The following is a list of my initial album reviews on
www.metal-archives.com/ (as of posting) there should be 4 more by tomorrow. I will update this list periodically as i write new reviews. ALMOST ALL REVIEWS will be on rare, unreviewed material "Virgins" and almost all will be on classic heavy/speed/thrash metal. If this sounds like your cup o tea, then check em out. perhaps youll be inspired to join up and write some of your own. feel free to post feedback here. Metal Thunder!
Below this list are my newest reviews, updated as they are written (usually), anyway to start things off:
Review(s) submitted by DeathRiderDoom
Alien (US) - Cosmic Fantasy "Lost in Space?" - 63%
Anvil - Forged in Fire "The Anvil Was Forged In Fi-iiiiiiiiiire!" - 80%
Anvil - School Love "Let Down By Lame B-Side" - 70%
Armed Force - Heavy Artillery "Living Death meets Lizzy Borden" - 79%
Armored Saint - Can U Deliver "Attitude Laden Number" - 75%
Atomkraft - Total Metal: The Neat Anthology "THRASHY NWOBHM" - 80%
Attaxe - Displaced "Circle Pit Rumble!" - 72%
Avenger (UK) - Blood Sports ""Victims of Force"" - 85%
Avenger (UK) - Killer Elite "Phenomenal Priest Style Heavy Metal" - 91%
Axatak - Axatak "Middle of the Road Glam/Heavy Metal" - 65%
Axe Witch - 3-Track Maxi "Forgettable Miss" - 50%
Axtion - Look Out For The Night "Another Cleveland Classic" - 75%
Backwater - Final Strike "Patchy Obscure Germanism Similar to Living Death" - 62%
Bad Lizard - Power of Destruction "Twin Guitar Attack!" - 78%
Badge (UK) - Silver Woman "Another Obscure NWOBHM Release" - 68%
Badger (UK) - Over The Wall "The Faceless Gang" - 76%
Banshee (US) - Cry in the Night "Quality obscure USPM" - 80%
Battlezone - Children of Madness "Melodic Metal - Di'Anno Attitude" - 74%
Bengal Tigers - Metal Fetish "Utterly Simplistic Early 80's Glam Rock" - 60%
Beowülf - Beowülf "Motorhead's Sleazier, Snottier Little Brother." - 90%
Beowülf - Lost My Head... But I'm Back On The Right Track "Lacks the Edginess of the Debut" - 81%
Berserks - Berserks "Raw, Youthful Italian Stuff" - 73%
Bitches Sin - Twelve Pounds And No Kinks "Pure NWOBHM" - 70%
Bitches Sin - Your Place or Mine? "More Greatness" - 80%
Black Angels (Che) - Kickdown "More Like Blue(s) Angel" - 70%
Black Rose (UK) - Shout it Out "Bland and Forgettable Glam Rock" - 50%
Blood Money (UK) - Red, Raw and Bleeding "Fucking Breakneck British Thrash Attack!" - 90%
Bloody Six - In the Name of Blood "Yeah, They're from Switzerland." - 79%
Brainfever - Capture The Night "Rebellious and Motorhead-esque Germanic Thunder" - 78%
Bullet (Ger) - Execution "At Times Uninspired AC-DC-esque Rock" - 65%
Burning Starr - Rock The American Way "All-Star Lineup Produces Catchy, Upbeat Debut" - 73%
Cacumen - Bad Widow "Solid Hard Rock Effort!" - 78%
Centurion (US) - Cross And Black "Dark, Epic, Gloomy Heavy Metal" - 74%
Chariot (UK) - Burning Ambition "As Mushy as Porridge" - 50%
Chastain - Mystery of Illusion "Thrilling and Attitude-Laden Classic Metal" - 80%
Chateaux - Fire Power "Fiery Aggression and Pace - Scorching Heat" - 91%
Chateaux - Highly Strung "Thundering NWOBHM!" - 78%
Chateaux - Young Blood "Perhaps the Best NWOBHM single?" - 91%
China Doll - Oysters and Wine "Upbeat Boogie NWOBHM" - 75%
Clientelle - Demo "Skillful, Melancholic Guitar Interplay" - 71%
Crashdïet - Riot In Everyone / Out Of Line "Incredibly Well Done" - 76%
Culprit - Guilty as Charged "Excellent, in the tradition of Riot." - 82%
Danger (Swe) - Keep Out "An Absolute Scorcher!!!" - 91%
Dark Lord - It's Nigh' Time "Catchy, US tinged Italian Heavy Metal" - 79%
Dark Wizard - Devil's Victim "Black Magic" - 80%
Death Power (Fra) - The Bogeyman "Nailing It....In Your Fucking Skull!" - 86%
