FM - Indiscreet (1986)

The epitome of British AOR music - 'Indiscreet' also sums up late '80s metal in some respect, perfect rock for the radio - drenched in keyboards, boasting sultry anthems. Forty minutes of middle of the road, whispering, steaming smoke-machine hard rock - made all the more soulful by Steve Overland's silky vocals and those dynamics are simply simmering. This opus, the band's debut, spawned a selection of minor hits including the infectious album opener 'That Girl' and the equally comforting 'Other Side of Midnight.' This is about as hard as a well used sponge, but through all its pomp it's still a nice little record but those expecting anything remotely heavy will have to look elsewhere. An acquired taste, most metal heads would have turned their nose up at such pomp, but more the fool them. Metal is a genre of so many layers, and bands like FM are very much part of a much hated underbelly which proved just how narrow minded most metal-heads were.
6/10