Imagine my surprise to hear that this Italian band has been around for 30 years! Wow, never run across them before. That is amazing, especially in the Internet age. To make matters worse, they apparently toured the States in March 2010, opening for WASP. So to commemorate three decades of obscurity, they re-recorded their best/favorite tunes for this compilation, which for someone like me (and undoubtedly many others) is a great introduction to RAIN.

Without the blatant AC/DC-isms, the Italians are similar in sound/scope to gritty, 70s-early 80s (pre-MTV) barroom Hard Rock of KROKUS, their neighbors to the North. Keyboards help the diversity, in fact, the opening "Energy" begins life disguised as a Phillip Glass / Jean Michael Jarre keyboard excursion, before the guitars kick in. Those pesky keys add some shuffling, danceable backbeat to "Blood Sport" and the sanguine backdrop to the ballad "The Gate". However, the band is best at up tempo, wailing vocal numbers like "Rain Revolution", "Fight For The Power" or "Born To Kill". Not inventive, just shit kicking, guitar driven Rock N' Roll!

RAIN, pleased to have finally made your acquaintance, however belated, I doubt I'll be adding any future entries to my collection.