Keel - Keel (1987)

A few albums down the line and Keel release an absolute belter if you ask me. Full tilt, macho metal as big as Ron Keel's plans for world domination, and of course the size of the bands' hair. Even so, forget any critics, Keel is a raging rock god and his four piece of struttin' muso's namely Brian Jay and Marc Ferrari on guitars, Dwain Miller on drums and Kenny Chaison on bass, are sending the anthem's through the roof on this one. Track after track of catchy metal, every track a ballistic missile through the ear canal. Opener 'United Nations' is a Eurovision metal contender (if there ever was one!), it sounds like Keel has rounded up a million troops to sing this one. Night creeper 'Somebody's Waiting' could be one of '80s metal's greatest songs - yes, seriously, because this album is really that good and the band aren't afraid to glam things up with the ridiculously catchy bubblegum 'Cherry Lane' with a chorus to hum for years. 'Calm Before The Storm' raises the hairs on the neck as a splendid power ballad, Keel's vocals soar to blue yonder. Is it dated ? Mmmm, well the fact I still play it to death suggests it isn't. 'Don't Say You Love Me' and 'If Love Is A Crime...' simply confirm that Keel are a powerhouse band who are goin' to be heard whether you want to lend an ear or not. Nothing clever about it, but it doesn't have to be when it rocks this big.

8/10

Accept - Accept (1979)

These German metal warriors introduced themselves to us way back in '79 with this galloping debut record cutting metal. Alongside Priest, Accept would inspire many a band - most being thrash acts, to form their own volatile sound. Accept are made stern by Hoffman and Fischer's clanking guitars, given the whole album an almost unrehearsed, primal feel. Udo on vocals, a croaking master blitzing his way through the pretty harmonious hurtle of 'Lady Lou', 'Tired Of Me', 'Street Fighter' etc. Accept came out fighting, punched above their weight and won, refusing to duck and dive, their ice blue style of pulverising metal would put them in good stead for a successful career. As razor sharp vocally as Priest, King Diamond, but although the band would mature into a well oiled freight train, 'Accept' is a lethal machine that only hinted at what was to come. Cool cover too.

7/10

EZO - Fire Fire (1989)

Geffen records, despite the success of Guns 'n' Roses and Nirvana, actually proved to be a roster for some pretty cool bands. I Love You, Warrior Soul, and Ezo, from Japan. This record really surprised me - I believe it's one of a handful they recorded - because not only is it fluent metal it a real, ballsy triumph that boasts more than enough quality tracks and a vocalist in Masaki who has plenty of fire alongside Shoyo's shredding. It actually reminds me of a rawer Beautiful Creatures, and that's saying something but it's pumped up and ready to go. Opener 'Love Junkie' will appeal to fans of Dirty Looks, Faster Pussycat, Cats N Boots, but this is leaner and more energetic and 'Night Crawler' offers the same swagger. Eleven tracks and not a bad egg among them, at times the lyrics are very good, and the searing nature of 'Fire Fire' probably means this album didn't hardly sell but I would have thought that in Japan this would have gone down a treat. Whilst so many bands at the time were keen to don cowboy hats and pretend they were the Rolling Stones, bands like EZO knuckled down and belted out mighty fine, if much ignored albums. I got this opus for £2.50 at a record fair and it fried my ears when I played it. I bet they put on a great live show.

7.5/10

Doro -Force Majeure (1989)

Whoever told the Gothic-lung beauty Doro Pesch to open her solo album with Procal Harum's 'A Whiter Shade Of Pale' must have been bonkers. So, let us forgive her for the inclusion of what track that just cannot be covered - so, what else do we get ? Well, a fist of Euro metal that is worth every penny if you ask me. So, does it differ much from Warlock ? Er, not really, but it's a far colder record, Doro's Germanic warble was always more evocative than most female singers who, let's face it, in the '80s were just a bag of tits and no talent, but Doro proves that even on her own, but backed by some mighty fine musicians, she can compete. The drums on 'Save My Soul' from Rondinelli suggest we'll need new artex for the walls and the guitar attack is pretty lethal too. I'm not sure how 'Force...' fared but 'World Gone Wild', 'Hard Times', 'Under The Gun' et al, are well structured dogs of war that simply confirm what we knew all along, that temptress Doro, behind those icy eyes, was a soul always born to rock. Puts some of the male folk to shame. A force indeed...

