It wasn't just the eyeliner. In 1984, the Sunset Strip was a pressure cooker of hairspray and ambition, but while every other band was trying to be Van Halen or Mötley Crüe, Ratt just wanted to be heavy. They succeeded. When Out of the Cellar dropped on March 27, 1984, it didn't just climb the charts; it practically kicked the door down.
Critics often lump this record in with the "hair metal" excess that eventually bloated the genre into a caricature of itself. That’s a mistake. Honestly, if you sit down and actually listen to the interplay between Warren DeMartini and Robbin Crosby, you realize this wasn't pop music with loud guitars. It was a masterclass in twin-guitar aggression.
The Secret Sauce of the Ratt-n-Roll Sound
People forget how gritty this record actually sounds. Producer Beau Hill—who was basically a rookie at the time—captured a specific kind of lightning. The guitar tone on "Wanted Man" or "Lack of Communication" isn't polished to a corporate sheen. It’s biting. It’s mean.
Warren DeMartini was only 20 or 21 when they recorded this. Think about that for a second. While most kids that age are struggling through sophomore year of college, "Torch" was reinventing lead guitar playing for a generation. He brought a chromatic, almost "snaky" vibrato that separated Ratt from the blues-based pentatonic shredders of the era. His style wasn't just fast; it was sophisticated. He used wide stretches and unexpected interval leaps that made songs like "In Your Direction" feel slightly dangerous.
Then you have Robbin "King" Crosby. He provided the foundation. Without Robbin's massive, rhythm-heavy chordal work, Warren’s solos would have just floated away. They called it "The Two-Headed Monster." It wasn't about one guy playing rhythm and one guy playing lead. They wove those parts together. It’s a lost art, really.
✨ Don't miss: Who was the voice of Yoda? The real story behind the Jedi Master
Round and Round: The Video That Changed Everything
You can't talk about Out of the Cellar without mentioning the "Round and Round" music video. It featured Milton Berle. Yes, Uncle Miltie. His nephew, Marshall Berle, was the band’s manager, which is how they landed a comedy legend for a heavy metal video.
The contrast was hilarious and perfect. You had this high-society dinner party being disrupted by a bunch of guys in leather and spandex playing in the attic. When Milton Berle dresses in drag—a nod to his old TV persona—and the floor starts shaking, it captured the exact cultural tension of 1984. The old guard vs. the new loud kids.
It worked. MTV put the video on heavy rotation, and suddenly the album was moving millions of units. It eventually went triple platinum. But beneath the gimmick of the video was a song with a chorus so sticky it should have been illegal. Stephen Pearcy’s vocals were never "pretty" in the traditional sense. He had a rasp, a sort of street-smart sneer that gave the band an edge. He wasn't trying to hit the high notes like Geoff Tate or Bruce Dickinson. He was the master of the "cool" vocal.
Breaking Down the Deep Cuts
Most casual fans stop at "Round and Round" or maybe "Wanted Man." That’s a shame.
🔗 Read more: Not the Nine O'Clock News: Why the Satirical Giant Still Matters
- "Lack of Communication" is probably the heaviest track on the record. The opening riff is a sledgehammer. Bobby Blotzer’s drumming here is underrated; he wasn't just keeping time, he was driving the bus with a heavy, swinging pocket that gave the band their signature groove.
- "Morning After" shows off the band's ability to write a mid-tempo rocker that doesn't feel like a power ballad. It has this driving, relentless energy.
- "Back for More" was actually a re-recording of a track from their self-titled EP. The Out of the Cellar version is superior in every way. The production is deeper, the guitars are thicker, and the bridge—where everything drops out except that pulsing bass line from Juan Croucier—is pure tension and release.
Juan Croucier is the unsung hero of this band. If you watch old live footage, he’s the one jumping off drum risers and providing the high-energy backing vocals that filled out their sound. He came over from Dokken, and he brought a sense of "bigness" to the arrangements.
The Cover Art and the Tawny Kitaen Connection
The album cover is iconic. A woman crawling into a cellar. That woman was Tawny Kitaen, who was dating Robbin Crosby at the time. She would later become the "it girl" of the 80s rock scene, famously sprawling across David Coverdale’s Jaguar in the Whitesnake videos.
There’s something about that cover—the lighting, the grit—that matches the music. It’s not a sunny, California-beach-vibe cover. It’s dark. It’s a bit claustrophobic. It tells you exactly what you’re getting into before you even drop the needle on the record.
Why It Still Matters in 2026
We live in an era where everything is quantized to death. Modern rock often sounds like it was made by a computer program designed to remove all human error. Out of the Cellar is the opposite of that. You can hear the pick hitting the strings. You can hear the slight imperfections that make a rock record feel alive.
💡 You might also like: New Movies in Theatre: What Most People Get Wrong About This Month's Picks
It’s a blue-collar metal record disguised as a glam-metal party.
If you look at the technicality of the playing, it influenced everyone from the thrash bands of the late 80s to the modern "shred" revivalists on Instagram today. They all owe a debt to DeMartini. He proved you could be a "guitar hero" without losing the song.
The album also marked the peak of the Los Angeles scene before the hair got too big and the songs got too small. By 1988, the genre was shifting toward power ballads and gimmickry. But in 1984? Ratt was just a lean, mean, riff-making machine.
Actionable Insights for the Modern Listener
To truly appreciate Out of the Cellar, don't just stream it on a tiny Bluetooth speaker. You need to hear the separation in the guitars to get the full "Two-Headed Monster" effect.
- Listen to the 2023 Remasters: If you can find the 40th-anniversary editions or the high-fidelity remasters, do it. The low end is much tighter, and you can actually hear Juan Croucier’s bass lines properly.
- Focus on the Left/Right Channels: Pop on a pair of decent headphones. Notice how Robbin and Warren divide the labor. They rarely play the exact same thing. It’s a counterpoint lesson for any aspiring songwriter.
- Watch the 1984 Live Footage: Go find clips of them at the Monsters of Rock or their early headlining tours. You’ll see that they weren't just a "studio band." They had a raw, almost punk-rock energy that the studio recordings sometimes smoothed over.
- Analyze the "Cellar" Formula: If you're a musician, look at how they transition from the verse to the chorus. Ratt was famous for "pre-choruses" that built massive amounts of tension. "Round and Round" is the gold standard for this.
The record remains a definitive statement because it didn't try to be anything other than a great rock album. No concept, no bloated orchestral arrangements, just ten tracks of high-voltage energy. It’s the sound of five guys who finally made it out of the clubs and weren't about to let the opportunity slip through their fingers.
Grab a copy, turn it up until the neighbors complain, and remember why this band ruled the airwaves. It wasn't just the image. It was the riffs. It will always be about the riffs.