On July 25, 2025, the original Alice Cooper Band will release their newest record, The Revenge of Alice Cooper. The last time the original members were featured on a studio recording was 1973’s Muscle Of Love. This highly anticipated record features 14 tracks with two additional bonus tracks at the very end of the album.
The record starts off with the slow winding “Black Mamba.” This five-minute recording is the perfect introduction to the Alice Cooper Band madness. The record begins with a terrifying bassline from Dennis Dunaway that helps propel the song forward. Also featured on this tune is the legendary Robby Krieger of The Doors, who uses his calm and cool influence to add a rather harder rock edge to the song.
Song two, “Wild Ones,” is a much faster-paced rock and roll song. It was great to hear how the band has not lost its edge over the years. Sometimes, bands can’t create music that could have been made during their heyday. Not the Alice Cooper group, on this song Neal Smith brings a faster beat to the table, which makes the rest of the band sound like they’re shot out of a rocket. “Wild Ones” could also have been a perfect opening song; the record has a perfect one/two punch of songs.
As fans make their way down the record, they’ll stop at tune five, “One Night Stand.” It’s another fair-paced tune in which Cooper’s voice is more monotone. What makes this song so unique is that Cooper’s voice is backed up by Dunaway’s bass to add more beef to the vocals. It sounds like they have found their groove by song five. The rust is shaken off by this point in the record and the transformation back to the 1970s has begun.
“Blood On The Sun” is the longest song on the record. Sometimes the longest songs don’t always mean their the best. But for “Blood On The Sun,” it’s one of the best songs on the entire record. One minute in, Smith does a 180 and switches the pass of the drums to toss the tune in a new and great direction. This song will quickly become a drummer’s favorite tune. Smith showcases how great of a drummer he still is. There’s a great marching pace to the song that eventually gives way to a melodic solo from Michael Bruce. “Blood On The Sun” is more instrumental than a traditional rock and roll song, but that’s okay. It almost symbolizes Cooper letting the other band members get their minute back in the spotlight.
Song eight, “Famous Face,” features nasty guitar riffs throughout the song. This track walks the line of metal and hard rock with how heavy the instruments are. “Famous Face” is easier to sing along to than some of the other tracks on the record, which makes it more of a fun song. On this song, you can hear Bob Ezrin’s influence as a producer on this record. On the back half of the song, a piano can be heard in the background to add another element of sound to the rest of the band, which is classic Ezrin.
Fans might reminisce about old Cooper tunes on song 10, “What A Syd.” It hints back to “Blue Turk” and “Gutter Cat Vs. The Jets” off of 1972’s Schools Out. On this song, there’s more of a swing and jazz element, which makes it stand out more amongst other songs on the record. This fun track will get stuck in fans’ heads as the chorus is such an earworm; it’s hard not to listen to the song more than once.
Immediately after “What A Syd” is the bluey “Inter Galactic Vagabond Blues” which again tugs the band in a new musical direction. Nowadays, Cooper can be seen sporting a harmonica for a song or two during his live shows – it’s great that he didn’t ditch that for this song. The band does a great job of adding new instruments on each song, yet keeping the “shock rock” and horror theme throughout each song. At the end, after the last chorus, the band feels like they’re shifting a classic muscle car into a higher gear as they move up the musical scale and great a blissful wall of noise that leaves listeners’ ears melted off after the song ends.
On song 12, fans hear the original guitar parts for late guitarist Glen Buxton. It’s very fitting that the band kept Buxton’s guitar parts as an homage to the guitarist who could no longer be on the record. On the solo, I do love how Ezrin decided to double the guitar to add a duel guitar sound and make them sound heavier than they are on the recording. Again, this song is another Ezrin-esque tune with an old western bar piano in the background adding more complex sounds on the recording.
Before the bonus tracks, song 13, “See You On The Other Side,” is a classic rock ballad. There are so many different metaphors on this track. Is it about a girl? About the fans? A message to each other? It’s a mixture of all the above. The mysterious message makes fans guess what the true meaning of the song is. Almost like the ending of The Sopranos, it’s up to the fans to decide.
The first of the two bonus tracks is a new and alternate take on “Return Of The Spiders.” This track is newly unearthed for the first time in 50 years and was remixed and remastered by none other than Ezrin himself. This song does feel like a time-travel back in time and makes for a great listen. The record then ends with a creepy and eerie rendition of “Titanic Overunderture.” It leaves a very uneasy feeling in listeners, which has become almost comforting when it comes to Cooper’s music.
The Revenge of Alice Cooper is a magnificent walk down memory lane. The original band proves that they still have what it takes to create great, straightforward rock and roll. This record is a must-have for any fan of Alice Cooper. This record contains heavy songs with a nasty bite that make fans reminisce about the 70s. This album has so many different and unique sounds of history that help propel the band forward into a promising future.
Rating: 8/10
Credit: Jenny Risher
Tracklist:
1. Black Mamba (Featuring Robby Krieger)
2. Wild Ones
3. Up All Night
4. Kill The Flies
5. One Night Stand
6. Blood On The Sun
7. Crap That Gets In The Way Of Your Dreams
8. Famous Face
9. Money Screams
10. What A Syd
11. Inter Galactic Vegabond Blues
12. What Happened To You (Featuring Glen Buxton)
13. I Ain’t Done Wrong
14. See You One The Other Side
15. Return Of The Spides 2025 (Bonus Track)
16. Titanic Overunderture (Bonus Track)
The Original Alice Cooper Band Are:
Alice Cooper – Lead Vocals / Harmonica
Glen Buxton – Guitar
Michael Bruce – Guitar
Dennis Dunaway – Bass Guitar
Neil Smith – Drums
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My love for live music started with my first concert ever, Guns N’ Roses back in 2016. Since then, I’ve been able to capture photos of some amazing artists like Alice Cooper, Judas Priest, Ace Frehley, and Post Malone. I am based in New York/New Jersey and go to school in Connecticut majoring in Journalism and I am always looking for the next concert to attend.