7.5/10

Magnum - On A Storyteller's Night (1985)

Well, it's 10/10 for the cover - the perfect metal portrait to entice in any young, warty, troll-obsessed metalhead. Dark woods, glowing embers, crackling flames and the hoot of an owl. Strangely, despite producing some of the best album covers of all time I never walked into Magnum's woodland trap, their brand of Brit rock all seemed a little light on the ears after being introduced to so many more oily and scary bands. I suppose that many years later I can appreciate this lot more and attempt to take it to pieces, but I always slotted this type of music alongside the likes of Marillion where the imagery of the covers was always more interesting than the music. Those steamy guitars, almost dreamlike, the echoing keys - and believe me, the album is full of them - and Catley's smooth vocals drift over the landscape, but I guess I was naive to expect an almost Tolkien-inspired oaken metal but instead we are plied with soft rock, at times good but not enough for me. The title cut gives us more of a candlelit stroll into deeper woods but it's the Middle Earth whispers of Dio I want, not a keyboard infested arena. Magnum are of course a separate entity to most metal acts, not because they are original but at times they may barely filter into the metal genre, again, the cover may mislead some, but they carved a pretty successful and long career so fair play to them. However, Clarkin's guitars only just about manage a clunk on 'Before First Light' and the keys on 'Just Like An Arrow' are unnecessary if you ask me. At times this could well be a cauldron of Ultravox/Pink Floyd/John Farnham, 'Les Morts...' a prime example of the slow-building, but never-getting-anywhere mood, but tracks such as 'Endless Love' just can't compete with what else is around. Hell, it's not even cheesy! Magnum failed to find a place in my heart but with that sort of cover their record does find a place in my collection.

6.5/10

Whitesnake - Whitesnake (1987)

For me Whitesnake in '87 are armed with a 'USA remix' of 'Here I Go Again', but have all the strut and hair to make this record sell - and boy did it, over ten million worldwide!! Kicks straight in with the Zep strut of 'Still Of The Night', Coverdale bang on form making this one of my fave Whitesnake records to date. Sykes sultry, yet impressive guitar work giving the record a rich, almost late night radio feel, heightened by big power ballad 'Is This Love' with Coverdale struttin' all over it in leather pants. A smattering of keyboards is normally off putting but here it succeeds, among the pulsating rhythms there's a serious oomph, beefy vocal delivery and some rattling rockers too - 'Bad Boys', and 'Crying In The Rain'. The album cover attracts in the same way as Kingdom Come's debut - distinctly '80s, not that you're interested, but even so, bolstered by the inclusion of the revamped 'Here I Go Again', this album is better than I expected.

7/10

Savatage - The Dungeons Are Calling (1985)

I can't believe I was given this album for nothing! Savatage, one of metal's greatest and truest acts, responsible for a couple of half-decent records, and a handful of metal gems. Eventually elevated into the darkest heights and 'The Dungeons...' is simply a frothing, demonic, snorting, metallic masterpiece. Six prime cuts of burning, oaken, heavyweight power metal, creating all sorts of devilish atmosphere's, from Oliva's epic wails and those gargantuan guitars. Oh my god (or devil! 666!), this is a creeping, slithering monster of a mini-lp blessed with a truly classic metal cover and eerie intro to that goliath of a title cut. Thumping bass and drums of death, all stirred by a mighty wand into a hot-bed of almost thrashing rage. This sort of metal takes one beyond the gates, into dangerous swamps, remote mountain regions, yet beyond the void of metal, to a special place only a certain breed dare inhabit. Sounding like a Sabbath for the '80s and beyond, yet oh so modern, yet somehow of its time but with an unreal weight, the crystal production allows it to float aimlessly like a black cloud. So ominous and doom laden, but in a different cosmos to say, Trouble, Oliva suddenly propelled to the dizzying plateau of metal's major league vocal gods. Where does Savatage come from ? Is there a boulder big enough to conceal their armour-plated rack ?Aaaah, terror from the sky, 'By The Grace Of The Witch' one of the greatest metal fests of the '80s, killer riff, a true serpent of ill delight, 'Visions' with its mighty shadow of malice envelopes the village in an eternal blackness, crushing guitars and the foul scent of evil....the horror, the horror. Are you brave enough to flip over to side two ? 'Midas Knight' rumbles, the ceiling caves in, the fire goes out, nowhere is safe, those deep, cavernous drums, Oliva's banshee scream...with two tracks to go the dungeons are indeed calling, 'City Beneath The Surface' is hotter than a dragon's breath, more fearsome than the foaming sea. Do I hear even Metallica and Slayer running for cover ? Oh yes, 'The Dungeons...' is so vast and cutting edge, when experienced I found it to be one the most fantastic metal experiences of my life...something which epitomised the feeling real metallers craved. Six tracks that drag you to an alien passage, filling your heart with trepidation, yet the excitement of every chord strikes a fear worth dying for. Do not taint this record by playing it in random order, savour the vinyl experience as the skull cover glares back at you. This is unholier than thou. Find me a record as gothic, and as gargantuan. On this record, Savatage, for a brief moment, are the best metal band in the world. Yes, it's that good a record, only mathed in monstrosity by Metallica, Slayer, Trouble, and Dark Angel at their best. Pure molten power metal without rival, bathed in arrogance and constructed from the fires of all hell.

