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Old 07-01-2015, 03:19 AM   #971 (permalink)
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17. Iron Angel Hellish Crossfire 1985 (SPV)
Speed Metal

We’re out here trying to tame the devil.


The Lowdown

No sooner had speed metal burst onto the metal scene a few years earlier, it’s success as a commercial metal genre had been quickly superseded by the more aggressive thrash metal sound, but as always a a number of diehard speed metal bands would continue the cause. 1985 was a poor year as I’ve already stated for metal compared to the previous four years of the 1980s, but the year would be saved by its thrash based releases and its energetic speed metal cousin, as some of the best speed metal albums were put out this year. As I’ve stated a number of times already, Germany was a real hotbead of European metal at this time with two of its bands in the Scorpions and Accept reaching worldwide status, which did wonders for the non-British based European metal scene as a whole. Most of these German metal bands would cover the metal spectrum in terms of style (of which I’ve featured quite a few) but most only really found success within their own domestic scene. Now despite being a fan of the German metal scene of the 1980s, I recognize that a lot of them were hit and miss, for example as in one really good album that was usually preceded or followed by a much weaker one and Hamburg based band Iron Angel were one such band. Hellish Crossfire though was probably one the very best albums from what could be termed as ‘the first wave of German thrash, speed and power metal bands’ at this time and as an album it’s certainly stronger than the debut sets from both Kreator and Helloween, two bands of course that would be far better known than Iron Angel. As an album Hellish Crossfire ushers in a dark sounding fusion of both speed and thrash metal and it does this with an incredible amount of viperish energy. The album opens of with the pulsating “Metallian” one of the meanest metal sounding tracks of the year and from here on it delivers a level of consistency as the band dish out an almost rough around the edges Judas Priest speed metal sound across most of its tracks. Singer Dirk Schroder might not be for everybody vocally, but he does have that Udo Dirkschenieder of Accept vocal approach and there’s also an evil slant to his voice that reminds me of Mille Petroza of Kreator as well. Other standout tracks include the frenzied attack of “Black Mass” and “Hunter of Chains” whose main riff sounds like Jimmy Page....well on speed, in fact most of the song sounds like an amalgamation of classic metal tracks anyway. “Rush of Power” is another favourite and “Nightmare” is probably one of the more diverse tracks on the album, especially with its more tranquil opening section but then it’s business as usual. The two killer factors on this album though, are that pulsating guitar duo of both Peter Wittke and Sven Struven, and they have the whole thing underpinned by bassist Thorsten Lohmann. Secondly the aforementioned dark vibe of the album, forewarns us of the soon to come black metal scene from a bit further north, all in all Hellish Crossfire is a fairly vital speed metal release from this time. Finally you’ve just gotta dig that album cover as the band keep things nice and cheesy, which certainly keeps in line of probably what was expected.

Dirk Schroder – Vocals
Peter Wittke – Guitar
Sven Struven – Guitar
Thorsten Lohmann – Bass
Mike Matthes - Drums

Production- Horst Muller

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Metal Wars

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Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

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Old 07-07-2015, 02:50 PM   #972 (permalink)
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16. Agent Steel Skeptics Apocalypse 1985 (Combat Records)
Speed Metal

We are the masters of steel and are guilty as charged.


