else in 1983 had the kind of darker, mysterious vibe that Motley Crue had. Nobody.
“Well it’s a T.K.O…”
TEN SECONDS TO LOVE:
Let’s be honest…that’s about all it really takes. Maybe less depending on your prostate health.
“You’re my ten second pet…”
DANGER:
Maybe a bit outside the wheelhouse of the rest of the album. Artists will often put songs at the very end of an album that don’t fit with the album, which is kind of a blessing in disguise, because then it’s like a bonus track…so if you want to end the album with the song previously, then consider this one extra. It’s a good closer…definitely has that sort of darker, desperation to it…you can kinda feel the seediness that Vince was singing about.
“You’re in danger and this is the town…This is Hollywood”
Show Notes:
(00:01) – #andbegin Official #Legal #clinky #innertrex #multiverse #onehundred #doyouguysremember #bolth #alwaysremember (***What’s a good #flashback #soundtrack???***) ***MOTLEY CRUE: SHOUT AT THE DEVIL (Where were YOU when you first heard Motley Crue’s sophomore slam!?) / A word from Selma Mae / #KidsInSatansService or #KnightsInSatansService and an unknown #Satanical acronym for #Dokken (A new “hole”) #WestboroBaptistChurchFooFightersHaHa #GrohlTrohl #ILoveYou #YouShouldBeDancing (Sounds like a #Footloose kinda scenario…)
(05:50) – Never mind the #pentagram…Bring on the #scary (Which album cover do YOU remember?) and the ultimate Alex ooooooh of approval / #PMRC and their #genius #marketing #strategy for #Metal #Hahahahahahahahaha #GFY #ParentsMusicResourceCenterStickersEqualCredibility #PMRC #ParentalAdvisorySticker #MarketingGenius #BuyME #NoMistakes #Highlighter (#dontdenythepowerof #bureaucrats and #Metal) / The central difference between Too Fast For Love and Shout At The Devil / #KISSExposed***#OurNewSegment: The #BeerOfTheEpisode #albumcover #StillfireBrewing #OrangeDiva #TallBoys #MetalNerderySalutes #HailToStillfire #cuethecrickets #HailtoStillOfTheNightFireCore #TheNewCore and #symbolism (and an eloquent label reading by Russell***
(12:40) – 200,000 copies in the first 2 weeks!? #AlwaysRemember #WKLS96ROCK #nonaysaying / The Mick Mars “big” (#superbigly) #virtuosostank #heavysolo guitar sound (#SpinalTap #WaitWhat #KillBill #sorrybuddy) #toofar #wrongpipe #hollowpeenyos and #highfiber / #Bastard actually applies to #bolth ***CALL METAL NERDERY AT 980-666-8182 AND LEAVE A MESSAGE FROM A VOICEMAIL*** #illtakethewhats #thirtythirdfloorinvertedundergroundbunkerpoonstudios
(19:20) – Motley Crue at the US Festival (#noperiods #twentyeightdays) #FutureEpisodeBrainDump #Loads and #impossiblyhighexpectations (See also #London…almost like #earlyglammetal see also #SamDunn and his analysis of the various #Metal #Genres / Recording shit off of the radio #backintheday #crotchetyoldfucks /***Touring with #KISS vs Touring with #Ozzy*** / #deepthoughtsASMR #Gold and #Platinum #overtangentionalalityismness
(25:00) - ***Enjoy the Creepy***IN THE BEGINNING (#ithasbeenwritten) SHOUT AT THE DEVIL (#recordscratch #ChristopherWalking and #patreonideas) #yeah and the joy of finding one song that totally ear worms you and #replayingitoverandoverandover #hooks and #memories #AlwaysRemember / The “peak” of #MotleyCrue and their power! (…other than their #eponymous #album with #JohnCorabi) #magicburp
(31:45) – LOOKS THAT KILL (#earlythrash or #earlypowermetal maybe?) You’ve got to love the #gangvocals #midnightbong***that guitar solo is totally fucking heavy metal! *** #CBLE #HEY #TheMickSquealie #Mexican and #FridayNightCuisine ***GIVE US A CALL AT 980-666-8182 and give us some #input and/or #constructivefeedback *** / BASTARD, and the mystery behind the #guestdrummer & GOD BLESS THE CHILDREN OF THE BEAST (#taller #longer or #boLth?) ***BUY OUR SHIT AT metalnerdery.com/merch *** / HELTER SKELTER (See Also #TheBeatles See Also Also #CharlesMason for additional #tangentionalality) #dual #onmicburps #wondertwins #turnonthepower
(42:47) – The #killeropener for Side Dos: RED HOT #alright #cantbeloudenough Definitely #classic #heavymetal #everybody #MotleyMaidenMoment / A Motley memory from back in the day…#myhonk #cokesuppositories #relaxersuppositories #gograbnutsforthewinter TOO YOUNG TO FALL IN LOVE #ducklips (***Remember #LeatherCharm aka early #Metallica? ***) #espifodes / KNOCK EM DEAD KID and the “synthesis” of multiple rock and metal styles into something that coalesced into this album
(53:08) - #UrbanLegend TEN SECONDS TO LOVE (#squishysounds #readthoselyrics #myhonk #alwaysremember) / DANGER (and a note regarding #thelasttrack on an album if it doesn’t really fit the rest of the album) / Tracking changes #maxisong #notthepad / Memories regarding early Metal in the early 80’s (specifically 1983…) / Future show ideas… and a collective #HAIL and #Farewell to those we’ve recently lost! #JoeyJordison #MikeHowe #DustyHill R.I.P. / #ThankYouForYourInebriation ***THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED LISTENERING AND SUPPORTERING OF THE METAL NERDERY PODCAST…#hiddentrack #Decimation #itsallbullshit #thereisnomoon