Rough Cutt 3

Rough Cutt 3 is the band's first new album since 1986, thirty-five years on. It appeared without warning on 8 June 2021 through DDR Music Group. Three names are on it: Paul Shortino (vocals), Amir Derakh (guitar) and Matt Thorne (bass). Carlos Cavazo of Quiet Riot plays lead guitar on “Bleed,” “Bed of Black Roses” and “Electric”; Thorne mixed the record himself and Lance V mastered it. It was made in Los Angeles. The circumstances are tangled. That same year, a separate Rough Cutt built around Chris Hager and Dave Alford had issued “Black Rose” in March, and the arrival here of a similarly titled song set the two camps openly at odds over the name. In fact “House of Pain,” “Prowler” and “Peyote” in the back half are older recordings played by Hager and Alford — the studio cuts appended to the 1996 live album. Seven songs are new. From the level tread of “Dive” through the bluesy sink of “Bed of Black Roses” to the closing ballad “Chasing Dreams,” the tempo never really lifts. Yet Shortino's smoke-worn voice still stands exactly where it stood thirty-five years ago.