The Lowdown

The Los Angeles metal band Agent Steel had big ambitions, largely thanks to the outspoken statements of frontman John Cyriss ex-Abattoir who once described himself as the ‘Steven Spielberg of heavy metal’ and believed that he was actually from another planet, and signed his autographs as ‘2011’. The band also had a great name in Agent Steel which was another thing they had going for them and for me personally the word ‘steel’ as an adjective, usually evokes true strength when describing anything and in the case of music it works perfectly with metal. Metal albums like British Steel by Judas Priest or Reinventing the Steel by Pantera are great examples of this name in metal, but despite all this the band would never break out of their initial label as just another speed metal band. The 1980s were constantly about timing for new metal bands and any band in this period that was either thrash or glam had a headstart over the rest of the field, regardless at times on how good they really were. Agent Steel had the talent but backed the wrong horse in speed metal and never got past two initial studio albums and an EP but all were worthwhile releases and worthy of being regarded now as cult metal classics. John Cyriss’ high-pitched vocals can easily be mistaken for Bruce Dickinson but of course Iron Maiden never played anywhere near as fast as Agent Steel. Soundwise on their debut album Skeptics Apocalypse and the following EP Mad Locust Rising the band sound like a warp factor speeded up combo of Iron Maiden meets Judas Priest and they even manage to put out a strong cover of Judas Priest’s “The Ripper” on the second of these releases. Skeptics Apocalypse is a hgih velocity release and gets underway with the sci-fi musings of “The Calling” which is a sub-minute narration track that features a kind of muffled tannoy announcer. The album gets under way proper with the frantic verve of “Agents of Steel” which is beefed up with a pounding percussion section and lets vocalist John Cyriss let rip vocally and the song has a memorable chorus section. “Taken by Force” sounds like a more obscure speed metal outing but compliments the previous track as it should. “Evil Eye/Evil Minds” and “Bleed for the Godz” are two tracks that mix the arcane aspects of the band in with their speed metal sound and might well be the two tracks on the album that typify the band best and the latter is surely one of the best tracks on the album. “Children of the Sun” feels more ponderous than its faster brethren and demonstrates a wider scope within the band and this shift in direction is even more evident on the even superior “144,000 Gone”. The album draws to close with the revved up feel of "Guilty as Charged" and "Back to Reign" works with a slightly slower momentum to it. Agent Steel offered up songs about Sci-fi musings and aliens, which was accompanied by a speed metal sound that was naturally built around its two guitarist, but the thunderous rhythm section of the band really turned out to be a true killer as well. So who would this album really appeal to? Basically to any Iron Maiden type fan, that has wondered what Iron Maiden would sound like if they had adopted a speed metal sound, because let’s face it Agent Steel could really write songs, despite the use in some people's eyes of deep voice overs and cheesy chants at times from the other band members. Overall the album does take some getting used to for the non-anointed out there but once in the rewards are pretty lush.

John Cyriss- Vocals
Juan Garcia- Guitar
Kurt Kilfelt- Guitar
George Robb- Bass
Chuck Profus- Drums

Production- Jay Jones

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Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

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Old 07-09-2015, 12:22 PM   #973 (permalink)
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15. Lizzy Borden Love You to Pieces 1985 (Metal Blade)
Heavy Metal

I want to play…….. so just step into my boudoir.

