With Rehab, which ultimately became their last release - due to lead singer Kevin DuBrow's untimely and tragic overdose induced death at age 52 - this is an album that isn't a tremendous departure from their previous work. It's basically what you expect it to be - a record filled with some party hard hair metal anthems, and a few rather catchy and hard hitting numbers. However, like most QR albums, they run out of steam after a while and burn out before the closing note is struck.

     Rehab does display some ambition - like in the bluesy "Old Habits Die Hard." It also features frustration, like in tracks "It Sucks To Be You", which is terrible. From the outset though, it hooks you right away with two of QR's best songs ever. "Free" displays a strength that harkens back decades - and Kevin DuBrow's voice didn't seem to age one bit either, he sounds great - the next song, "Blind Faith" is arguably one of their best songs in their entire catalog. It is  reflective, and it surely must speak on a very personal level for DuBrow - if you look at the lyrics, you'll likely see why. After that, there are a spot few others that are decent, but the latter half of the album is mostly forgettable.

     So is this album worth a listen? It is a difficult one to recommend considering its deep flaws. Frankly, the best advice if you are a big QR fan is to download "Free" and "Blind Faith" off iTunes and you can pretty much spare the rest, even the decent ones. Overall, Quiet Riot's final album is much like the rest of their work, it has its highs and its lows. It can wow and it can disappoint. In any case, Kevin DuBrow was a fine musician and it is a shame that his life was taken so young. May he Rest In Peace.

TRACK HIGHLIGHTS:

"Blind Faith"

"Free"

"South of Heaven"

"Old Habits Die Hard"

"Black Reign"

-Kurt L.

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