A true monster from the unknown.

10/10

Helix - Walkin' The Razor's Edge (1984)

'Wild In The Streets' is my favourite Helix ride, 'Walkin'...' seems a little flat, straight from the fiery, almost Twisted Sister-esque opener 'Rock You', although Vollmer raises the levels of the band to more than just pompous fist-pumping. All pretty standard at times, Helix break no new ground but their lashings of sauce amidst Hackman and Doerner's guitars beef up the ingredients which at times can slip into rather mundane soup. Sure, it rocks harder than say, Ratt, and is busy swapping shoulder pads with Twisted Sister and it pretty much does what you expect it to do. 'Young & Reckless', '(Make Me Do) Anything You Want', and the Van Halen strut of 'Animal House' raise the party level to maximum but it lacks a cutting, cold steel edge. I guess cynics find this type of metal very easy to mock nowadays, but for metalheads in the '80s it was cannon fodder which provided a quick fix. Never striving for immortality, but hell, I still play it! Like the cover too, although like me, the band don't seem to convinced of the whole package.

6.5/10

The Runaways - The Runaways (1976)

Introducing in no particular order, five big-balled hotties - Joan Jett, Lita Ford, Cherie Curry, Jackie Fox and Sandy West - The Runaways. None of them beyond seventeen at this time, showing the lads how it's done and then some with that jolting, punky, glammed up stomp. Cult hit 'Cherry Bomb' the stand out anthem alongside the T-Rex strut of 'You Drive Me Wild', Lou Reed's 'Rock And Roll' and leather lurch 'Blackmail'. All provide the listener a sweaty insight into a place where most males at the time wish they had ventured. Raw, and unintentionally inspirational to so many girl bands that followed, The Runaways bleed rebellion from every pour and exude rock 'n' roll. Yep, it helped that they became sex bombs but the music and attitude was there too, and all the good girls ran away...

7.5/10

Krokus - Pay It In Metal (1978)

Krokus, a band who seemingly have released a thousand albums, some good, some incredibly average - the half-decently titled 'Pay It In metal' (considering it's 1978!) leans toward the former thankfully. Better track titles ('Killer', 'Werewolf') and some decent rock to back it up, the band however do like to dabble with a boogie groove or two, i.e. 'Rock Ladies'. Pretty basic, but after Sabbath and the likes it's a massive shadow to escape from, so Krokus are clearly happy to do their own thing, and although it hasn't got a bad bone in its body, it manages to not quite embarrass itself, but I'm preferring the more ballsy 'Headhunter'.
6/10

Tyketto - Don't Come Easy (1991)

Cool, 'hair metal' (if you must call it that!) that struts with full pomp, '91 being a little to late for these guys but upon reflection this is a superb album. So pro', so sure of itself, anyone would think that on this record Tyketto had the world at their feet. Bigger, and better than any Kiss record (mind you, what isn't!) 'Don't Come Easy' deserves any accolade thrown at it. Danny Vaughn's crystal clear vocal is soothing on the ears, effortless as he soars on opener 'Forever Young' which could have been an accidental gem of a generation. Sadly not to be, but don't let it slip away just yet. Tyketto remind me of a less, say, funky Extreme, 'Wings' is a wonder, a power ballad of explosive magnitude, almost veering toward an '90s 'alterno metal' feel, 'Burning Down...' follows suit, sprinkled with keys. Tyketto somehow mesmerise, maybe i wasn't expecting it and I'm wondering just how many other bands of this ilk and talent slipped through the net whilst more bloated, and less talented acts got paid. 'Seasons' has an ultra special feel, almost Kik Tracee in its breeze and ability to lift the senses. The band aren't afraid to pump their fists either so 'Don't Come Easy' is always a solid rock record but one blessed with harmony. Well done.

7.5/10