The Lowdown
Like Agent Steel Lizzy Borden were another metal delight to come out of the sprawling Los Angeles metal scene of the mid 1980s, but musically though they were largely a different and more varied beast to the sci-fi speed metal musings of Agent Steel. Lizzy Borden named after the 19th century murderess who was later acquitted, were initially a product of Metal Blade and appeared on one of the numerous Metal Blade Metal Massacre compilation releases a few year’s earlier with “Rod of Iron” before issuing their first EP in Give ‘Em the Axe before going onto record their full length debut Love You to Pieces, which could only ever be a hair metal metal title! The band’s glam metal-cum-shock rock style put them right into that Motley Crue-Twisted Sister metal spectrum wheel, which meant that they were tasty stuff! Now All Music more or less describes the Lizzy Borden debut as the complete package of what a glam metal album should be all about, in fact right down to the actual album cover with its luscious blonde with big hair and chic black lingerie. In fact the album cover is an instant turn-on to any hot-blooded male metal affiliate and was a sure way to boost sales and interest in the band. The lads were recently formed in 1983 by vocalist Lizzy Borden (?) and drummer brother Joey Scott and these two would go onto form the mainstay and backbone of the band amidst numerous line-up changes over the years. The band namechecked all the usual suspects when it came to their influences: Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and the make-up inspired hard rock/heavy metal sound from the likes of Kiss and Alice Cooper that could be deemed as the biggest influences due to the band’s demonic shock rock image, in fact vocalist Lizzy Borden did a Vincent Furnier and gave himself a female name and band name all in one. So with the shock rock and glam metal values of the time being part of the band’s core, it was no surprise then that they quickly became one of the highlights of the LA club scene around this time and like Motley Crue before them there was certainly great anticipation over their debut release. The album starts with an intricate guitar lead before erupting into the speed metal of “Children of the Cauldron” and the song is full of hammering drums and the higher-pitched vocals of Lizzy Borden who again is another vocalist that has much in common with Bruce Dickinson (which shows just how revered he was) “Psychopath” starts off with a whispered intro and the song ends up to be a snappy haunting track of changing tempos. Track three “Save Me” is surely one of the best on the album and also one of the most radio-friendly as well. The other stellar tracks on the album include the power ballad and title track “Love it to Pieces” and it’s the kind of song that I really dig and the kind of thing that Axl Rose would later go onto do, even though I think Lizzy Borden do it better here and album closer "Rod of Iron" is another strong track. In fact over the rest of the album tracks like the idiosyncratic “Red Rum” the cliched sounding if somewhat overlong “American Metal” the mix and match “Flesh Eater” and the almost Blondie meets metal sounding of "Warfare" and finally the pace of "Godiva" are all absorbing listens in their own way, which really makes this album a rewarding listen especially for those that didn’t get the album first time round….. including me! The album on face value might look as clichéd as anything, but the reality is that it has an interesting undercurrent of metal styles, from varying tempos, cool riffs and catchy hooks and it was obvious that this band knew how to write songs rather than relying on just a mood or one trusted style. In fact the band has a musical essence that in places is not exactly a world away from the far better known Queensryche, making this so-called shock-rock glam metal outfit a more centric metal outfit that they’re often credited for. Lizzy Borden despite a brief commercial flurry were never really that successful outside the USA and like fellow glam metal band the hugely talented Icon they’re a bit forgotten now. Overall Love You to Pieces is one of my guilty listening pleasures of 1985 and might well be my personal favourite listen of the year, despite the fact that a number of albums are above it quality wise, now that’s me really be objective when it comes to this year’s list.

Lizzy Borden- Vocals
Gene Allen- Guitar
Alex Nelson- Guitar
Michael Davis- Bass
Joey Scott- Drums

Production- Lizzy Borden

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Metal Wars

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Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

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14. Manilla Road Open the Gates 1985 (Black Dragon)
Heavy Metal

Insane manoeuvers of the mind can awaken the spirit.


