Guitarist Mick Rossi and bassist Howard Bates bring SATD bang up-to-date
The original Slaughter and the Dogs were present in the early days of punk, most notably supporting the Sex Pistols at their infamous Lesser Free Trade Hall gig in Manchester. Since then, they’ve split up and reformed numerous times as key players have had almighty fallouts! So far as original singer and founder Wayne Barratt is concerned, his version of the band ceased at the end of 2025. On the other side, we have the very much still active original members; guitarist Mick Rossi and bassist Howard Bates, alongside long-term band associate Phil Rowland on drums.
Mr Rossi and his cohort of punk rock veterans have a new album coming out, ‘White Heat’, the first under the Slaughter and the Dogs banner in a long time. Featuring twelve new songs written by Mick, and one cover, the album comes out via Cadiz Music on 4th September 2026. Recording the album at the famed Winslow Ct. Studios in Los Angeles, Mick has roped in guest musicians including Billy Duffy (The Cult), Morgan Fisher (Mott the Hoople, Queen), and Jerry Evans (Mick Rossi’s Gun St, The Duellists), whilst co-producing the album with Craig Parker Adams.
So, regardless of the fractious disputes on the name, is the actual album any good?
Anybody expecting a replica of the band’s raw urgent sound that formed the majority of 1978’s ‘Do it Dog Style’ will be disappointed. Fifty years on, trying to recreate that sound would be pointless – so here we have a far more mature album – a natural progression from the band’s 20th century albums – and it’s all better for it.
The vitriolic ‘Get A Life’ opens the album as a statement of intent, featuring Mick’s gruff vocals, power chords aplenty and a cracking guitar solo. The Velvet Underground’s ‘White Light White Heat’ has featured in the band’s live set since the early days and finally makes its studio debut. Starting with a drum roll that reminds me of the intro to ‘Money for Nothing’ and a guitar echoing ‘Pretty Vacant’, the song soon moves into far rockier territory.
The glam rock stomp of ‘I’m Too Much’ heralds Mick Rossi’s love of a certain legendary gardener turned guitar hero from Hull. In Mick’s words; “I discovered what a guitar could do when in the hands of the enduring legend that was Mick Ronson and I wanted that, that ethereal exchange between artist, music and audience, so hard to define but so magical when it happens. I wanted to be just like Ronno.”
Billy Duffy adds his instantly recognisable guitar to ‘Shut Your Mouth’, one of the strongest tracks on the album full of lyrical venom – with a great bass line as well. ‘City of Rain’ features one of the more memorable and poppier choruses on the album. Mick grew up on the rough and rowdy Wythenshawe council estate in Manchester, and the autobiographical ‘Be Yourself’ is a sonic delight, featuring some cracking keyboards from Morgan Fisher.
Next up, a couple of tracks with droning guitars underlaying the main narratives – ‘Love Inside’ and ‘Stay’ both have a satisfyingly hypnotic feel to them. ‘Blink of an Eye’ follows, and we are back in Ronno terrain with an agreeable guitar motif taking centre stage, whilst ‘Light Me Up’ ploughs a similar furrow.
Every time I hear the first few bars of ‘Save Me’ I’m expecting Mick to start singing “time takes a cigarette” – which is not a bad thing! The song has a jaded, end-of-night feel to it, and is as close as we’ll get to a ballad. Morgan’s understated keyboards add an extra bit of class to the track. It’s a fitting end to the vinyl edition of the album.
What’s that you say? Yes – there are bonus tracks on the CD, and one of them is completely brilliant. ‘Calling Out to You’ has a decadent bar room swagger to it, but it is the next track that really hits in all the right places. Yup, ‘Lust’ has single written all over it, featuring a teasingly slow build up before the band break out into a corker of a song.
If you pick up the box set, there is the added bonus of the band’s cover of Bowie’s ‘Diamond Dogs’, one of the songs that gave the band their name along with Mick Ronson’s ‘Slaughter on the 10th Avenue’ solo album. It’s a hard one this – Bowie’s original apocalyptic version is hard to beat, and any attempt to better it is doomed to failure (even Bowie struggled to do so). However, Slaughter and the Dogs take a good swing at it and come out of it with their street cred intact whilst playing homage to their roots. I particularly like the keys that replace the saxophone of the original.
‘White Heat’ is out on 4th September 2026 via Cadiz Music – buy it HERE
- Get A Life
- White Light White Heat (Lou Reed)
- I’m Too Much
- Shut Your Mouth
- City Of Rain
- Be Yourself
- Love Inside
- Stay
- Blink of an Eye
- Light Me Up
- Save Me
- Calling Out to You (CD bonus track)
- Lust (CD bonus track)
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