Shout at the Devil displays Mötley Crüe's sleazy and notorious yet quite entertaining metal at its best. When compared to its predecessor, Too Fast for Love, one can see that the band's musical range has certainly widened over the course of these two albums; the record features catchy, hard-rocking songs, but also includes an instrumental ("God Bless the Children of the Beast") and a powerful cover of the Beatles' "Helter Skelter." While such later albums as Dr. Feelgood would achieve a higher amount of critical acclaim, no Mötley Crüe album surpasses the quality of Shout at the Devil. [In 1999, the Crüe remastered and reissued Shout at the Devil on their own Motley/Beyond label with four bonus tracks: three demos, including versions of the title track and "Looks That Kill," and a previously unreleased song.] ~ Barry Weber, All Music Guide
Mötley Crüe (Main Performer), Donna McGhee (Management), Vince Neil (Vocals), Vince Neil (Author), George Marino (Mastering), Doug Schwartz (Engineer), Tom Werman (Producer), Geoff Workman (Engineer), Geoff Workman (Mixing), Tommy Lee (Drums), Tommy Lee (Vocals), Mick Mars (Guitar (Acoustic)), Mick Mars (Bass), Mick Mars (Guitar), Mick Mars (Guitar (Electric)), Mick Mars (Vocals), Mick Mars (Author), Nikki Sixx (Bass), Nikki Sixx (Vocals), Nikki Sixx (Narrator), Nikki Sixx (Liner Notes), Nikki Sixx (Author), Nikki Sixx (Bass Pedals), Allister Fiend (Narrator), Bob Defrin (Cover Design), Doug Thaler (Management), Barry Levine (Choreographer), Barry Levine (Photography), Barry Levine (Cover Art Concept), Barry Levine (Cover Photo), Barry Levine (Marketing), Barry Levine (Merchandising), Tom Zutaut (Product Manager), Tom Zutaut (A&R), Chris Solem (Mastering)
A warning that the album may contain "masked backwards messages" is included. This is in reference to Sixx and Lee trying to chant "Jesus is Satan" as an underdub on the title track.[1] Song topics include sex, violence, drugs, and youthful rebellion.
A limited edition "Mini-LP" compact disc version of the album was released in the Japanese market that features the original cover that was previously available only on the vinyl LP release.
In 2003, the band reissued their albums on their own label, Mötley Records, including added bonus tracks from each album's specific era. These bonus tracks are mainly demos for the album, with the inclusion of the previously unreleased song "I Will Survive", a track that was recorded for the album but was not included. "Black Widow" from Music to Crash Your Car to: Vol. 2 Box-Set and the Red, White and Crüe compilation was also left off this album. In addition, the music video for "Looks That Kill" is also included.
Reception
The album has received mixed reviews from mainstream critics. Barry Weber of Allmusic says, "Shout at the Devil displays Mötley Crüe's sleazy and notorious yet quite entertaining metal at its best,"[2] while Robert Christgau refers to the album as, "utter dogshit even by heavy metal standards."[3] The album has been awarded 4x Platinum by the RIAA for selling four million units in the United States.[4]
Track listing
All lyrics written by Nikki Sixx except where noted.
^ Lee, Tommy, Mick Mars, Vince Neil, Nikki Sixx and Neil Strauss. The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band, Regan Books, 2002. ISBN 0-06-039288-6
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