THE RODS were formed in 1979 in Cortland, New York and made quite the splash in the eighties with album like "Rock Hard", "The Rods", "Wild Dogs", "In The Raw", "Let Them Eat Metal" and "Heavier Than Thou" before disbanding in 1987. Their style of simple but effective Heavy Metal was a real hit in my country of The Netherlands, so it was easy to get hold of the albums back then. They even surprised us by covering a song by Dutch band WHITE HONEY on "The Rods". "Nothing Going On In The City" is still a relevant song to them now. Twenty three years after splitting up the main culprits of THE RODS, David "Rock" Feinstein and Carl Canedy decided to start working together again. Since then, they have released four more albums. "Vengeance"(2011), "Hollywood" (2015), "Brotherhood Of Metal" (2019) and "Rattle The Cage" (2024) are all solid and trustworthy Heavy metal albums that harbour the typical sound that typifies THE RODS.

Their eleventh album "Wild Dogs Unchained" hit the streets on 5 September 2025, just one year after the latest one, which is quite fast in today's market. And again, there is enough to enjoy. In the 52:38 minutes that THE RODS fire their brand of Heavy metal at you there is no choice. You either love what they do, or it just doesn't rock your boat. There is no in between, as this is super simple mid-tempo Heavy Metal with a solid foundation of a drummer Carl Canedy that does exactly what is needed plus a bass player Freddy Villano, who knows how to add to the heaviness but also has a way to add to the swing of the music. The latter might be a name you have seen before, and that could be because like me, you really like "Rise" by HOLY MOTHER, the other band he is associated with. As for Carl Canedy, he has built a reputation as a producer, and "Wild Dogs Unchained" only confirms that he knows how to make THE RODS sound.

And then there is singer and guitarist David "Rock" Feinstein. He is still able to come up with riffs that sound like heavy granite, still has a voice that is recognisable at distance and who writes lyrics that are easy to follow but still hit the spot where needed. These three guys together have produced and album that is really worthy of the title of THE RODS. I actually have enjoyed "Wild Dogs Unchained" a lot more than I thought I would. What might have helped is that the two fastest and to me most impressive songs are the last two, "Make Me A Believer" and "Hurricane". What a way to end and album. Hats off to THE RODS.