Lita Ford - Out For Blood (1983)

Lita Ford came on the scene with The Runaways, but when they folded she embarked on a solo career - opting for the heavy metal route, 'Out For Blood' was her debut opus. The original cover - as depicted here - showed the blonde bombshell standing in front of a huge spider's web and with blood dripping from her guitar - the replacement cover was more drab, but still showed the metal queen in all of her leathery splendour. 'Out...' is probably Lita's best album because as the '80s moved on, she, like so many other bands, succumbed to the sultry highs of MTV, and her sound softened despite the fact the hits got bigger. Right from the blocks 'Out...' is a solid metal album, opening with the rattling title track which features a killer guitar chug and Lita spitting venom. There's nothing sultry about this barnstormer of a track - the video was killer  too - showing Lita in not much more than a leather bikini shredding the hell out of her axe. Elsewhere it's all pretty much decent albeit run of the mill metal, but the album has such a bite that one has to be moved by such studded mayhem. 'Stay With Me Baby' has more of a glam rock stomp, as you'd kinda expect considering her Runaways background, but 'Just A Feeling' shows a more subtle and bluesy side, Lita's voice is like silk on this one, and it builds really well but for me it's the mid-section of the record that really kicks hard, 'Die For Me Only' and the strut pop of 'Rock n Roll Made Me What I Am Today' aren't exactly classics, but they have a bubblegum charm, even if they're less harmful than the opening track. Overall 'Out For Blood' is a nice '80s metal gem, from a woman who adorned the walls of many a metalhead.
7/10