Pistol Dawn - Conversation Piece (2009)

Don't be fooled by the date; 'Conversation Piece' is in fact a re-issuing of Pistol Dawn's two rare EPs from 1990. This is very much party hardy metal somewhere between hard glam and punchy Skid Row styled masculinity and boasting some fantastic guitar work (Scotti Ryan) and effective vocal sneers from Faster Freddie Brecht. We get ten pure rock tracks here and everyone is a gem; right down from the slamming title track; the swaggering G n' R pomp of 'Gone Away' with its cool introductory drum slab and fizzing guitar and then it's transformation into a sentimental semi-ballad. Enuff z' Nuf's Chip features on 'Message in a Bottle' but forget the sweetness and light and revel in the glammy chug of 'Be My Girl' and the equally weighty yet sugary 'Dreams Come True'. Yep, they shoulda been bigger but isn't that all part of the romance? Fans of Lilian Axe and the like should snap this gem up because for something that seemed out of date in 1990, it sure sounds relevant now.
7.5/10

Castle Blak - Another Dark Carnival (1987)

Coming just a year after the half-decent debut 'Babes in Toyland' (see review); these U.S. glamsters still don't have the bite of early Crue even though the vocals have that sort of playful Vince Neil-styled whine. This opus comes across as a rather tepid glam rock plodder that I so desperately want to love but can only like in segments; particularly with the poppy title tune and the more engaging drive of 'Fire' but it just lacks an overall attitude and controversial sneer to really get under your skin. None of the instruments stand out as a major force and so the result with this sophomore effort is a band that sounds like so many others at the time...caught somewhere between Crue circa 'Shout...' and 'Theatre'.
6.5/10

Cacumen - Bad Widow (1983)

Cacumen's 'Bad Widow' has to boast one of the most metal covers of all time! With that red stiletto crushing that hand one could almost begin to think that the cover may hide a truly fiery metal album; but as it goes Cacumen are not the heaviest chunk of metal you'll hear in your life - this is very much melodic mid-paced drudgery that starts to wear thin after a few tracks but the title track alone should put enough metal in your kettle whilst the likes of 'Aint Got No women' sort of speed by in NWoBHM fashion reminding one of the Scorpions vocally; but it's a rather derivative affair that sort of grates and whines its way through ten tunes before grinding to a halt with 'Rescue Me' which features a tasty lead. For me this is an album where the guitar bites harder than the voice but it's still a little above average slab of biker rock.
6.5/10

Blind Vengeance - Taste of Sin (1984)

Well, it seems as if the letter 'B' has been getting a lot of exposure recently on this blog - it's certainly not intentional; most of these reviews being random acts of my madness. Blind Vengeance hailed from Canada and were fronted by one Harry Hess who went on to steer Harem Scarem; but on this ten-track opus he's far less impressive but it's still a dense-dose of driving, mid-paced metal featuring many highlights amidst the smog - most notably the chugging title cut and the hair-frazzling 'Give Me the Night' which is one of the band's racier efforts. Like so much of this stuff there is an air of the enchanting about it; because whilst not overtly epic it rises above the average production to become an opus that showcases a lot of metallic talent more so in the effective guitar groans and fizzes of Darryl Frattura.
7/10

Black Sheep - Trouble in the Streets (1985)

Apparently this opus features Paul Gilbert; but fans of Dokken/Kiss and melodic metal will no doubt dig this half-hearted and half-decent foray into straight-laced metal pomp. There are some nice crunchy moments; particularly 'Eyes on Love' and the Zeppish tinges of 'Stick!' but it's all to mainstream and inoffensive for it's own good as it sways in average fashion from Whitesnake to even a scratchy Ratt and whilst it makes for an enjoyable listen it's not the sort of opus you'll be playing frequently. Very much heavy rock by numbers that occasionally offers up a catchy groove.
6/10

Babylon A.D. - Babylon A.D. (1989)

This is one of those late '80s swaggering, sleaze-tinged albums that dated quickly but which I've come to appreciate more today as I reflect back on it. This would have probably benefitted from being released two years previous where tracks such as 'Hammer Swings Down' and opener 'Bang Go the Bell's may have been appreciated more. There's still a sharpness in that guitar tone and it's not the sort of album clogged up with sentimental fluff; in spite of some dodgy track titles (such as the opener) it's still a reasonably hard rockin' 'hair metal' album with familiar gang chants and it's a record made all the more popular by the mini-anthem 'Kid Goes Wild' which featured on the soundtrack to 'Robocop 2' I believe.
7/10

Backwater - Revelation (1984)

Released on Disaster records; this is probably one of the most sincere satanic Venom-clones you are likely to hear - Backwater being some drunken fusion of Motorhead, Bathory, Warfare, Venom and Bulldozer chewed up by some oily incinerator and spat out via black plumes of smoke. There's a strong sense of Britishness about this vile German clanking of chains - it's a part speed metal part punked up mess of greasy vocal sneers; hellbent-for-leather drums and general all round metallic blackness puked out through such unholy orders as 'Dirty Pigs' and the brief yet destructive rust rant of 'Too Much Alcohol'. It's not pretty and it's certainly not clever but this rust-bucket of a record will have you hailing Satan and chomping on beer cans before the foggy night is through...(1986's 'Final Strike' being as equally sordid).
7/10