Look up "overblown and melodramatic rock anthems" in the dictionary, and there's likely a picture of Meat Loaf [ tickets ], who elevated the rock opera to epic proportions on 1977's classic "Bat Out of Hell" collaboration with songwriter Jim Steinman.

After otherwise lackluster solo efforts, the duo reconnected for the equally colossal 1993 sequel "Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell." Drama followed (think songwriting equivalent of a lover's quarrel, custody battle and all), and out of the ashes rises Meat Loaf with "Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster is Loose." Like all court-ordered relationships, there's something unmistakably forced about the latest canon, even if it is unapologetically easy to get lost within the garish guise of history revisited.

There are hits, resplendent with enough lyrical puns and musical runs to almost dismiss that the album wasn't constructed with the same unified vision as Steinman's previous installments. "The Monster is Loose" opens with a title track penned by Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx, Rob Zombie guitarist John 5 (formerly of Marilyn Manson) and songwriting guru Desmond Child, who is responsible for co-writing six of the album's 13 tracks. Notwithstanding, it may be the album's low-point, unraveling like an all-grown-up-with-nowhere-to-go attempt at modern-rock superstars Disturbed. Long before any of today's phenoms could pronounce "ridiculously grandiose," Meat Loaf was serving up glorious all-you-can-eat buffets of the phrase. There's something awkward about hearing him play catch-up on a track that ultimately proves forgettable in the scope of the album.

Orchestrated by a dream team of modern pop-rock songwriting--Child, James Michael, Dianne Warren, Holly Knight and Marti Frederiksen--there's no mistaking that "Blind as a Bat," "Cry Over Me," "Alive" and "If God Could Talk" are the product of songwriting genius, and ideal vehicles for Meat Loaf's booming vocals and over-the-top bravado. Problem is, they could just as easily be Top 40 fodder for any number of '80s rockers looking for redemption at radio.

Despite the fact that they weren't written for the album, it's the hand-plucked Steinman tracks that truly shine, packing the above-mentioned vocal bombast with a Broadway-ready musical score. "It's all Coming Back to Me Now" may have been originally recorded by Celine Dion, but recorded as a duet with Marion Raven, Meat Loaf gives it a powerhouse jolt all his own. "Bad for Good" is a bouncing romp that recalls the Steinman and Loaf's historic, rollicking chemistry, "In the Land of the Pig, the Butcher is King" is a hard-rock juggernaut that makes the opener tremble in its wake, and "If It Ain't Broke, Break It" packs a right-left-right, rock-and-roll combo that makes it easy to forgive the album's fleeting moments of awkward chemistry.

Ultimately, "Monster" makes the grade. The magic of "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" may be hard to recapture, but this bastard son of "Bat Out of Hell" casts a twisted, brilliant and familiar glow all its own. It makes a worthy addition to the family.