The Alice Cooper Group The Rue Morgue Records Interview

The original Alice Cooper group – Alice Cooper (vocals), Michael Bruce (guitar), Dennis Dunaway (bass), Neal Smith (drums), and Glen Buxton (guitar) – redefined rock in the early 1970s, blending raw, hard-hitting music with shocking theatricality. With Bob Ezrin at the helm, they pioneered shock rock, delivering rebellious anthems, dark storytelling, and over-the-top stage shows featuring guillotines, snakes, and macabre theatrics.

Albums like Love It to Death (1971), Killer (1971), School’s Out (1972), and Billion Dollar Babies (1973) turned them into superstars, producing legendary hits like “I’m Eighteen,” “Elected,” “School’s Out” and “No More Mr. Nice Guy”

. Their mix of hard rock, glam, and horror made them one of the most influential and controversial bands of their era, leaving a permanent mark on rock history.

Alice Cooper has sold countless millions of records worldwide and shaped rock history forever. Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2011, their music remains as powerful and relevant as ever.

Now, with The Revenge of Alice Cooper, the original band reunites for one more epic chapter, reclaiming the sound and legacy that made them legends.

Recently I sat down to chat with Michael Bruce, Dennis Dunaway and Neal Smith and it started with genuine laughter as we talked about how this reunion started.

“We’ve been talking about it for 52 years,” says Neal Smith laughing hysterically.

“Yes, step by step… slowly I turned,” says Dennis putting on a Frankenstein voice. “It was little by little but we kept coming back together over and over with various things coming up and recording songs for Alice’s solo albums. Then we performed at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame ceremony in 2011. And Michael has a studio out in Phoenix and Neal would head out there sometimes to work on tracks and when Alice was in town they would get together and I think that was the final thing because they did some tracks and decided that now was the time.”

That led me to ask what it was like when they first started to put together the first tracks for The Revenge of Alice Cooper.

“It was just like we had been doing all along,” says Michael. “We just started jamming and there were some really good feels there and then some parts started to develop so we put it all together Money Screams and Intergalactic Vagabond Blues and Crap That Gets In The Way Of Your Dreams… yep we were working on crap!”

“Speaking of crap I got the call after that because those guys had kind of decided on it before I heard,” says Dennis. “I got a call from Bob Ezrin and Alice and they said ‘do you want to do an album’ and I was like ‘of course I do I’ve been wanting to do one for 52 years now…so hello.’ And then I asked them well what songs do you want to do and they just replied ‘the best of the lot… the cream of the crop.’ And they were just laughing because my phone had cut out and they thought I had said ‘the cream of the crap.’

At that point I noticed that Dennis had mentioned the 52 year time frame twice now so I asked if this had been something that had been burning away for him all that time.

“I guess burning away might be a little strong but I had been writing songs during that time and 95% of them sound like they should be done with these guys,” he explains. “So, that is just in my DNA I think. Alice and I had started the band in High School and of course with Glenn and then Neal and Michael came onboard with all their great ideas and song-writing. We crawled our way to the top of the glittery rock pile and then all of a sudden the rug was pulled out from under me so there has always been that feeling and it felt like it had been swept underneath the carpet for a lot of years and this album is finally validating our legacy.”

“I think I realised that this was really solidified when Dennis arrived out in Arizona,” says Neal. “Bob said lets just get together and work out the kinks. That was the way that we had played forever, we don’t have to get together to work everything out it just all comes together naturally. We are very professional and we take things seriously but we also have a lot of fun and if we have a good time. If we didn’t we just wouldn’t do it.

“And this is something that we did want to,” he says continuing. “And it is always fresh. That is what I love about this album – it sounds live and it sounds fresh. We’ve had some people give us feedback and they have said it sounds like classic songs that just haven’t been heard yet. This is a full album of classic songs that just haven’t been heard yet and that is a huge compliment for us. But that is our chemistry and that is how this was written and if we ever get the opportunity to do this again we will do the same thing. And yeah when we get together it is like a roast – we will make fun of each other all the time. We don’t laugh at someone when they leave the room we roast them while they are right in front of us.”

It is also obvious chatting to the band that this is an album that needs to be heard on vinyl.

“I hadn’t heard it on vinyl only on cassette and CD,” says Neal. “That was just because we didn’t have our turntable set up but when I did that and listened to it on vinyl I heard things that I hadn’t heard before. Especially when I listened to Black Mamba I heard Ryan playing but then I head some things that I just hadn’t head before especially on the CD. It is pretty amazing to be honest you listen a couple of times and you just hear things that you haven’t heard before. You get further into it and you realise that there is a lot going on there. It’s not like it is jumping out at you – it is subtle which I think gives it even more depth – it sounds rare.”

“Yep the same thing happened to me when I listened on vinyl,” added Dennis. “Then you put on headphones and then you listen in the car and all three ways you hear things differently.

The Revenge Of Alice Cooper will be released on July 25^th.