Its been fifteen years since these guys inked a deal with CBS Records (now Sony) in the late eighties, and for such a band that at the time had strayed enough distance from the stereotypical "hair metal" scene of the time, it was the wrong place at the wrong time.
They fit in the category along with
McQueen Street, Fifth Angel, and
Shark Island (remember any of them?) among others, who had brought forth melodic straight forward metal, but with lack of support from record companies who saw too much of the image conscious cottage industry along with the changing times in the early nineties with the alternative rock explosion; Pink Cream 69, was another band that had put the musicianship first, being an unfortunate casualty to image and "product" over substance.
But make no doubt about it, fifteen years on into the new millennium, this band still rocks on with a complete heaping serving of melodic metal, complete with all the classic connotations, precise metallic guitar riffs, from Les Paul Crunch to Stratocaster jangle, and the vocals of David Readman (who replaced Andi Deris, who left in 1994 to join Helloween), offering a clean falsetto to give this record the "vintage" metal vibe that we all have grown to love.
Bringing forth the songwriting filled with anthem choruses and hooks that remain the key to creating such powerful cuts like
"Carnaby Road" and the title cut, as well as dark cuts that haunt the otherwise bright mood of this recording, found in tracks like
"Here I Am" and
"As Deep as I Am," not to mention more pop metal related cuts like
"Shelter." Of course there are ballads, like any melodic metal release, with
"Retro Lullaby," where the title should say it all, but still remains on the heavier side when you compare it to the emotional neo-acoustic
"That Was Yesterday." If you looked at the tracklisting, you will also notice that there is a cover of
"My Sharona," showing that these guys have respect for the new wave movement, which was the metal counterculture of the eighties (probably the lowest point on the record, but fails to ruin the overall vibe).
When comparing these guys to other bands, look at the bands listed above, or some of the more visual bands like
Harem Scarem (early records), Extreme, and Winger's
Pull record (you know, the post-cheese album that they did that was actually great); making for the sound that should have been in the mainstream when all else had failed to please fans of real rock and roll/heavy metal.
Thunderdome itself is a great record, brining back the basics of Melodic Metal.
Written by
Hashman Tuesday, February 24, 2004
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