If, as world-renowned loud mouth Gene Simmons has more than once mused, rock is dead then someone forgot to pass the message on to Monster Truck. The Canadian four-piece have been churning out no-nonsense Rock since 2009, with their third album True Rockers (Mascot) carrying on their energetic mix of Southern and Classic Rock but, this time, with a few modern touches.

Songs like the title track and ‘Thundertruck’ are the band’s bread and butter, three to four-minute thrill rides that show their love of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Led Zeppelin and Clutch, the latter sporting a energetic melody with an urgent organ, the former, meanwhile, features Dee Snider ably playing the part of the proselytising Rock n’ Roll preacher. The brooding defiance of ‘In My Own World’ is a pacey shot of adrenaline, as is the short and snappy bundle of riffs ‘Being Cool is Over’.

These are short and sweet moments that sound like they were made with gleeful abandon. Aside from this we see a slight modification of their sound, with an attempt at modernity the goal. ‘Evolution’ is the end result but unfortunately it is a bit of a damp squib, an overly polished slice of melodrama in the vein of Shinedown or Sixx:A.M. ‘Young City Hearts’ is also of this mould, a fuzzy wall of sound with anthemic ambitions it never quite manages to achieve.

Things are brought back down to the earth with ‘Undone’; a soulful and heartfelt slice of blues nearly slap bang in the middle, slowing things down and anchoring the record rather well. These more measured moments are rare but another one crops up right at the end in ‘Howlin’, a serious number with a slow burning groove and a dash of harmonica, and also the longest clocking in at over five minutes.

True Rockers continues Monster Truck’s now ten-year journey of head banging, good time Rock n’ Roll with a decidedly Classic and Southern Rock flavour.

7.0/10

THOMAS THROWER