Cheeky, smooth and a touch theatrical, Alice Cooper’s original members spring back into action for the first time since 1973 with their new album, The Revenge of Alice Cooper.

Released in July, the album, playfully nicknamed, “The Return Album The World Was Afraid Of,” shows no lapse in the group’s chemistry or talent, hitting hard with their classic glam metal sound right off the bat.

From the band’s namesake and lead singer, Alice Cooper’s sultry and captivating vocals to Michael Bruce’s distinctive guitar riffs, listeners are drawn in with the irresistible bold sounds of glam rock. The album’s opener, “Black Mamba,” is a playful and perfect example of a classic Alice Cooper song, marrying the campy and sleazy sides of glam rock with his dark and macabre sense of humor.

After “Black Mamba,” the album becomes a rollercoaster of themes, sounds and influences that miraculously blend to create a well-rounded release. The first quarter of the 14-song album leans into the attitude and classic “greaser” image of rock and roll with a fast and loose sound that Cooper is truly the master of.

A standout of this section of the album is the off-puttingly quirky “Kill the Flies,” which is a continuation of the band’s 1971 song, “The Ballad of Dwight Fry,” a unique-sounding single based on actor Dwight Fry’s performance as Renfield, the lunatic slave in 1931’s Dracula.

The slightly humorous mood brought on by “Kill the Flies” dissipates with the album’s fifth track, “One Night Stand”; it is a dark and sultry piece that invokes a spookier side of Cooper, one that he plays into well with a flair of the dramatic, making it the perfect twisted love song for the upcoming Halloween season and those chilly fall nights.

This almost-ballad makes way for the album’s featured ballad, “Blood on the Sun.” Wistful and reflective mixed with a classic rock sound, “Blood on the Sun” is nearly Zeppelin-esque, capturing a delicate moment that persists through the changes in tempo and tone. The song is a solid transition from the opening glam rock into the harder-sounding second half, setting up the shift in tone between the darker-toned “Famous Face” that eventually blends with the bluesy-sounding “What a Syd,” named for Pink Floyd co-founder Syd Barrett.

The blues element embodies the fine line between blues and early rock and roll music, which inspired the band in their early days and ultimately led to the evolution of sound experimentation that gave rise to the glam rock subgenre, keeping Alice Cooper grounded in their roots. The outstanding examples of this in the album are “Intergalactic Vagabond Blues” and “What Happened To You,” the latter of the two featuring previously recorded guitar accompaniment from the band’s original guitarist, Glen Buxton, who died in 1997.

Arguably, the album’s highlight is not any of the typical-sounding Alice Cooper songs. The Revenge of Alice Cooper’s closing song is a short ballad that stands alone as a touching end to what has been an explosive album of memories and rebirth for the band, leaving room for fans to wonder who the song was written for.

“See You on the Other Side” is reminiscent of a more difficult time filled with restlessness and hiding as fame grips the songwriter and the subject. Being the first time the original members have released an album in over 50 years, it could easily be a heartwarming tale of reuniting as older, more adjusted men reflecting on their younger days of sudden fame and their time with Buxton, who they honored throughout the album.

Written by original rhythm guitarist Dennis Dunaway and percussionist Neal Smith, who provide backing vocals for Cooper, the song seems to address Buxton by joining in to say:
“I’ll see you on the other side… we’re all gonna be with you on the other side, and we’ll rock and roll the night away.”

However, some critics and fans speculate that the song may be a message of perpetual hope and comfort to the band’s fans as a way of saying that regardless of the time that has and will continue to pass, their music lives on and will continue to provide for them.

Either way, “See You on the Other Side” is the perfect way to end the album on an uplifting note, even if it is a bit mysterious. The open interpretation of the end leaves room for Cooper’s love to embrace the questions to come and play into the mystery, bringing The Revenge of Alice Cooper full circle as a glimpse through time of not just the band’s journey, but Cooper’s as well.

In its entirety, The Revenge of Alice Cooper should have been a summer blockbuster. It is the perfect way to introduce someone to the music of Alice Cooper and to get back into glam rock. In an era that lacks full raw musical integration with minimal electronic effects, the album is a welcome blast from the past.