1983 studio album by Motley Crue
Shout at the Devil
is the second studio album by American
heavy metal
band
Motley Crue
, released on September 23, 1983. It was the band's breakthrough album, establishing Motley Crue as one of the top selling heavy metal acts of the 1980s. The singles "
Looks That Kill
" and "
Too Young to Fall in Love
" were moderate hits for the band.
Overview
[
edit
]
Shout at the Devil
was Motley Crue's breakthrough success, selling 200,000 copies in its first two weeks.
[7]
The album's title and the band's use of a
pentagram
caused a great deal of controversy upon its 1983 release, as
Christian
and conservative groups claimed the band was encouraging their listeners to worship
Satan
.
[8]
The Pentagram was something
Nikki Sixx
brought with him from
Sister
, a very theatrical band he had been a member of (along with future
W.A.S.P.
vocalist
Blackie Lawless
) in the late 1970s prior to the formation of Motley Crue. Sister fused
occult symbolism
such as the Pentagram into a theatrical heavy metal show incorporating blood and facial
makeup
. Sixx asked Lawless for permission to use some of Sister's occult-related imagery for
Shout at the Devil
, as at that point Lawless was intent on moving in a different direction. "I said 'take whatever you want' because at that point, I realised that with an image like that, you end up painting yourself in a corner and you can't get out," said Lawless.
[9]
Just prior to returning home to Los Angeles to begin recording the album, Motley Crue was famously kicked off their support spot on
Kiss
'
Creatures of the Night
tour. The bands played only five shows together before
Gene Simmons
demanded they be replaced, citing their "bad behavior".
[7]
During recording, bassist Sixx was involved in a serious car crash after drunkenly stealing a friend's
Porsche
in Los Angeles. At around the same time, actress and friend
Demi Moore
told Sixx he needed
Alcoholics Anonymous
, though Sixx dismissed her concerns.
[7]
Sixx badly injured his shoulder in the crash and was prescribed
Percocet
, a combination of
acetaminophen
and the powerful opioid
oxycodone
which was commonly prescribed to treat severe short-term pain. Sixx's use of Percocet transitioned directly to a crippling addiction to
heroin
which would cost him $3,500 a day and almost claim his life later in the decade.
[7]
As the band toured with
Ozzy Osbourne
in support of
Shout at the Devil
, they discussed replacing guitarist
Mick Mars
. Mars was several years older than the other members of the band, and his bandmates were eager to add a more technically proficient guitarist in the vein of
Yngwie Malmsteen
.
Bob Daisley
, Osbourne's bassist, was present during the tour-bus discussion and told the band "do not try to fix something that isn't broken" when asked for his opinion. Daisley has said the band was serious at that time about replacing the guitarist.
[10]
"They didn't have the balls", Mars said when asked about the prospect of being replaced. "But one day at rehearsal they went, '
Jake E. Lee
would look good right here.' I went, 'I'm the guitar player in the band. Nobody else needs to be there.'"
[11]
As the tour continued, the band was invited to take part in the 1984
Monsters of Rock
festival supporting headliners
Van Halen
and
AC/DC
. Guitarist
Eddie Van Halen
was bitten by Vince Neil during a dinner, with drummer Tommy Lee also biting
Malcolm Young
at some point. Van Halen and Young were both reportedly furious over this behaviour. Lee also became involved in a fistfight with
David Lee Roth
which saw Motley Crue expelled from their hotel. AC/DC and Van Halen both subsequently demanded Motley Crue be removed from the bill, but the band's popularity at that time made such a move difficult. The promoter came up with an unusual solution: Motley Crue would enter their trailer immediately upon arrival at the concert venue, and a large crane would then lift the trailer several meters off the ground to prevent the band members from leaving and causing trouble prior to their performance. They would also be required to leave the concert venue immediately following their performance. "You apologized every day", said manager
Doc McGhee
of Motley Crue's behaviour during this period, which eventually resulted in him having to pay a $15,000 deposit before any hotel would allow the band to stay. McGhee also established a rule in which each band member would submit to him a list of everything they had destroyed in a hotel before he'd allow them to check out.
[12]
It was an article published in the June 1984 issue of
Hit Parader
magazine that brought the band's shocking antics to national attention for the first time. Andy Secher, the magazine's editor, traveled to Mexico for an interview with the band and was shocked to find "this young woman, spread eagle on the bed, naked, and they're going at her with a wine bottle". Though Secher had to heavily sanitize the story before it could be printed, the depiction of the band's behaviour nonetheless shocked America and created a firestorm of controversy which saw some retailers threaten to remove the magazine from its shelves. The magazine not only survived, but soon saw its readership increase dramatically, with Secher saying "We happened to hit perfectly with Motley Crue. That June issue was on the stands in April, just when
Shout At The Devil
was peaking."