The Lowdown

After making a cryptic splash with their previous Crystal Logic album (see review) the band would continue to take further strides into the waters of purer metal for their fourth album. Open the Gates would continue from where their previous Crystal Logic album left off and this time around most of the tracks on the album are inspired by Arthurian Legends, with the accompanying album cover designed by Eric Lamoy, which kind of denotes a more sinister looking Excalibur film style than to some of their more traditional Arthurian legend styles. Open the Gates would also be the band’s heaviest release to date and this is largely down to the arrival of new drummer Randy Foxe who had replaced Rick Fisher and proved to be a far more powerful and aggressive stickman overall. Manilla Road who may have started their career trying to fuse elements of space rock and progressive rock into their repertoire as seen on their first three albums, were now sacrificing this experimental approach, to fully embrace the more current metal mood of the day in thrash metal which can be heard full Manilla Road style on the album opener “Metalstorm” “Heavy Metal To the World” and “Weavers of the Web” which has a totally badass sounding thrash riff, because let’s face it no thrash vocalist warbled like Mark Shelton. The band were also looking for inspiration from the NWOBHM several years back as well and this has been incorporated into the album as well and can be heard on a tracks like "Road of Kings" which sounds like something that Saxon could've put out and "Hour of the Dragon" is pretty beefy as well, which all gave the band a nice hotch-potch inspired metal stew. Lyrically the esoteric sci-fi musings of frontman Mark Shelton were now giving way to Arthurian legend on most tracks, starting with the title track the impressive if somewhat short “Open the Gates” which leads the charge, as well as a few brief delvings into Norse mythology for good measure on the latter part of the album in "The Fires of Mars" and closer "Witches Brew". The band mix in their dynamic well with a song like “Astronomica” which almost starts off like a semi-ballad before evolving into a heavy sounding beast the looks right back to the 1970s for its inspiration. Mark Shelton was also no stranger to spoken narration on some of the tracks as well, as he had done previously on Crystal Logic and this time around it features heavily and most notably on the album’s showpiece track the sprawling nine minute monster “The Ninth Wave”. As said on the Crystal Logic review, one of the unique factors of Manilla Road was the band’s musical isolation from being based in Witchita and not benefitting from a local metal scene so to speak of. This meant that the band had to find their own way musically, which for me always tends to be more interesting at times, than bands that just play off each other in a local music scene. This aspect is what really makes Manilla Road albums unique despite whether they’re any good or not, as it’s almost like the band has never really listened to many other metal bands out there and are just content to play their own sound in the confines of their own isolated four walls and imaginations.

Mark Shelton – Guitar/Vocals
Scott Park – Bass
Randy Foxe – Drums

Production- Manilla Road

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Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

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13. Fates Warning The Spectre Within 1985 (Metal Blade)
Heavy Metal
Evil eyes staring through olden walls of stone.


The Lowdown

Fates Warning were very much one of the flagship bands of Metal Blade so much so that Metal Blade head honcho Brain Slagel, had an almost personal stake in the band with production duties for their first three albums. Fates Warning along with Queensryche, were probably two of the first known metal bands from this period to be labelled as ‘progressive metal’ as the scope of their material and arrangements went beyond what a lot of other metal bands were laying down within the criteria of metaldom at this time. Fates Warning much like Queensryche had that heavy Iron Maiden influence to their sound and those progressive leanings of Iron Maiden would lend heavily onto the Fates Warning sound, but the the Connecticut band were more intent on taking that Iron Maiden influence to their own conclusion. Their debut album the often highly rated Night on Brocken which just missed my previous year list (so much completion in 1984) never really quite did it for me despite having some strong tracks like “Damnation” but to be honest I’m much more of a Ray Alder fan on vocals than the John Arch era of the band anyway, so with that in mind Fates Warning will feature more heavily as these lists go by. Nevertheless The Spectre Within is a strong and complex sounding piece of work with the progressive elements of the band being more noticeable this time around compared to the debut. So how progressive are one of the very first metal bands to be labelled ‘progressive metal’ really on this album? To be honest to my mind and ears not very, rather than being progressive most of the tracks starting with the impressive seven minute album opener “Traveler in Time” sound to me like riff-heavy compositions with a distorted melodic speed metal vein running through them and this becomes even more evident by track two on “Orphan Gypsy” where the band are now starting to sound extremely complex, but it can be argued that there is a thin line at times anyway between technical metal and progressive metal. Overall the band do have a number of progressive elements, but by and large this is more of a case of a metal band just ‘pushing the envelope’ as it were and they would indeed push it even further on the following year’s Awaken the Guardian which is considered the best release of the John Arch era, but it’s really with the Ray Alder era where the progressive label really does apply and an era where the band opened the door to better known progressive metal bands like Dream Theater. As said above the progressive element for a band like Fates Warning is important, as they are deemed to be a progressive band rather than a band that has just adopted a progressive angle on some of their songs. For this reason their John Arch albums are not really as progressive as the label would suggest, but they’re good metal albums by and large, which is the reason why The Spectre Within has found its place on this year’s listing. The band do spend a lot of time on this album showboating their riff-heavy style with long instrumental intros to a number of songs like “Pirates of the Underground” and their monster riffs never get any better than they do on a song like "Apparition". The most progressive track on the album is probably the eleven minute closer "Epitaph" which besides sounding like a progressive track actually has John Arch sounding like Eric Bloom of BOC in places on the song. Getting into Fates Warning at this time normally requires a number of requirements such as liking their distinctive distorted melodic style of the band, combined with the complex playing and vocals of John Arch who may not be everybody’s cup of tea, largely due to his ability to to sound like a combination of Bruce Dickinson meets King Diamond and then sounding like somebody is throttling him at the same time. But most of all John Arch reminds me of Andre Matos of Angra another unique sounding vocalist, which kind of reveals that besides being an influence of progressive metal, that the band both musically and vocally were equally important to the power metal sub-genre as well. After this release guitarist Frank Alesti would replace Victor Arduini, which of course would lead to a further completion of the Fates Warning musical puzzle.

