Metal Underground.com

Given that this album is produced by Gilby Clarke, and that a couple of the band members had just come off a tour with Steven Adler, it's little wonder that Hotel Diablo's full-length debut, "The Return To Psycho, California" has a decidedly Guns 'N Roses feel to it. Slick, sleazy and full of Sunset Strippers, this is an excellent throwback to the days when the hair was big and the riffs even bigger.

The title track alone is worth the price of admission, driven by a sleazy blues riff from Alex Grossi that Slash wishes he'd written and an excellent vocal performance by Rick Stitch. It's the kind of tune that's meant for cranking up with the windows down.

"Set It Off," with its groovy rhythms by Mike Duda and Mike Dupke, is another highlight, with Grossi's wah-wah-infused guitar line adding to the fun. And yeah, Stitch and crew "set this fucker off" indeed.

Any band that hews this close to those Sunset Strip sounds of the '80s is going to engage in a little power balladry, and there's plenty of that here. The best of the ballads is "Wicked Lines," which admittedly morphs into something tougher in the middle. Less impressive are "Bury You" and "What You Do To Me" — and unfortunately each of those tracks appear twice on the album. I'm not a huge fan of sticking alternate versions of songs on an album — and here, they seem to be put there for the express purpose of padding the runtime. The "alternate" version of "What You Do To Me" is the better of the two, for what that's worth.

The cover of Oasis' "Wonderwall" is also a little dodgy. Granted, there are a few differences between it and the original, but it still feels out of place here.

When Hotel Diablo stays plugged in, the results are some electrifying hard rock on "The Return To Psycho, California." The ballads, though, are a mixed bag, and the alternate versions aren't different enough to merit their inclusion.