Unknown Soldier

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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