John Arch – Vocals
Jim Matheos – Guiitar
Victor Arduini – Guitar
Joe DiBiase – Bass
Jim Archambault – Keyboards
Steve Zimmerman – Drums

Production- Brian Slagel

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Metal Wars

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Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

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12. Heavy Pettin’ Rock Ain’t Dead 1985 (Polydor)
Heavy Metal

If you’re throwing a party, throw it my way!


The Lowdown

For some reason this album was a borderline case on whether it would make the top 20 or not, needless to say it did, but I think it did this though through some oversight on my part because it seems to have ended up getting a lofty slot in this year’s top 20. Heavy Pettin’ were very much a product of the NWOBHM despite some strong American influences and their debut album Lettin Loose is well regarded in some quarters. The band were fronted by vocalist Steve Hayman who looked like a combination of Rod Stewart meets Joe Elliot, kind of making him rock magazine ‘pin-up material’ for teenagers and the band hailed from Glasgow. In fact they may well be the only Scottish band I’ve featured so far on here along with Nazareth, who were of course regulars in the 1970s section of the journal. Heavy Pettin’ were a band desperate for commercial success, but sadly for them that ‘radio hit’ never actually came despite having the marbles to be able to do one. Their accessible hard rock sound probably came several years too late for most metal fans, who were now more intent on devouring something a lot more abrasive and had they been an Amerian glam metal band, they may have stood a better chance by basing themselves in LA. From the word go on Rock Ain’t Dead, the album production is sharper, tighter and more accomplished than their debut and the album is loaded with 'American glam rocker tracks' that sound like they could’ve have been material for bands such as Twisted Sister, Motley Crue or Ratt, strangely enough none of these could even make this year’s list, which shows that despite the huge popularity of glam metal, that a large chucnk of its biggest bands had hit a creative wall, which makes these Heavy Pettin’ tracks better listens if you're into this kind of sound. These tracks include the booming title track "Rock Ain't Dead" "Lost in Love" "Northwinds" "Angel" and "Throw a Party" Most of these songs tend to rely on that anthem approach and some of these sound like they’ve been underpinned with Ted Nugent type guitar riffs, which of course gives them some backbone and there’s even a power-ballad chucked in there as well with the soppy “Dream Time” which could've been that radio hit. The band dabble with purer AOR style tracks such as "Sole Survivor" and pass with colours on this score as well. Musically I’ve read a few reviews for this album that have mentioned the band’s reliance on a Def Leppard type approach, which of course is mostly down to the band ripping the track "Pyromania" under the guise of "China Boy" and the known "Throw a Party" sounds a bit like Def as well, but for me I always felt that there was more of a Saxon influence in the proceedings here and most definitely a heavy nod to American artists from both the 70s and present day. Steve Hayman’s vocals admittedly sounds like he’s been inhaling from a helium balloon prior to picking up the mike and he was often compared to Brian Vollmer of Canadian band Helix which is no bad thing in my mind, but to me he sounds something like Biff Byford of the aforementioned Saxon on helium of course. The album for a lot of listeners though may well sound over-produced but that though keeps in line with what the band were trying to do, which was to put out a polished sound. Despite all this, the band were very able when it came to putting out quality produced melodic hard rock, that had certainly been inspired by AOR giants like Foreigner and especially Journey, making this a solid listen and certainly their best album despite its crappy album cover, in fact I've seen it in a couple of 'worst ever album cover' lists out there.

