The Power and the Glory Hole

iTunes Review

The Power and the Glory Hole is a Faster Pussycat album in name only — and not just the perverted pun of the title, a recapitulation of the band’s sleazy sense of humor. Vocalist Taime Downe is the only remaining original member. The rest of the lineup comes from the Newlydeads, Downe’s post-Pussycat industrial band. This album aims to merge the two divergent strands of Downe’s music career — glam metal and industrial, two genres that fit together about as well as new wave and heavy metal. But against all odds, The Power and the Glory Hole works. Underneath the layers of pile-driver guitar and battering-ram drums, “Gotta Love It,” “Sex Drugs and Rock-n-Roll” and “The Power & the Glory Hole” have the same bluesy Aerosmith-derived strut of the band’s early songs. Rather than obscure the music, the industrial tilt helps to modernize the band’s old tricks. The fusion doesn’t always work —“Useless” and “Porn Star” are somewhat aimless — but “Number 1 With a Bullet” and a cover of Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots Were Made for Walking” prove that Downe’s dubious synthesis might actually be the recipe for a whole new strain of modern-day metal.