Kane Roberts: The New Normal (Frontiers, 2019)

Former Alice Cooper guitarist and solo artist Kane Roberts has delivered his first proper solo album in 28 years with The New Normal. He’s joined here by guests Nita Strauss (Alice Cooper), Alissa White-Gluz (Arch Enemy) and former Alice Cooper bandmates Kip Winger (yes, of Winger), Paul Taylor, Ken Mary and even the legendary Alice Cooper himself.

Kane Roberts came to personify the 1980s heavy metal aesthetic with his bulging biceps and machine gun guitar on his debut album, but sadly there’s not much of an ’80s sound on The New Normal at all. It sounds like a mixtape of all the soulless, depressing late ’90s hard rock bands – think Staind, Nickelback and the like. Why the guy who gave us one of the early ’90s most essential melodic rock albums in Saints & Sinners decided the late ’90s “butt rock” sound was what we needed more of is anybody’s guess, but this is such a disappointment.

The New Normal isn’t a total loss. Album opener “Above and Beyond” and “Leave Me In The Dark” are really solid hard rock songs, and hearing Alice Cooper and Alissa White-Gluz on “Beginning of the End” is a real treat. The rest of the album is just a monotonous reminder of what sucks about radio rock in the past 20 years.

Guest stars and huge arms can’t save this one. Kane Roberts is doing his own thing here, but that thing just isn’t much fun to listen to. Spotify it if you’re really curious, but if you’re expecting anything remotely like his first two albums you’re going to be disappointed by The New Normal.