Wednesday 4 June 2008

Avenger - Prayers Of Steel (1984)


Aah, smell the dungeon! If I'd heard the opening mutterings of the title track as a wee lad, I'd have definitely snapped this rarity up. Love the cover, love the sound, classic metal full of imagery, 'Halloween', 'Faster Than Hell', 'Rise Of The Creature', et al, oooh, you can just taste the flames and hear the writhe of the uncoiling serpent. Probably bog standard rock to most, but again, the '80s were all about these kind of obscure records, so it's a true wonder to come across them so many years later. Many such bands would have been missed first time around but these kind of records stand the test of time, the title cut is a real epic, a rising chorus, warrior vocals, "Give me evil, give me power, give me prayers of steel...", amazingly gothic, some great melodies, let's burn another candle...until our mum comes in.

7/10

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