Tuesday, 17 May 2011

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

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