Meat Loaf - Bat Out Of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose

The original "Bat Out Of Hell" has to be considered the most unique album to ever sell 30 million copies. Written and delivered by two men with theatre pedigrees, containing three songs clocking in at over seven minutes, and giving rise to the single most ridiculous song in the history of pop radio ("Paradise By The Dashboard Light"), "Bat Out Of Hell" has no contemporary. There is no other album that matches the overblown rock of the title track, the teenage angst of "Paradise By The Dashboard Light", or the theatrical score of "For Crying Out Loud". Unless, that is, you count the sequal.

Sixteen years after the first "Bat Out Of Hell" caused a stir in the pop scene by breaking all the rules, Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman did it all over again. Mixing the best songs that Steinman had written and produced in the time since the first "Bat", and combining them with a handful of new tracks, "Bat Out Of Hell II" likewise left a smoking crater in the public idea of what pop music could be. With the single "I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)", a challenging, confusing, and purely bloated piece of music topped the charts all around the world. Combined, the two "Bat" albums have sold more than 45 million copies worldwide.

Expectations were set at an unreasonable level when talk about "Bat Out Of Hell III" made it into the press. Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman were going to unite one last time to finish the epic saga of their music. All great sagas become trilogies, and "Bat" is no different. Steinman began assembling the songs that would make up the record, writing new tracks, and scouring his stockpile of already written material. Before recording could ensue, Steinman suffered several health setbacks, and the record was delayed indefinately. Facing his own rapidly ascending age, Meat Loaf made the decision to move forward with the album without Steinman in tow, riling up a sizable portion of his fanbase that couldn't comprehend "Bat" without it's creator behind the controls.

From the first second the guitars kick in on the opening track, "The Monster Is Loose", the absence of Steinman is readily apparent. The music takes on a different tone from Steinman's gothic and Wagnerian compositions, moving in a more streamlined direction. Even the musical backdrops of the Steinman penned tracks become simplified, replacing the ornate and percussive piano lines with more contemporary guitars. On some tracks, such as "It's All Coming Back To Me Now", the new take on a familiar song evokes a different mood than the original recording; one that fits in with the general tone of the album much more than Celine Dion's version of the sound could. Other tracks, most noticably "Cry To Heaven" lose all of their emotional impact as guitars replace the fragile piano lines that punctuate the recordings of it's sister-song "Angels Arise", from the musical "Dance of the Vampires".

Desmond Child does his best to keep up with the tradition of "Bat Out Of Hell", but much like anyone other than Steinman would find, it's impossible to emulate the style. Child comes closest with his ballad, "Blind As A Bat", which on it's own merit validates the existence of the record. In the five minute running time of the song, we learn that Desmond Child can write an infectious hook, the production spared no expense, and Meat's voice hasn't lost anything from the last time that he resurrected the "Bat" moniker.

The rest of the Desmond Child penned tracks are innocent enough, but lack the individual spirit that the best Steinman songs were always known for. No song on the record, save possibly for Diane Warren's contribution ("Cry Over Me"), are offensive, but only "Blind As A Bat" reaches the level that was needed to make the record stand in place with it's predecessors. "Seize the Night" tries valiently to resurrect the entire album on it's own, but the amalgamation of so many Steinmanisms into one song are so bloated and unfocused that the best moments are distracted from, which is the biggest problem with the entire record. There are many good moments to be found in these fourteen tracks, but there's too much surrounding those moments to make the record stand out as the diamond that it could have been. Appearances by Brian May and Steve Vai don't even stand out amongst the overwrough 78 minute running time.

The beauty of the original "Bat" was the brevity of it's seven track running time. "Bat II" clocked in at well over an hour, but never felt like it, as the consitent quality of Steinman's songs didn't allow for boredom to set in. On "Bat III", fifty to sixty minutes worth of good music are stretched too thin, and no amount of vocal power can save the project.

Kudos must go out to Meat Loaf, who nearing his 60th birthday displays a simply awe-inspiring vocal ability that shames virtually everyone in the realm of pop music in the last ten years. His voice is poised, clear, and powerful, perhaps even moreso than in his glory days of the original "Bat". The vocals are the best part of "Bat III", but not the only enjoyable factor.

It might be long, and it might be too full of itself, but what would a "Bat Out Of Hell" album be like it it weren't? "Bat III" isn't a direct descendant of the first two, but it's the closest thing we'll ever get. That's enough for me.

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