Steve Hayman- Vocals
Gordon Bonnar- Guitar
Punky Mendoza- Guitar
Brian Waugh- Bass
Gary Moat- Drums

Production- ?

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Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

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11. W.A.S.P. The Last Command 1985 (Capitol)
Glam Metal

The millions are waiting for my last commandment.

The Lowdown

The Last Command would be one of the bigger selling albums from the garish rocket-launcher band known as W.A.S.P. and despite not being as big as they had wished, it would still reach gold status in America, where of course the masses were still gobbling down anything glam metal related. The album would also be their last without guitarist Randy Piper an original founder of the band but it would be their first with drummer Steve Riley and like many bands of their ilk, this would be the first of many line-up changes for the band over the years. The Last Command is a more balanced record compared to the top heavy and in-yer-face debut, which from its shock-rock approach took the metal world by storm, largely thanks to its booming tracks like “I Wanna Be Somebody” and “L.O.V.E Machine” along with shock value titles like “Animal (**** Like a Beast)” and in the process they were taking no prisoners either, due to their celebrated stage show! The balanced approach largely comes in the form of hiring Quiet Riot producer Stephen Proffer and W.A.S.P. demonstrate here that when the combination between quality band material and strong production editing finds the right compromise, the end product is normally a strong and balanced record. This makes The Last Command one of the best metal albums in a year where most glam metal bands were stalling compared to the previous couple of years. The album cover has the buck nasty Blackie Lawless poised with a flag on an album cover that would’ve done Manowar very proud. The album has a number of standout tracks and these include dynamic offerings such as “Wild Child” "Cries in the Night" "Ballcrusher" and the title track "The Last Command" which draws elements from most of the previous tracks. All these tracks are full of bad ass Blackie’s vocals and have big dirty riffs in the right places and these tracks combine well with the more fun offerings on the album such as “Sex Drive” and "Blind in Texas" along with the more sedate stylings of "Widowmaker" which sounds like it could be a Gene Simmons song subject. Whilst these tracks may not be as hard hitting as some of the material from the debut, they add a consistency that is usually much needed on sophomores making this a solid listen. Not only did the success of this album get high-profile producer Stephen Proffer back on track after the disappointing Condition Critical, which had failed to live up to the heights of Quiet Riot’s previous release Metal Health, but it also continued to guarantee W.A.S.P. continual tours with metal giants such as Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden over the coming years. The 1998 reissue of the album comes with a number of live tracks and most interestingly on this reissue, there is a cover of Mountain’s “Mississippi Queen” where Blackie Lawless attempts to do the Leslie West original vocal justice, but personally I'd sooner listen to the original here. W.A.S.P. were constantly compared to Kiss around this time and in fact they toured with the mighty Kiss on quite a few occasions, but one thing is certain here and that is The Last Command is a far superior record compared to the Kiss release of 1985 Asylum.

Blackie Lawless- Bass/Vocals
Chris Holmes- Guitar
Randy Piper- Guitar
Steve Riley- Drums

Production- Stephen Proffer

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Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

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[ This makes The Last Command one of the best metal albums in a year where most glam metal bands were stalling compared to the previous couple of years.

The album cover has the buck nasty Blackie Lawless poised with a flag on an album cover that would’ve done Manowar very proud.
Number 11!?! you need to take one of the 1's away so that it's in its proper place. but yes it defiantly was one of the best metal albums of the year, I am biased though as I had the cassette in Elementary school.

All hail W.A.S.P.!!!

