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Ratt have been forced to cancel their upcoming European tour dates. Vocalist Stephen Pearcy will be undergoing urgent hernia surgery this week. The band regrets missing the European dates on the heels of the release of their first album in eleven years,Infestation, which enjoyed a high chart debut in European territories.

Ratt shares this disappointment with all their European fans who planned to attend the shows at Sweden Rock, Sauna Open Air Festival, UK Download, Hellfest, Grasspop and Gods of Metal as well as their other dates. The band is looking into rescheduling as many of the shows as possible.

Pearcy's doctors anticipate a full recovery in time for Ratt’s North American touring schedule, which includes a run with The Scorpions, beginning in July and running through September.

Join us in wishing Stephen a speedy recovery.

With their record release party for Infestation taking place at the Key Club on the Sunset Strip just last month, Ratt remember the former establishment that held down 9039 Sunset BLVD: Gazzarri's.

"Gazzarri's is the place where The Doors, Van Halen, and Ratt started" laughs frontman Stephen Pearcy mimicking an old radio ad for the infamous LA club. And while the band did get their start there as Mickey Ratt in the early 80s, its only fitting they returned to the same location (now known as The Key Club) to commemorate their nearly 30 year career.

Watch the guys hanging out before the show reminiscing about the Sunset Strip, and watch some backstage footage of the band warming up along with some live action from the kick ass performance!

The hotly anticipated record release show for Ratt's amazing new album Infestation took place the same day the album was released and in the same place where Ratt first got their start: The Sunset Strip. Press, celebrities and die-hard Ratt n' Rollers were on hand to experience the already legendary-in-its-own-right event, and we've compiled some of the best quotes and photos for your viewing enjoyment below.



Writes Noisecreep, "It might have been April 20, 2010, but if you were at the Ratt show... you would have been convinced you walked into a time warp. Los Angeles' Key Club hosted the album release party/concert for 'Infestation,' the Sunset Strip legends' seventh studio album, and the setting was ideal. Through a set of classics and newer -- but no less killer -- material, Ratt wowed their hometown crowd with an energetic performance that found the veteran act proving they are way more than a whiff of nostalgia."



VH1 wrote, "Ratt released Infestation, their first new album in 11 years, and it wasn’t just everyday fans who were excited about it – famous people were too.  At a release party on the Sunset Strip, Tom Morello, Atreyu, celebrities, porn stars and many others came out to watch the group perform five brand new songs in front of a sold-out crowd."



RealRockReport.com explains, "The interesting but completely understandable thing is that the show really felt like it got started when Ratt played the first song on Infestation, Eat Me Up Alive; which is amazing: to see a band rock that hard and an audience go nuts for a song that most of them have never heard is something that just doesn’t happen very often. It was awe-inspiring. Also from the new record - Best Of Me, Take a Big Bite and Last Call – were all met with equal fervor (go buy the CD… duh). Ratt did not disappoint for those with the nostalgia itch, either; playing many hits including Slip Of The Lip, Back For More, Way Cool Jr, A Little Too Much, and of course the ultimate signature song Round And Round (complete with a confetti shower)!"



Noisecreep continues, "The other part of the show that stuck out was how well the 'Infestation' stuff went over with the crowd. When many of Ratt's peers from the '80s glory days start rocking out their new material, it's usually a cue for fans to hit the bar. But when Ratt played their current single, 'Best of Me,' the entire audience seemed to be singing along with vocalist Stephen Pearcy. Now with the album in stores and the mighty machine of Roadrunner Records behind them, Ratt will be out on tour for the remainder of 2010. Whether you were born before the days they were on the cover of Circus Magazine or not, you shouldn't miss out on Ratt when they hit your city this time around."



Check out more photos from the magical night below, see the whole gallery right here and get your copy of what ABC news' Listening Room has dubbed, "vintage Ratt circa 1984, 1985" right here!





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To document Ratt's record release show on the Sunset Strip and talk to the band about what went into the making of their killer, 11-track return-to-ratt-n-roll-form album Infestation, we had cameras on hand shooting the guys backstage, onstage, behind the scenes and much more. Watch part 2 of this 5-part webisode series from the event now!

Writes music blog Attention Deficit Delirium, "Twenty-six years after Out Of The Cellar became a multi-platinum hit and made them rock superstars, original [b]Ratt[/b] members Stephen Pearcy (vocals), Warren DeMartini (guitars) and Bobby Blotzer (drums), along with long-time bassist Robbie Crane and guitarist/ex-Quiet Riot member Carlos Cavazo, have released one of the strongest musical statements of their career, Infestation. It’s their first new album in 11 years, and despite hitting middle age, the band has not lost its edge and produced a multifaceted collection of catchy hard rock tunes. It also showcases stellar six-string playing from DeMartini, whom many fans consider to be an underrated rock guitarist."

