(A required definition – rock: Loud party music without a deeper message, except in predetermined “ballads.” Never ends in the suffix “-core.” Must “rock.” Also hates ironic quotes.)

Didn’t everyone get the memo that rock is dead? Sometime, in the early 1990s, a chisel broke “rock” into a million pieces, each requiring its own dress code, with most fans being a bummer. Modern rock, vying for the “rock” label, came off as ironic, like with the Darkness. And I told you, “rock” hates irony.

Supagroup got the memo. Supagroup shredded it (embrace the pun).

Although their name unfortunately makes me think of Damnocracy and the sad modern reality-show lives of the former rockers that embody the TV show “Super Group,” listening to Supagroup’s new album “Fire for Hire” reminds me of the mid-1980s.

Of course, I wasn’t actually alive then, but I’ve learned a fair amount about that time through various VH1 lists and John Hughes movies.

What I have learned: Everyone lives in Sherman, Ill.; the Berlin Wall was like a regular wall, “but on acid!”; and music required references to whiskey, solos of all instrumental sorts and looking like a lady.

Supagroup fills most of these musical requirements. Because they’re from New Orleans, they’ve replaced the more Northern eyeliner requirement with the Southern handlebar mustache. But aurally, one can hear their heritage loud and clear, then loud and distorted, and then a little louder.. In my research, I came across references to their AC/DC-ness, and while this may be true, let’s be honest: They want to be like Van Halen. I’m sure more learned and well-versed rock fans would correct me, and they’d probably be right. With my limited knowledge, however, I do know that their lead vocalist Chris Lee sounds an awful lot like David Lee Roth (with just a twist of Steven Tyler). Lead guitarist Benji Lee (yes, they’re brothers, like Good Charlotte, and his name is Benji like the guy from Good Charlotte. Oh no …) rips it up with rock solos just like Eddie Van Halen. And just like Van Halen, they’re great at this particular sound, but I can’t really stay interested over the course of an entire album.

Well, that’s not really fair to Van Halen. At least VH1 changed their sound every once in a while (“Jump” being the only example that … pounces to mind). “Fire for Hire” sounds like a really awesome cover band covering “Ain’t Talkin ‘Bout Love” 12 times in a row: It’d be fun and totally rockin’, but dude, change the song, or I’m throwing a whiskey bottle at the bassist’s head.

I’ll admit that a couple of songs stand out, such as “Born in Exile” and its “Ballroom Blitz”-ian beginning, and the extended rock of “Promised Land,” but “Fire for Hire” is too faithful to “rock” to become anything more than an homage, and it doesn’t really warrant a second listen.

But I bet they’re a lot of fun live.

Shawn Dugas can be reached at [email protected].