The Cruel Intentions All Hail Hypocrisy Review
The Cruel Intentions
All Hail Hypocrisy
Indie Recordings
2026
Oslo’s answer to Sleaze/Glam/Pop Metal, The Cruel Intentions, are back with another lethal dose of bitch-slappin’, rebel-rousin’ anthems on their latest release, “All Hail Hypocrisy”. They might not be a household name just yet, but if you’ve spent any time with Peacemaker (yes, the one with John Cena in tighty-whities and questionable dance moves), you’ve already heard them, you just didn’t realize it. The band has landed five singles across seasons one and two, which is either impressive or proof that someone in that music department has impeccable taste. Probably both!
This marks the band’s third studio album, though it weirdly feels like their seventh or eighth. Maybe it’s because they’ve been such a consistent presence in the Sleaze revival, or maybe they’ve just mastered the art of sounding like veterans without phoning it in. Either way, calling this strictly “Sleaze” doesn’t quite cover it.There’s a streak of Pop-Punk energy running through the veins here, nothing that’ll scare off the leather-and-lipstick crowd, but enough bounce and swagger to keep things from getting stuck in a hairspray time warp.
On “All Hail Hypocrisy”, the band leans harder into punchy, Punk-laced riffs and a kind of Bubblegum-Glam sheen that shouldn’t work as well as it does. Imagine Pretty Boy Floyd and Sweet knocking back a few beers with the Ramones - then starting a bar fight they somehow turn into a singalong. It’s slick, it’s scrappy, and it absolutely refuses to sit still.
At a lean 34 minutes, there’s no filler here - just a tight, high-energy blast of Hard Rock that struts like it owns the Sunset Strip circa 1987. Lizzy DeVine is in top form, delivering vocals with just the right mix of grit and gloss, while the songwriting shows clear growth since “Venomous Anonymous”. Everything hits harder, hooks faster, and sticks longer.
If you’ve got even a passing interest in the modern Glam/Sleaze scene, “All Hail Hypocrisy” is going to land squarely in your year-end rotation. And if it doesn’t? Check your pulse, you might already be dead.
Standouts – Title track “All Hail Hypocrisy”, “Triple Threat”, “Wasteland” and “When Eden Burn”.