[13]
"
Looks That Kill
" was a moderate hit for the band and played a large role in exposing the band to a wider audience. The music video produced for the song was shot over the course of an 18-hour day on the main sound stage at A&M Records in Los Angeles. Model Wendy Barry, who portrayed the "warrior princess" in the "Looks That Kill" music video, has said her experience with the band was very positive, describing Motley Crue as "all very nice. Really down-to-earth and fun", in stark contrast with their growing reputation for depravity. While Barry acknowledges the music video "generated a stir", she later said of it "I personally thought it was just a well-executed video as far as production, and the song was killer." A year later Barry would appear again with Sixx and Lee in the music video for
Ratt
's "
Back For More
".
[14]
The song "Bastard" was targeted by
Tipper Gore
and the
PMRC
, who were behind the move to have warning labels placed on albums with lyrics or other content they found disturbing. According to Mick Mars, the song wasn't a call to violence but rather was about "a certain person that we used to work with that we felt we were stabbed in the back by."
[15]
"Knock 'Em Dead, Kid" was inspired by a violent encounter between Sixx and a group of
Hells Angels
. Sixx somehow wound up in a fight with a group of bikers, even hitting one member in the face with a chain he had been wearing as a belt. The Hells Angels turned out to be undercover
cops
, and the bassist was subsequently badly beaten and jailed, resulting in a black eye and broken cheekbone. After being released from jail, he was inspired to write a song about the ordeal.
[7]
The album also features a cover of
The Beatles
' 1968 song "
Helter Skelter
", a song that allegedly inspired cult leader
Charles Manson
. Sixx was not a Beatles' fan, referring to the band as "fucking wimpy", but he lists "Helter Skelter" and
The White Album
among his favorites of all time.
[16]
Reception
[
edit
]
In a contemporary review for
The Village Voice
,
Robert Christgau
panned
Shout at the Devil
and felt the band's commercial appeal lay in false braggadocio on an album that is poor "even by heavy metal standards".
[2]
Rolling Stone
'
s
J. D. Considine
found their style of rock formulaic, innocuous, and unoriginal: "The whole point of bands like Motley Crue is to provide cheap thrills to jaded teens, and that's where the album ultimately disappoints."
[20]
In
The Rolling Stone Album Guide
(2004), he dismissed the music as "a distressingly mild-mannered distillation of
Kiss
and
Aerosmith
cliches".
[21]
In 2017, the same magazine would later go on to rank the album at 44th, in the list of "The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time".
[22]
On the contrary, Dave Constable of
Metal Forces
wrote that Motley Crue had "possibly come up with the major label metal LP of '83."
[19]
AllMusic
's Barry Weber was more positive in a retrospective review, referring to the album as their best, displaying Motley Crue's "sleazy and notorious (yet quite entertaining) metal at its best."
[17]
Canadian journalist
Martin Popoff
considered
Shout at the Devil
inferior to Motley's debut album, but found its music extremely addictive if unoriginal, calling it "punk rocking lobotomy metal".
[18]
Adrian Begrand of
PopMatters
called the album a sleazy and menacing "timeless L.A. metal classic". In his opinion, the album contained the band's best singles and "remains to this day Motley Crue's finest hour".
[23]
Ultimate Classic Rock's Eduardo Rivadavia gave much praise to the album calling it the, "ultimate L.A. glam metal album", and called the band, "the first heavy metal band to truly cross over from the male to female audience, which automatically doubled the band’s fan-base-building prospects".
[3]
"Without this album, a lot of the great
hair metal
bands wouldn't have come about," observed
Satchel
of
Steel Panther
. "
Theatre of Pain
was more of their glam look, but
Shout at the Devil
was such a great record. It was fuckin' sick. They set the bar. People looked at that and said, 'Fuck, we gotta dress up cool, man.'
[24]
Shout at the Devil
peaked at No. 17 on the
Billboard
200
.
[25]
The singles "
Looks That Kill
" and "
Too Young to Fall in Love
", peaked at No.54 and No.90 respectively on the
Billboard
Hot 100
in 1984, while "
Shout at the Devil
" peaked at No. 30 on the
Mainstream Rock
chart.
[26]
The album was awarded 4× Platinum (reaching the four million mark in shipments) on May 15, 1997.
[27]
"When a band like us put out
Shout at the Devil
," Sixx observed in 2000, "and the label does zero marketing, zero publicity and takes zero trade adverts, and you sell five million records, then everybody starts patting themselves on the back. But it's Motley Crue that did that, not Elektra Records."
