Track by Track Review
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2045
They waste no time, powering into a killer metal grind. Then it drops down to a weird section that’s part jazz and part psychedelia. A spoken vocal comes over the top for the verse. This is a short piece, essentially serving as an introduction. |
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Only the Strong Killer no frills heavy metal drives us out in style here. The guitar solo is particularly tasty. |
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Start Raising Hell Raw metal with some punk and more in the mix is the idea here. This is a real stomper in a lot of ways. It’s not a huge change, but when it’s this good, who cares? |
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Knock Em Down More of an anthemic cut, the metal here is meaty. This has a catchier sound to it. |
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Let the Blood Run Red Raw, but also anthemic, this is more killer true steel. I love the chorus on this one. |
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When Gods Collide The heavy sound that starts this out is sort of like a more extreme version of Black Sabbath. The song proper has a real indie metal sound to it. |
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Rock the City Proto-metal meets hard rock anthems here. This is a straightahead rocker with a catchy chorus. They take it through some changes, though, bringing it closer to an early epic metal vein. |
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Now Comes the Storm A bit on the furious side musically, the vocal arrangement on this is more anthemic. This one is a little on the raw side, but it’s also quite cool. The guitar solo section on this scorches. |
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Thunder on the Tundra A catchy, driving metal tune, this isn’t fancy, but it rocks. |
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Hot Flames The riff that opens this, and really the whole sound is classic. This is metal! |
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Ride of the Chariots After a short introduction, they tear out into a thrashy number. It’s very much an epic metal styled tune.
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Bonus Tracks: From the Edge of Hell |
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Wild Life This reminds me a bit of what you might get if you crossed Warlock (with a male singer, of course) and Motley Crue. It’s a driving metal rocker. |
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Steal Your Thunder More of a modern metal sound permeates this. In some ways, it’s more of a melodic rocker than it is a metal song. It’s got a definite 80s metal vibe to it. The guitar solo section is quite tasty. |
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Energy A spoken voice gives way to a keyboard/effects flourish on the introduction. Then vocals rise up to deliver the first chorus without any backing. They launch into some melodic epic metal from there. In some ways this makes me think of Kiss a bit. There are some rather progressive rock like elements in some of the layers of sound that lace this at times. |
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We Live To Rock This one is very much in a 1980s metal style. It’s got a real glam metal vibe a bit like Quiet Riot and Motley Crue combined. |
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Demos |
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All Evil in My Path (1983)
This has a demo-like quality, but interestingly enough it almost feels like DEVO does metal to me. It’s actually a lot of fun. |
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Forever and After (1982) A more pure metal tune, this one has a lot of energy. It’s a bit raw, but it is a demo. |
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Anger Is My Middle Name (1981) This has a bit of a punk vibe to it. Still, it’s got metal and more in the mix. |
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I Am ThunderHawk (1986) A mellow introduction gives way to a jam that’s part metal and part punk. It’s a fun cut with a cool riff. |
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Ride Away from You (1981) Another with a lot of punk rock in the mix, this is okay, but not great. |
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Live In England 1984
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Lightning Strikes
From what I can tell, this song is pretty good. The problem is, the recording is so lousy that it’s really hard to tell. Still, this is a bonus track and not part of the album proper. |
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Thunder on the Tundra The sound on this isn’t great, but it’s definitely better than the previous one. The performance sounds pretty inspired.
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