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Girlschool Nightmare at Maple Cross Review by Gary Hill I like this new reissue from Girlschool a lot. I’d say that it’s better than the other one I’ve also reviewed in this issue. That said, it’s not an easy call to make. They are both really good. Girlschool really have their own sound, but you can combine a couple things to get the idea of what it’s like without hearing them. Imagine taking the punkier side of The Runaways and blending that with the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. You’d be very close to the sound of the Girlschool. This album is at times extremely catchy. At other points it’s a bit raw. All in all, though, it’s great Girlschool rock and roll. This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2016 Volume 4 at lulu.com/strangesound.

Track by Track Review

All Day All Night There is weird little scene setting sound section at the start. From there, though, they launch into a great metal rock and roll jam. This is high energy, catchy and very cool.

Play with Fire Another high energy rocker, this is classy stuff. It’s very much a Girlschool meets NWOBHM type piece.

Danger Sign There is a fun kind of groove to this. It’s very much like something that Motorhead might have done, but with a definite Girlschool sound. It’s a great tune either way. There is a cool noisy bit of craziness at the end.

Never Too Late Not a huge change, this is just another great example of hard rocking Girlschool tuneage. There is definitely a raw punk ethos here in some ways.

Tiger Feet Punk and rock and roll merge on this hard rocker. It’s a fun stomper that’s really a “get on your feet” tune. The guitar solo has a lot of old school rock and roll built into it.

Back for More While this is no big surprise, it’s another really effective rocker.

Let's Go Crazy This is one of the cooler cuts here. It’s just quite strong in terms of the classic Girlschool concepts. Add in a cool trippy middle section, and this one really stands out nicely.

You've Got Me (Under Your Spell) Very much trademark Girlschool this has some killer metallic stuff in some of the guitar sounds and fills. It’s another strong tune on a disc full of strong tunes.

Let's Break Out The main riff on this is the heaviest metallic thing here. This is a screaming hot tune that’s very much in a NWOBHM territory.

Turn It Up A flourish like the start of an old movie opens this. They fire out into a screaming hot punky jam from there. The guitar solo bit on this is screaming hot. There’s a goofy (but cool) little drop back section mid-track. After that it screams out with some serious fire.

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