[28]
Track listing
[
edit
]
Original release
[
edit
]
All lyrics and music written by
Nikki Sixx
,
except where noted.
Side two
Title
| Lyrics
| Music
|
---|
1.
| "Red Hot"
|
| Sixx, Mars,
Vince Neil
| 3:20
|
---|
2.
| "
Too Young to Fall in Love
"
|
|
| 3:34
|
---|
3.
| "Knock 'Em Dead, Kid"
|
| Neil, Sixx
| 3:43
|
---|
4.
| "Ten Seconds to Love"
| Sixx, Neil
|
| 4:17
|
---|
5.
| "Danger"
|
| Mars, Sixx, Neil
| 3:51
|
---|
Total length:
| 34:57
|
---|
2003 remastered edition
[
edit
]
In 2003, the band re-issued their albums on their own label Motley Records, including added bonus tracks from each album's specific era. The bonus tracks of the remastered edition of
Shout at the Devil
are mainly composed of demos, but include also the previously unreleased song "I Will Survive", which was recorded in the same sessions. The song "Black Widow", included in the
Red, White & Crue
compilation, was also recorded and left off this album. The track "Hotter than Hell" was later renamed and re-recorded into "Louder Than Hell" on the
Theatre of Pain
album. This edition also sports a warning that the album may contain
masked backwards messages
. This is in reference to Sixx and Lee chanting "Jesus is Satan" as an underdub on the title track.
[29]
2003 Remastered edition bonus tracks
Title
| Music
|
---|
12.
| "Shout at the Devil" (Demo)
|
| 3:18
|
---|
13.
| "Looks That Kill" (Demo)
|
| 5:06
|
---|
14.
| "
Hotter Than Hell
" (Demo Version of Louder Than Hell)
|
| 2:49
|
---|
15.
| "I Will Survive" (Unreleased Track)
| Sixx, Mars
| 3:19
|
---|
16.
| "Too Young to Fall in Love" (Demo)
|
| 3:03
|
---|
Total length:
| 51:32
|
---|
A limited edition "Mini-LP" Compact Disc version of the album was released in the Japanese market, featuring the original cover that was previously available only on the vinyl LP release.
2023 40th anniversary edition
[
edit
]
In 2023, Motley Crue unveiled the "Year Of The Devil," a reissue campaign commemorating the 40th anniversary of "Shout of the Devil," featuring a limited edition
box set
that includes the remastered album in various formats, original singles, a
Seance
board,
tarot
cards, and a collection of demo tracks titled "Shout At The Demos & Rarities."
[30]
[31]
Personnel
[
edit
]
Motley Crue
[
edit
]
Production
[
edit
]
Artwork
[
edit
]
Charts
[
edit
]
Album
[
edit
]
Singles
[
edit
]
Certifications
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"RIAA certifications"
.
Recording Industry Association of America
.
- ^
a
b
c
Christgau, Robert
(June 12, 1984).
"Christgau's Consumer Guide: Turkey Shoot"
.
The Village Voice
. New York
. Retrieved
August 22,
2013
.
- ^
a
b
Rivadavia, Eduardo (September 26, 2015).
"How Motley Crue Staked Their Claim With 'Shout at the Devil'
"
.
Ultimate Classic Rock
. Retrieved
October 5,
2021
.
- ^
Strong, Martin Charles (1995).
The Great Rock Discography
. Canongate Press. p. 567.
ISBN
9780862415419
.
- ^
"Motley Crue singles"
.
- ^
Strong, Martin Charles (1995).
The Great Rock Discography
. Canongate Press. p. 567.
ISBN
9780862415419
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Levy, Piet.
"37 outrageous stories about Motley Crue"
.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
. Retrieved
August 4,
2019
.
- ^
Jarriel, Tom (May 16, 1985). "The Devil Worshippers".
20/20
.
- ^
"Facts & Rumours"
. waspnation.com
. Retrieved
August 4,
2019
.
- ^
Daisley, Robert (January 1, 2014).
For Facts Sake
. Thompson Music.
ISBN
978-0-992-27600-3
.
- ^
Greene, Andy (June 24, 2023).
"Mick Mars Goes to War With Motley Crue"
.
rollingstone.com
.
Rolling Stone
. Retrieved
December 13,
2023
.
- ^
"Doc McGhee on the Motley Crue Biting Eddie Van Halen Incident, "It was a nightmare," David Lee Roth"
. Full in Bloom
. Retrieved
December 18,
2021
.
- ^
James, Gary.
"Gary James' Interview With The Editor Of Hit Parader Magazine"
.
ClassicBands.com
. Retrieved
December 23,
2021
.
- ^
Nobleman, Marc.
