Metal Underground.com

Grab the shot glasses, pull down the pool cues, and grab a bar wench because the drunken debauchery is about to begin. It would be impossible to tell just by knowing the backgrounds of the members of the band, but Chrome Division exists solely to get the party started, start the alcohol flowing freely, and convince the ladies to take their bras off. While Shagrath of Dimmu Borgir and Luna of Ashes to Ashes seem like the last people who would be forming a rock and roll based band, they have taken the classic rock influences of their youth and crafted a completely convincing, and more importantly totally fun, hard rock album with a strong heavy metal edge.

The subject matter of the songs should be pretty obvious, as the album is titled “Booze, Broads, and Beelzebub” after all, but while the devil does get his due in a few of the tracks, the album is focused mainly on the booze and the broads. Whether it’s the hard partying, burning of the midnight oil feel of the title song, or an ode to the attractive young things that keep the wheels of rock and roll properly lubricated in “Let’s Hear It,” there is rarely ever an instant where the main idea gets lost or sidetracked. The iconic long legged beauties associated with hard rock get an extra special treatment in the track “Wine of Sin,” which almost crosses the line to become a love song, if there ever could be a love song that referred to women as broads and had lyrics like “Show me your tits!” For that part of the night when the bottles are all empty and the girls have all gone home, the album moves on to the next logical topic of conversation for the hard partying gentleman, which is vintage cars of course, with “Raven Black Cadillac.”

It may be odd to see Norwegian black metal legends done up in rebel biker gear, exuding that rock and roll aura usually reserved for British and American bands whose members have spent more time in rehab than on tour, but these guys know how to work the theme and work it well. There is never a dull moment in the entire album, as every song is kept to a reasonable length, ending well before the formula could approach getting stale. The heavy guitars and slight punk rock undertone keep the energy level consistently high, and there are loads of choruses that a room of unruly folk could drunkenly sing along too. For those people who’ve had just a bit too much to drink and need to get some aggression out, there is “Life of a Fighter,” which is a perfect tune for throwing down in the mosh pit, or maybe for having a truly epic bar fight, breaking bottles of Jack Daniels on the bar top to shank the nearest foe. In homage to the pioneers of the genre “Booze, Broads, and Beelzebub” sports a cover of the ZZ Top song “Sharp Dressed Man.” While staying mostly faithful to the classic original, the louder and more distorted guitars with harsher vocals update the song for fans of more extreme music.

“Booze, Broads, and Beelzebub” works equally well as the perfect heavy metal party music, or as a legitimate stand alone head banging album that keeps the feel of the classic rock of years gone past with a more modern sound.