Ded Engine - Renegade "A Sleeping Pill By Another Name" - 50%
Demoniac (Nzl) - Stormblade "Blackened Power Metal!!!!" - 88%
Dokken - Breaking the Chains "Nobody Else Can Bind Me!" - 75%
Dokken - Burning Like a Flame "Dokken Slays Bandwagon-Riders" - 83%
Dokken - Dream Warriors "Phenomenal" - 90%
Dokken - Lightning Strikes Again "Majesty and Power" - 82%
Dokken - The Hunter "Amazing! Two Excellent Numbers" - 90%
Dragonfly (UK) - Dragonfly "Blues Heavy NWOBHM" - 60%
Dragster (UK) - The Very Best of Dragster "If You Like Saxon..." - 79%
Driveshaft - Heartbreaker "No Frills Boogie and Ass-Kicking NWOBHM" - 79%
E.F. Band - Last Laugh Is on You "The “E.F.” stands for Ericcson and Fischer" - 70%
Explorer (UK) - Exploding "Average NWOBHM – Some Highlights" - 55%
F-66 - Give It a Try / It Doesn’t Matter "Obscure, Anyone?" - 50%
Faithful Breath - Skol "Accept-sounding German Metal" - 75%
Fifth Angel - Fifth Angel "Excellent Classic Power Metal" - 85%
Fisc - Break Out "Another Strong Effort" - 72%
Fisc - Tracker "One of the Better French 'Heavy Metal' efforts" - 72%
Flotsam and Jetsam - Flotzilla "Not Likely to Become Drifting Marine Waste..." - 84%
Glacier - Ready for Battle "Miraculous Power Metal Assault" - 91%
Goldsmith - Life Is Killing Me "Obscure NWOBHM" - 70%
Gravestone (Ger) - Back to Attack "Teutonic Power!" - 84%
Gravestone (Ger) - Victim of Chains "German Grim Reaper!" - 80%
Grim Reaper - See You in Hell "Banshee-like Ferocity" - 90%
Holland (US) - Little Monsters "M.A.B. Melodic Hard Rock!" - 80%
Horizon (Hol) - Master of the Game "Excellent Power Melody!" - 82%
Jaguar - This Time "Well-Done Sappinnes- Recommended AOR" - 72%
Judas Priest - Deceiver "Dark, Sinister Priest" - 90%
Judas Priest - Diamonds and Rust "Two Excellent Dark Numbers" - 88%
Judas Priest - Exciter "A Very 'Metal' Single" - 88%
Keel - The Right to Rock "A pounding slice of rebellion" - 73%
Keel - VI: Back in Action "Keel is Back in Action!" - 85%
Kick Axe - Vices "Production-Heavy Glam/Heavy Metal" - 73%
Krokus - Headhunter "Krokus at their Best" - 90%
Krokus - Metal Rendez-Vous "The Beginning of 'Classic' Krokus" - 80%
Krokus - One Vice at a Time "A Little Too Much ACDC In The Formula" - 75%
Krokus - Save Me "Swiss Band Mistaken For ACDC Tribute Act" - 71%
Krokus - Screaming in the Night "Two Of Their Best Numbers" - 90%
Krokus - The Blitz "A Polished, Professional Follow-Up to Their Opus" - 78%
Letter X - Born Into Darkness "Europe meets Seventh Son" - 74%
M-80 - M-80 "Rather Lame AOR sorta stuff" - 50%
M.A.R.S. - Project : Driver "Majestic, Cinematic Power Metal, Technical Skill" - 86%
Maxx Warrior - Maxx Warrior "Early Motley Crue by Another Name" - 72%
Medusa (UK) - Clash Of The Titans "Steve Grimmett In His Infancy" - 75%
More - Warhead "Turn Your Key!" - 77%
Oliver Magnum - 01986 "Forgotten USPM Mastery" - 77%
Oz - Second-Hand Lady/Rather Knight "Average Hard Rock" - 50%
Persian Risk (UK) - Rise Up "Strong Collection of Cuts" - 78%
Phasslayne - Cut It Up "Melodic NWOBHM" - 71%
Predatür - See You Here - Take A Walk "upbeat NWOBHM" - 70%
Quartz - Against All Odds "Ride On!" - 83%
Quartz - Quartz "Admirable 70's Hard Rock" - 75%
Quartz - Stand up and fight "Aggressive, Yet Still Drenched in 70's Rock Cliche" - 81%
Queensrÿche - Another Rainy Night (Without You) "Mastery of the Progressive" - 84%
Queensrÿche - Queen of the Reich "Simplistic, Yet Powerfully Haunting Majesty" - 91%
Queensrÿche - Take Hold of the Flame "Haunting, Emotive Excellence" - 91%
Queensrÿche - Warning "Prog Brilliance" - 86%
Renegade (Ger) - Renegade "Have Some Drinks - Before You Go to Heeeeell!" - 70%
Rhabstallion - Day to Day "The Best NWOBHM Band You've Never Heard" - 91%
Riot - Outlaw "No Better Intro to Classic Riot" - 82%