"The Girl in the Video: "Looks That Kill" (1983)"
.
Noblemania
. Retrieved
December 26,
2021
.
- ^
Newton, Steve (November 11, 2015).
"Motley Crue's Mick Mars: "Without groupies, I probably wouldn't have been a musician."
"
.
People
.
The Georgia Straight
. Retrieved
August 2,
2019
.
- ^
Kordosh, J. (February 5, 2014).
"Psychic Gruel and Motley Crue - a classic interview from the vaults"
.
The Guardian
. Retrieved
August 4,
2019
.
- ^
a
b
Weber, Barry.
"Motley Crue - Shout at the Devil review"
.
AllMusic
.
Rovi Corporation
. Retrieved
December 7,
2014
.
- ^
a
b
Popoff, Martin
(November 1, 2005).
The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties
.
Burlington, Ontario
,
Canada
:
Collector's Guide Publishing
. p. 232.
ISBN
978-1-894959-31-5
.
- ^
a
b
Constable, Dave (December 1983).
"Motley Crue - Shout At The devil"
.
Metal Forces
. No. 2. p. 29
. Retrieved
August 4,
2022
.
- ^
a
b
Considine, J. D.
(February 16, 1984).
"Shout At The Devil"
.
Rolling Stone
. New York
. Retrieved
August 22,
2013
.
- ^
a
b
Considine, J. D.
(2004).
"Motley Crue"
. In
Brackett, Nathan
; Hoard, Christian (eds.).
The New Rolling Stone Album Guide
. New York City:
Simon & Schuster
. pp.
562?63
.
ISBN
978-0743201698
. Retrieved
December 4,
2014
.
- ^
Grow, Kory (June 21, 2017).
"100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time"
.
Rolling Stone
. Wenner Media LLC
. Retrieved
June 21,
2017
.
- ^
Begrand, Adrien (December 14, 2003).
"Motley Crue: Shout at the Devil"
.
PopMatters
. Retrieved
December 7,
2014
.
- ^
Satchel
: "Hair Metal";
Classic Rock
#138, November 2009, p59
- ^
"Shout at the Devil Billboard Albums"
.
AllMusic
.
Rovi Corporation
. Retrieved
December 7,
2014
.
- ^
"Shout at the Devil Billboard Singles"
.
AllMusic
.
Rovi Corporation
. Archived from
the original
on November 25, 2013
. Retrieved
December 7,
2014
.
- ^
a
b
"American album certifications ? Motley Crue ? Shout at the Devil"
.
Recording Industry Association of America
.
- ^
Ling, Dave (March 2000). "We are ludicrous!".
Classic Rock
#12
. p. 48.
- ^
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
- ^
Wilkening, Matthew (October 28, 2023).
"Win a Motley Crue 'Shout at the Devil' Box Set and Picture Disc"
.
Ultimate Classic Rock
. Retrieved
December 6,
2023
.
- ^
"MOTLEY CRUE Announces 'Year Of The Devil' 40th-Anniversary Celebration Of 'Shout At The Devil'
"
.
BLABBERMOUTH.NET
. August 3, 2023
. Retrieved
December 6,
2023
.
- ^
Kent, David
(1993).
Australian Chart Book 1970?1992
(illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book.
ISBN
0-646-11917-6
.
- ^
"Top RPM Albums: Issue 4456a"
.
RPM
.
Library and Archives Canada
. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
- ^
Pennanen, Timo (2006).
Sisaltaa hitin ? levyt ja esittajat Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972
(in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtio Otava. p. 166.
ISBN
978-951-1-21053-5
.
- ^
"Motley Crue Chart History (
Billboard
200)"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
- ^
"Swisscharts.com ? Motley Crue ? Shout at the Devil"
. Hung Medien. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
- ^
"Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50"
.
Official Charts Company
. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
- ^
"Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40"
.
Official Charts Company
. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
- ^
"Offiziellecharts.de ? Motley Crue ? Shout at the Devil"
(in German).
GfK Entertainment Charts
. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
- ^
"Top 100 Albums Weekly"
.
El portal de Musica
.
Promusicae
. Retrieved
November 7,
2023
.
- ^
"Veckolista Album, vecka 22"
.
Sverigetopplistan
. Retrieved
June 3,
2023
.
- ^
"Motley Crue Chart History (Mainstream Rock)"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
- ^
a
b
"Motley Crue Chart History (Hot 100)"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved
April 27,
2021
.
- ^
"ARIA Charts ? Accreditations ? 1997 Albums"
(PDF)
.
Australian Recording Industry Association
.
- ^
"Canadian album certifications ? Motley Crue ? Shout at the Devil"
.
Music Canada
.
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