10 2000s Rock Albums You Constantly Have To Defend Loving

By 2008, it was safe to say the controversial glam metal bad boys were a long way away from the peak of their powers. Regardless, the long-awaited return of drummer Tommy Lee was greeted with a fair bit of fan interest.

'Saints of Los Angeles' wound up splitting critics and fans right down the middle. For critics, the LP represented more of the same hedonistic mayhem that had been the norm for the group since the get-go. For listeners, however, the album provided a fun stroll down memory lane to the hard-partying rock and roll culture of the '80s.

Essentially, this was an absolutely perfect piece of nostalgia for their original generation of listeners. For everyone else, however, the group's ninth studio effort was less than stellar specifically because of its nostalgia-heavy stylings. Seemingly offering nothing new to a vastly different rock sphere, non and lapsed fans weren't feeling the album's old school cool.

Tracks such as 'This Ain't A Love Song' capture the group at their most humorously sleazy, cheekily powering through tawdry lyrics that'll send more conservative listeners running. The titular track, meanwhile, sees the band in a surprisingly introspective place, recalling their original signing with Elektra Records. Overall, the album's an absolute must for fans of the iconic metal outfit, making it an easy-to-defend effort opposite its many detractors.