Riot - Thundersteel "Who Can Deny This Thing?" - 91%
Rollerball - Outlast the Game "Spontaneous, Dark & Raw" - 77%
Saracen (UK) - Heroes, Saints & Fools "Godlike Progressive NWOBHM" - 91%
Satanic Rites (UK) - Which Way The Wind Blows "Totally Original Female-Fronted NWOBHM" - 87%
Savage (UK) - Ain't No Fit Place "Where Metallica Ripped Their Sound From" - 85%
Savatage - Of Rage and War "Of Rage and War" - 72%
Saxon - Princess of the Night "Ninety Tonnes of Thunder!" - 80%
Saxon - Wheels of Steel "Automobile-themed NWOBHM" - 74%
Shining Blade - Touch the Night "Italian Power Melody" - 70%
Shogun - Shogun "Commercial US-flavoured Rock with Hints of Steel" - 65%
Skid Row - Youth Gone Wild "Best 'Rebellious Youth Anthem' Ever" - 80%
Spartan Warrior - Spartan Warrior "2nd shelf, Though Good NWOBHM" - 74%
Steelpreacher - Start Raising Hell "Omen Inspired Traditonal Metal Homage" - 86%
StormQueen - Battle of Britain "Occult Werewolfism" - 76%
Stormtrooper (UK) - Pride Before a Fall "And On The Third Shelf, We Have...." - 69%
Streetfighter (UK) - Crazy Dream "Let Down by Sappy Title-track" - 60%
Target (Bel) - Mission Executed "Not a Thrash Great" - 62%
The Handsome Beasts - Beastiality "Simplistic Yet Enjoyable" - 65%
The Rods - Wild Dogs "In the Traditon of Anvil" - 80%
Thunder (Ger) - All I Want "Priest Inspired Germanic Metal" - 70%
TNT (Nor) - Everyone's A Star "2 OfTheir Best songs: One Single" - 85%
Tokyo Blade - Powergame "The Blade Slashes onto the Scene!" - 88%
Touched - Back Alley Vices "Glam/NWOBHM/Heavy Metal Fusion" - 75%
Touched - Deathrow "Attempts at 'Metal' Imagery Seem Contrived" - 60%
Tranzzam - Lionheart "Energetic, Original NWOBHM" - 76%
Tröjan - Chasing the Storm "Red Hot Speed Metal - Lose Your 'Sweater'" - 85%
Turbo (Pol) - Smak Ciszy "Turbo (Pol) - Smak Ciszy" - 60%
Twisted Sister - The Kids Are Back "Sleazy, But Not Their Best Effort" - 60%
Tyga Myra - Deliverance "Equal Measures of Classic NWOBHM and Speed Metal" - 80%
Tysondog - Eat the Rich "Often Overlooked NWOBHM Greats" - 72%
Vyper - Prepared To Strike "Killer Mid 80’s Heavy Metal Album, Great Band" - 90%
W.A.S.P. - Videos in the Raw "Let the Good Times Roll..." - 88%
Warchylde - Murder by Decibels "Great Band And Album Names" - 74%
Warriors (Ser) - Warriors "Generic Name - Surprisngly Good Album" - 80%
Weapon (UK) - Set The Stage Alight "Weapon – Set the Stage Alight" - 60%
White Ash - Live with Rock'n'Roll / The spell "That's Fraxinus Americana, Technically" - 65%
White Heat (UK) - Soldier Of Fortune "Average NWOBHM" - 58%
White Spirit - White Spirit "Yeah, Just Get It." - 90%
Witchfynde - I'd Rather Go Wild "Killer NWOBHM Anthemism! Two of Their Best!" - 81%
Witchfynde - Lords of Sin "Not a NWOBHM great" - 50%
Wyzard - Knights of Metal "Back to the Drawing Board (And the Vocal Coach)" - 61%
Xero (UK) - Cutting Loose "Bluesified Late NWOBHM." - 52%
Y Diawled - Noson y Blaidd "Probably The Only non-English Speaking NWOBHM Act" - 69%
Zar - Live Your Life Forever "Mystical Power Rock" - 87%
Zenith (UK) - Easier Said than Done "A Production Let-Down" - 58%
This week i've slotted out a couple of NWOBHM reviews, and a couple heavy ones for good measure. first up is
Streetfighter 's Crazy Dream (EP), a NWOBHM offering let down with a lame title track. Up next is Welsh NWOBHMers
Y Diawled's first single . Another NWOBHM review is for
Stormtrooper's
Pride Before a Fall single - an early (1980) release showing professionalism and promise. Next up is Glam/NWOBHM act
Touched's 2nd album -
Deathrow - a rather poor follow up to their decent debut. The last NWOBHMer is the excellent
Tysondog single
Eat The Rich. My final review was for US power/heavy metal band
Wyzard.
to read any of the reviews, simply type Deathriderdoom into the search bar on
http://www.metal-archives.com/ , and then select "User" from the drop down menu. avaiable will be all the reviews listed in my previous journal entry. Hope they are of use or enjoyable, and remember to get writing yourself! Heavy Metal Thunder
Newest approved album reviews as of 17/06/09
Hi there folks, just a quick update of my newest reviews up on MA. My two newest include Welsh NWOBHMers
Stormqueen's 1980 debut demo - released independently the same year as NWOBHM juggernauts
Angel Witch Iron Maiden and
Def Leppard released their debuts. A killer NWOBHM offering, somewhat simlar to Angel Witch's sound. The second one is for little known AOR/NWOBHM act
Clientelle's 1985 demo. These guys were a unique sounding NWOBHM act out of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, who were unable to achieve much succes, with their only full-length failing to get them much attention, in the at the time overflowing NWOBHM market. This demo was their last attempt at securing a record deal, but sadly was unsuccessful. Anyway, hope the reviews are helpful, and as always, you can post feedback about em here i guess. NWOBHM forever.
Couple of my Latest Reviews
Today i have i couple more for ya. A review of US metal band
Ded Engine's 1983 debut single. These guys sound similar to an early
Armored Saint, though not as good. a grimy, but rather dull offering. Next up is a review for two tracks from
Krokus' most
AC/DC sounding album yet -
One Vice at a Time from the single
Long Stick Goes Boom a strong, yet overly ACDC sounding outing. The final one is an depth look at The follow-up album to Krokus' landmark 1983 offering
Headhunter, the album
The Blitz, released in 1984. This album marks a departure from the heavy, speed metal approach taken on Headhunter, to more of a pop-orientated sound - incredibly polished and well written album. Last up is a review for the legendary
Jack Starr's 80's melodic heavy metal act
Burning Starr. The album in question is their solid, and
Scorpionsesque debut
Rock The American Way. well worth a listen if you're into the melodic stuff.
well, hope you give em a read, and perhaps even get inspired to write your own. and long live heavy metal!
More NWOBHM reviews - get some new bands!
Dragster, not to be confuse with the gay punk, and pop rock acts of the same name, were an unknown NWOBHM act that took the same approach to the genre as bands like
Saxon, with heavy sounding guitars and drums, mixed with a focus on catchy and melodic choruses. Their best of album was issued in 1999 and contains all of their known material - a good choice if you like finding new NWOBHM acts. the review is available on their page on
www.www.metal-archives.com
Legendary British speed metallers
Tröjan releases a string of demos, which finally resulted in a full-length official offering in 1985. The album
Chasing The Storm is an excllent blend of NWOBHM chorus focused melodies, and thrilling speed metal aggression. This one is often regarded as a hidden gem of mid 80's metal. check out the review, which should be up shortly - at
http://www.metal-archives.com and remember - metal will never die!
Newest reviews:
Riot is a legendary and pioneering early metal band. They evolved from one of the hardest, fastest bands of the 70's into speed/power metal gods in the 1980s. Often revered for their 1987 album
Thundersteel this band had a string of great earlier works. no better sampling of their earlier work is available than their 1982 single "Outlaw". Check it out and youll be hooked. Review is up on metal-archives.
Rhabstallion has to be the most awesome completely unknown NWOBHM act ever. a review of their excellent 1994 re-release of 80's material is up on MA. Amazing album. Another NWOBHM review this week is on
Savage's single "Ain't No Fit Place" - two cuts from their legendary and critically acclaimed
Loose 'n' Lethal. Great, heavy NWOBHM
On another note;
Tyga Myra was another Brtish speed metal band. They formed during end of the NWOBHM period and released only one full-length. A review is available on MA
This Weeks Album Reviews, Let's Go
i've been meaning to review London's
More for a while. Catchy tunes here from the debut album of one of the "more" succesful NWOBHM acts (for a period). More were snapped up by Atlantic Records - and it shows with this interesting blend of poppy melody, and heaviness.
