Banshee - Take 'Em By Storm (1993)

Almost laughable to hear such volatile metal during the fetid grunge invasion. Banshee's second full length opus is another hair frizzing experience that refuses to exist within the boundaries of a grunge-infested world - it's a record that stomps it's feet even though most of the world is not listening. 'Take 'Em By Storm' is certainly not the powerhouse of the debut mini-lp but it's still a driving juggernaut of a record that is hot and steamy down to the wire - once again bolstered by Flood's vocals and Dunn's searing hot guitars. 'Live For Music' is most certainly their anthemic two fingers to the early to mid '90s flannel-head music movement and proof that metal still lived and breathed despite the ignorance. 'Running Wild' is a true blaze of glory that worms its way through the minions of plastic people, and whilst 'Take 'Em...' is tinged with more melody than previous efforts, it's still the sort of album that should have set the metal scene alight, but it wasn't to be. Even so, Banshee find a middle ground between Dio, hard edged melodic hair metal, and ferocious power metal. Laugh all you want but it's more metal than you'll ever be.
8/10