The Rods — Wild Dogs (1982)

intothewellsabyss
Jun 21, 2023
2 min read

𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐘𝐏𝐓𝐒 - 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐁𝐔𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊 & 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐘 𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐋…

41 years ago this week, the “Wild Dogs” were on the prowl!

On June 21, 1982, The Rods released their second full-length studio album, “Wild Dogs” via Arista Records.

Background:

Like many American Heavy Metal bands of the late '70s and very early '80s, The Rods enjoyed a far warmer welcome overseas than in their native land, which was still suffering from a double whammy of the painful disco hangover and its resulting music business recession. And The Rods were among the "lucky" few who at least had major record deals on their home turf (peers like Twisted Sister and MANOWAR were signed to foreign indies), which is how the blue-collar Metal trio found itself touring its eponymous first album in the U.K. as support to Iron Maiden and other major acts. The exposure certainly helped endear the group to British audiences, and since there was nothing really happening back home, Arista instructed them to go ahead and record their second album, 1982's “Wild Dogs” in England, hoping that building momentum would eventually translate into sales across the pond.

It didn't work in the end, but The Rods did come away with arguably their strongest all-around effort; more immediate than their debut of the previous year. Yes, that immediacy resulted mainly from the band's immaturely dirty lyrics, as well as straightforward Heavy Metal/Hard Rock songwriting in the style of AC/DC, Motörhead.

But for all its strengths, “Wild Dogs” performed only slightly better than its predecessor in U.K., and once again fell flat in the U.S.A., signaling the inevitable release of The Rods by Arista just a short time later.

Noteworthy:

David "Rock" Feinstein had first come to mainstream attention after playing in Elf with his cousin Ronnie James Dio. The Rods' sound differed considerably from Elf, adopting a more traditional Heavy Metal sound compared with the Blues-Rock sound that Elf preferred.

Re-issue:

Wild Dogs was reissued on CD in 1998 by High Vaultage Records, which added five bonus live cuts.

Links to Artists, Albums, and Music Videos:

Click this link to listen to “Wild Dogs” via Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/wild-dogs-remastered/1614778096

Click this link to follow David “Rock” Feinstein: https://www.facebook.com/David-Rock-Feinstein-252167128195234/

Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells