French band Rakel Traxx source the usual Crue, GN'R references plus a bit of Vain and Pretty Boy Floyd too. Plus it's called 'Bitches Palace' - Can't go wrong, can they?

In a word........ NO. Whilst the promo pics seem to have been taken after studying every other famous band shots from the '80s, the music is certainly more original (Ok, not totally original - this is glam).

For a start, do not let the French thing put you off, there's no dodgy accent going on so they may as well be from LA. They definitely want to be. Having a heavy style quick-fire backline instead of the more melodic, slower approach, they sound musically more hi-tempo Vain than 'Appetite..' GN'R but you can hear some heavy assed riffing throughout which is pretty impressive. Glam should make you want to get up, shake your stuff and bang your head - this is no different. In fact, this is pretty fucking good. From the off, they hit hard with 'Yeah!!!' and pretty much continue all the way through to 'Bang Bang'. 'Quicksand' is pure non-stop heavy riff after heavy riff backed up by some heavy hitting drums. C'mon, what more do you want?? Thirteen tracks and ALL pretty impressive, no syrupy ballad to spoil the party (slow song 'Try Again' is Vain at their very best rather than the usual Poison/Bon Jovi commercial stuff), no showboating and no dodgy singer/guitarist to ruin it for the rest of the band. They may sing of the usual glam topics, but even with titles such as 'Fuck you!!!', 'Prostitutes Night' and 'S.E.X' , not once do they sound cheesy or tired.

This will make you play air drums like you wouldn't believe. You'll snarl, you'll smile and you'll move that beautiful Uber Rocking Glam ass for 50 minutes non-stop.

Vive Le Revoltion mutha fuckers. The French are in town.

www.myspace.com/rakeltraxx