Read an excerpt from the extensive interview below, go here for the full feature, and get your copy of the return to Ratt n' Roll form Infestation NOW!

I’m enjoying the new album.
Me, too. Right now I’m going back and listening to stuff that I wrote, at least for my parts. Some stuff you come up with and record on the spot, and you don’t play it again unless it gets into the live set. Sometimes you go, “How did I do that?”

Infestation reminds me of the first EP and Out Of The Cellar with elements of Detonator present as well.
I always thought it was too bad that Detonator didn’t come out between Dancing Undercover and Reach For The Sky because I think it would’ve been a different thing. But by the time Detonator came out, the scene had really changed.

Do you think that the time off may have helped you to come back with something fresh?
I don’t know. Not really. The time off was unavoidable, and I feel if we had continued on from 1999, this record could’ve come out much earlier. But it takes some time and miles to break in a band to do something on a record. It’s a weird thing. It was good preparation for us to get together and do a couple of tours before we did this record, because it brings in a continuity that you just can’t get any other way. At least that’s the way it is for Ratt.

What are your favorite songs on the album?
There’s a song in the album called “Take A Big Bite,” and the opening reminds me of a moment during the first rehearsal, when Stephen came back to the band, and we were rehearsing “Lack Of Communication”. Live we would come up with different endings [because the song fades on album]. We came up with an ending for “Lack of Communication” that was more of a segue with a completely different riff to it. We rehearsed the song, and by the end of it Stephen was blown away. He said we should make a song out of that, and it was at that moment I realized that creatively our friendship was still intact, even after all the tumultuous years that had gone by. The riff to “Big Bite” opens up with the riff that used to be the outro to “Lack of Communication”. “Best Of Me” was one of those magic moments where Carlos played the opening riffs when we were rehearsing the material for Infestation, and it just went on to be a favorite of mine. “Last Call” is one of my favorite things I’ve done in a while. It was a riff that we worked out for the self-titled 1999 album that came out in Columbia, but it didn’t make it onto that record, which ended up being a good thing because I mixed that riff and the other parts with some ideas that Carlos had. We ended up co-writing the music that one, and then Stephen came up with the words. That’s a really fun riff to play.

Debuting at #30 on the Billboard 200 Album Charts, Ratt's new album and rockin' return-to-form Infestation is raking in the rave reviews.

Writes See Magazine, "Sorry ironic twenty-year cycles, detractors and Motley Crue book deals — the massive riff wins. Re-established with a vengeance, Ratt has produced its ninth and most focused release since 1985’s Invasion of Your Privacy. Stephen Pearcy’s razor vocals are spot on and (ex-Quiet Riot) guitarist Carlos Cavazo returns the vehement twin guitar attack to Ratt’s raw signature sound. The cantankerous bass tone and classic drum sound round out DeMartini’s heavy minor key changes that have always set them apart from other bands. These songs one-up their Halen-istic mentors, surviving peers and contemporaries. This album proves that writing the best songs of your career should never go out of style. Here’s your summer album, every song suggested."

HeavyMetal.about.com contends, "Infestation hearkens back to the band's glory days, with songs that match up with the best of their '80s canon. “Eat Me Up Alive” kicks things off with big hooks, a catchy chorus and sleazy riffs. “Best Of Me” continues the momentum and is also very memorable. New guitarist Carlos Cavazo fits in perfectly, and has the chops to keep up with original axeman Warren DeMartini. The rhythm section of original drummer Bobby Blotzerand bassist Robbie Crane (who has been in the band for almost 15 years now) is rock solid."

Sleazeroxx.com agrees, writing, "I was looking forward to Ratt's first studio album in over a decade, but after their average 1999 self-titled return I wasn't expecting too much. So it is with great pleasure to announce that not only has Infestation exceeded my expectations, it completely blew them out of the water! This may just be Ratt's best album since 1986's Dancing Undercover as it captures the band's signature sound perfectly and is heavier and dirtier than either Reach For The Sky or Detonator. I'm not sure what has lead to the re-energization of Ratt -- maybe it is the addition of Quiet Riot's Carlos Cavazo sharing guitar duties with Warren DeMartini -- but the 'rodent rockers' aren't just phoning this one in. No way, this sounds like a band that is hungry once again... it is the perfect return to form."

Watch the first webisode of Ratt's Sunset Strip record release party for Infestation!