Bat Out Of Hell III : Meat Loaf : Review : Rolling Stone

A lawsuit settlement prevents Bat Out of Hell I and II songwriter Jim Steinman from commenting on Bat Out of Hell III in a “derogatory" manner, so this review will speak on his behalf: Bat III is a thrown-together mix of Steinman scraps -- twenty-year-old songs and pieces from his aborted Batman musical. Producer Desmond Child and a team of other songwriters try their damnedest to re-create the bombast and grandiosity of Steinman’s arena-opera epics, but their efforts fall short. “The Monster Is Loose" and “If It Ain’t Broke Break It” delve into Limp Bizkit territory, astonishingly, sporting horns and new-metal guitars. The high points are the old songs, particularly Meat Loaf’s emotionally charged “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now,” but for the most part, the old magical feeling sure ain’t coming back.