Warhead is a fun, recommendable NWOBHM outing.
In additon, i've also taken the time to review
W.A.S.P.'s classic VHS offering "Videos...In the Raw" - an excellent, and totally fun collection of interviews, clips and live footage released in the late 80's. check it out.
Saracen is an amazing unique nwobhm band which combines elements of 70's early heavy metal and doom, progressive rock like
Pink Floyd and other influences to craft en epic, power metallic tinged nwobhm/rock sound. their debut album is a masterpiece. check out the review on
http://www.metal-archives.com/ for more!
a couple more for you NWOBHM fans:
Jaguar is a melodic rock/NWOBHM band with some similarity to American 80's AOR acts like
Night Rangerconey hatch etc. their 2nd album is awesome if you like AOR - well written, besting many bands that attempted the style.
Legendary NWOBHMers
Tokyo Blade are still regarded as one of the best NWOBHM acts ever to appear in the 80's. Their breakthrough single Powergame hailed them in as one of the most energetic, guitar driven bands of the time. If you like
Iron Maidenish riffage in your NWOBHM - check out their early works.
Maxx Warrior were an unknown heavy/glam metal band active in the mid 80's. Their only release to date -a self titled EP (1986) is an awesome blend of fast enbergetic mid 80's metal and early 80's Motely Crue/LA Glam sound. Think Shout at the Devil, or Too Fast For Love.
geez, i haven't updated this in a wee while, but hewre goes:
Saxon's offerings after their early 80's hayday, but before their awesome resurgence post-2000 are often overlooked. we must remember though, that Saxon is an unstoppable juggernaut that will not relent. During their middle period, they continued to put out quality. 1992's
Forever Free is a solid offering with an awesome title track. the review is available on
http://www.metal-archives.com/
Damascus was the name of 2 NWOBHM bands. the one from Liverpool released a nice little EP in 1984 titled
Open Your Eyes. This EP was rich in 70's influences like
Thin Lizzy,
Uriah Heep etc, and centred around a very strong, driving title track. a NWOBHM outing worth a listen.
This week i also have a series of reviews up for obscure NWOBHM singles. These include offerings from bands such as
Driveshaft,
china doll,
Demon Pact and others. Check these out if you're after some more classic NWOBHM.
Gaskin were a softer edged, rock band that were part of the NWOBHM in the early/mid 80's. Ive had their release
No Way Out for quite some time and decided to get a review up. Their sound is an interesting mix of classic NWOBHM, with a
Whitesnake sorta feel at times.
This Week's Reviews-----
To kick things off this week, we head to Wales, where NWOBHM act
Tredegar hailed from. Though they only released one full length, they aslo recorded another, which was unreleased (1991). Their 1994 best of disc includes both full-lengths and all recorded materials. read the review on the band's page at
http://www.metal-archives.com/
Exises were a dutch heavy/progressive metal band formed in 1984. Their self titled release came out in 1987. It has a sound with some similarity to
M.A.R.S.,
Leatherwolf, or classic Queensryche - though perhaps not quite as arresting as the aforementioned bands.
Roxcity, the shortlived Canadian AOR band released only one EP before dismantling. It has a sound with elements similar to
Boston,
Coney Hatch,
Night Ranger at times, though not as majestic and powerful as these acts. howeve, the EP is worth a listen, if only for the track, "Night Child in the Sky"
Keep an eye out for more extremely obscure NWOBHM single reviews continuing my growing series in this vein. next up will be a review of the band
Cryer, which later changed their name to
Force(UK). Find the reviews on
http://www.metal-archives.com/
I have also done breif, simple review of
Kuni's debut album
Masque - a powerful album that matches the virtousic skill of Kuni (he's similar to a Japanese
Vinnie Moore,
Paul Gilbert or
Micheal Angelo Batio) with a sound that sometimes approaches
Zar,
DokkenRacer X, or even
Riot. a great debut album really worth checking out if you like 80's melodic heavy metal.
Presence was a melodic heavy metal/hard rock band from France in the 1980's. Their only album was
Rock Your Life. An interesting sound is evidenced; pieces of
Danger Danger,
Night Ranger,
Dokken,
Fisc and others could be found in their sound for comparison. The review can be found on the bands page on
http://www.metal-archives.com/
This Weeks Reviews 6 July 2009
My first review for this week is a quick despcriptive write up of Spanish band
Panzer's sophomore album. This early/mid 80's offering sounds very much steeped in NWOBHM, with many of the classic Spanish elements added into the mix. A decent bands that holds its own aongside
Ñu and
Barón Rojo.
Whitesnake
Faith ─ George Michael 4 