In the mid-'80s,
Alice Cooper was able to crawl out of obscurity and rebuild his cult following. Though 1986's
Constrictor and the supporting Nightmare Returns tour hardly commanded mainstream attention, the album and tour were his most successful in years, proving
Cooper still had enough life to launch a full-fledged comeback. Not even a year after the release of
Constrictor,
Cooper released
Raise Your Fist and Yell, which is more of a return to his dark thematic role than its predecessor. The album is obviously rushed and suffers similar flaws to
Constrictor, most notably its large amount of filler. Nonetheless,
Cooper manages to sound energetic and charismatic throughout the record as he sings about his three favorite topics: sex, rebellion, and death. "Lock Me Up," "Step on You," and "Not That Kind of Love" are dripping with traditional
Cooper sleaze, while "Chop, Chop, Chop" and "Roses on White Lace" seem reminiscent of
Cooper's
Welcome to My Nightmare days. With
Raise Your Fist and Yell,
Cooper embraced his past while still managing to sound fun and exciting. All things considered, it still seems surprising that 1989's
Trash completely deserted
Cooper's menacing, villainous role. After all,
Raise Your Fist and Yell, though far from a highlight, showed
Cooper was still able to provide both rock anthems and theatrical experiments -- and do it rather well, for that matter. ~ Barry Weber