Most glam/hair metal bands that ruled the scene during the late '80s opted to hide in the shadows for much of the '90s, after grunge made these groups an instant anomaly. But
Danger Danger was one such band that didn't get the hint, as they remained together -- in one configuration or another -- through thick and thin. And in 1998, the group (which at that point, included original guitarist
Bruno Ravel and drummer
Steve West, but no
Ted Poley) issued their fourth album overall,
Four the Hard Way. The album (which was the second to feature
Poley's replacement,
Paul Laine) sonically sounds like it could have been issued ten years earlier, as it's chock-full of power ballads (
"Captain Bring Me Down") and glam rockers (
"Still Kickin'"), as well as song titles that sound as if they were plucked straight from
Bret Michaels' notebook (
"The Girl Ain't Built to Sleep Alone"). While the album didn't exactly do battle at the top of the mainstream rock charts with
Creed or
the Prodigy (two popular rock acts at the time),
Four the Hard Way contained all the elements that you'd expect in a
Danger Danger release -- for better or for worse. ~ Greg Prato
