Stephen
Hailing from the same country as Gotthard, Mud Slick's debut was also released not long after Gotthard but unfortunately for the band, fast forward several years, they're left behind by their fellow countrymen when it comes to fame and fortune, mainly because Gotthard was strongly known as a persistent band to continue releasing albums and consistent in making superb songs while Mud Slick was only able to release one superior debut album.
"License To Touch" and "Girls Are On Fire" are two bombastic opener. Not very much different with their peer, Mud Slick also brought in brimming influences of Motley Crue and Van Halen to the table. "Slow Down" is a good AC/DC driven tune, "Money" and "Blood Justice" have nice grooves and Christen gave a nifty guitar solo touch, and "Little Girl Don't Talk Too Much" is the champion here. That track doesn't have any single flaw at all, the furious riffs, the killer vocal which is a mix of Sammy Hagar and Steven Tyler, the solos, everything's just great.
Some songs are slightly weaker, for example, "Manhunt", "Inside Pressure", or "Rain", but still you can't say they're fillers. Actually, there's no space for bad tracks in this album. Another diamond on the second half is the heavy metal slab of "Back On Track". The shiny spotlight of the band is definitely on the axeman Serge Christen. His guitarworks are a sheer pleasure in the style of George Lynch and Eddie Van Halen, and deserved a huge attention.
"Keep Crawlin' In The Mud" is truly a hidden gem in the weird year of 1993 where grunge is the main attraction, shame they can't keep this quality on their next albums, but if you can find this, rest assured as this one is 100% a keeper. Fantastic !