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Number 11!?! you need to take one of the 1's away so that it's in its proper place. but yes it defiantly was one of the best metal albums of the year, I am biased though as I had the cassette in Elementary school.

All hail W.A.S.P.!!!
A good friend of mine also loves this album as well.
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If you can't deal with the fact that there are 6+ billion people in the world and none of them think exactly the same that's not my problem. Just deal with it yourself or make actual conversation. This isn't a court and I'm not some poet or prophet that needs everything I say to be analytically critiqued.
Metal Wars

Power Metal

Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History
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Old 07-31-2015, 02:52 AM   #980 (permalink)
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10. Warrant The Enforcer 1985 (Modern Music)
Speed Metal

Deep inside their souls, I found their dirty jokes.


The Lowdown

1985 was a particularly good year for speed metal especially considering that it had been superseded by thrash metal, so here are the first of two strong speed metal albums to break into the top 10 on this year’s list. Also this Warrant has nothing to do with the American hair metal band of the same name, that would become popular further on down the road. This Warrant were formed in Dusseldorf as recently as 1983 but would end up as being a short project with just one full album and an EP to their name until 2014, when they did what most old bands do and release a kind of reunion album. Their debut EP First Strike came out in 1985 and was soon followed by their debut album The Enforcer and its album cover is just so sweet and just what the doctor ordered when it comes to metal trying to make a statement. The album has a heavy production to it and some really heavy crunchy guitars and both these factors stand as two of its towering points, but the other highlight is surely vocalist Jorg Juraschek who could’ve easily fronted a thrash band, as he genuinely sounds pissed off here and certainly pre-empts Mille Petroza of Kreator, even though tone wise he seems to have more in common with Rob Halford than Mille Petroza. Musically and as expected the album is dominated by the dynamic guitars of both Thomas Klein and Oliver May who with their old school riffing, mirror quite a few better known tandem guitar teams in the metal world. The album starts with a solid acoustic intro before getting down to business with the heavy speed of “The Rack” and despite being a good song, it gets somewhat let down with the ‘hey’ cheer from the other band members. Next up is “Ordeal of Death” which kicks back a bit on the speed but still goes for the jugular with its heavy propulsive riffs and it’s songs like this that rate really highly with me, in fact these propulsive riffs run through much of the material on the album with superb consistency. The band were clearly having fun as well with song titles like “Nuns Have No Fun” along with other tracks like “Bang That Head” “Torture in the Tower” and “Send Ya’ to Hell” with the latter here almost having a Scorpions musical type opening and it’s clear that this band knew how to enjoy themselves in the studio with this type of material. The reason why this album tends to be high in a weak year, is quite simply because this album is extremely consistent in what it has to offer and by the mid-way point of the album with its title track the dynamic “The Enforcer” and the following “Betrayer” this seems more evident than ever.The album also ends on a metal high with its closer “Cowards or Martyrs” making this the only full length album by the band until a renunion 2014 release. The short-lived Warrant almost warn us about fellow German bands like Helloween whose own cheeseball style had something in common with Warrant, making this a good starting point for mid 1980s German metal even though I’ve already featured quite a few German bands. The German speed metal phenomenan was short-lived and was soon supplanted by its power metal movement, but The Enforcer by Warrant was another one of its finest examples and musically sits somewhere between what Accept and Kreator were doing.

Jorg Juraschek- Bass/Vocals
Thomas Klein- Guitar
Oliver May- Guitar
Lothar Weiners- Drums

Production- Warrant

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Quote:
Originally Posted by eraser.time206 View Post
If you can't deal with the fact that there are 6+ billion people in the world and none of them think exactly the same that's not my problem. Just deal with it yourself or make actual conversation. This isn't a court and I'm not some poet or prophet that needs everything I say to be analytically critiqued.
Metal Wars

Power Metal

Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

Last edited by Unknown Soldier; 07-31-2015 at 05:56 AM.
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