Kick Axe will forever be remembered as that Canuck hard rock band that gave us "Vices". Nevermind the fact that two other albums in the 80s came after it, one right after the other, or that a comeback disc was offered up almost two decades after disbanding. This was the band that gave us "Vices", a slice of hard rock out of the cold country that was bright with fire and a brittle coloring that made it distinctly metal edged that undoubtedly rocked hard. It's lack of polish around the edges gave it character, along with the vocal antics of American recruit, George Criston. But nevermind that, "Welcome to the Club" came out the following year, sparkling like a diamond and made "Vices" just seem rough. Sure, the die hard fans prefer the debut for its rawness, but the slight softening and abundance of vocal harmonies made "Club" a welcoming treat indeed. These two albums were made available years ago through the magic of the CD re-release, but the third album, shrouded in mystery due to its rarity and high price tag when found, is often forgotten.
Not anymore. The interest in the "comeback" disc "IV" was considerably enough to make industry people interested in putting "Rock the World" back on the market, hoping that the auctioning insanity would dieoff and the rest of us who don't care to pay exorbitant prices for CDs would take a look at the album. Remastered, with a bonus track they scraped up somewhere (reportedly
Kick Axe wrote some 75 songs just in one period between albums so who knows where it came from), and some awful, but new coverart, it's now out there for a price that won't have you mortgaging your house to able to afford it. I miss the old coverart though, it was quite 80s cheese-tacular, with an "axe" gutting the earth. Rocking the world quite hard indeed. It was awesome. This is not. Luckily the music still is worth checking out because no one is going to be attracted to this new cover. Eww.
The third of the
Kick Axe 80s trilogy retains the cutting guitar sound from the debut, a little of that wild freedom, and the more cohesive songwriting and bigger melodies that drove "Welcome" apart from "Vices". Not to say that combing two good things from the past makes this the superior creation of the three, because it's not, but is still a good album. The 80s feel is large and in charge and rips it home with a polished ferocity. Very metal, and much tougher than the bands that were "king" in 1986.
Bon Jovi and
Europe were ruling the charts at the time and this just doesn't have enough keyboards to compete with the pop rockers of the day.
The approach and songwriting often reminds me of Fifth Angel's first record and in
"Red Line" I keep imaging Foriegner's "Rev It On the Red Line". They are a little harder to pigeon hole than many outfits, where you can point to a couple of bands and pretty much trace the roots easily. For the Axe, you have to throw a few bands against the wall and hope some of them stick. Comparisions can be made to fellow Canadians Helix, as well as touring partner's, Judas Priest's lighter moments. You may hear bits and pieces of
Dokken too, especially in the melodic harmonies.
Songwise, the disc doesn't quite stack up to the previous two but yet still manages to treat us to tunes that illustrate far away places of myth, fantasy and imagination. It's not really anything new under the sun, but gives "Rock the World" an interesting angle to run with.
The album opens with the unsavory title track which is a boring rock anthem at its core. Hopes were dashed upon hearing it, fearing that the disc was sealed to a tragic fate of stereotypical boredom. If Dio, one of my metal heroes, can do songs of this nature ("We Rock", etc.) and it doesn't interest me then certainly these guys attempts at it are not going to win me over either. Repetitive and icky. Luckily the album improves drastically after this is out of the way and the guys seem to be more open to experimentation. In a good way, of course.
"Devachan" is a masterful work that should please the punch out of any hard rock fan with it's bright guitar sounds and passionate vocal delivery.
"We Still Remember" breaks things up by being a unique semi-ballad that doesn't reference love at all. Imagine, an 80s ballad that totally leaves love out of the equation! This one is more of a tribute to the songs that inspired them, there are many song titles that can be dissected here, too many for it just to be coincidence. A nice nod to their heroes and a powerful song as well.
The Greek legend of
"Medusa" is brought back to life by this rippling rocker that tells the tale of a fool that knowingly looked into her eyes even after everyone else around him had been turned into stone by her gaze. He suffers the same fate, and thus this song is born. It has the muscle of 80s metal, that sound that no one seems to be able to accurately duplicate in the here and now. Good stuff that stands the test of time by it's tangled association with that mid decade vibe.
"The Dark Crusade" pounces out with blistering guitars and thundering drums. George's vocals are large and in charge, belting with power. No sissy stuff here. No sir. For some reason a few of his lines come out sounding like John Sykes playing the role of the frontman in Blue Murder.
"Magic Man" continues the assault of fantasy with lyrics that bring to life kings, chariots of fire, and mystic lands. An ode to a wizard perhaps? That darkness from
"Medusa" is carried right on over for this album's shining finale, as it rocks with dreams of the fantastical.
There's also quite a competant remake of
"The Chain" which, for the record, is a freakin' Fleetwood Mac song. Too much info on the web for these guys have credited this song to them and it's not. Makes me wonder about people sometimes, since this isn't an obscure track at all. A superb piece of music, yes, and a classic that they cover quite well, with energetic excitement for an enticing male fronted take on it, but it's not original.
After this album,
Kick Axe curled up and died. They weren't exactly following the book for what the mainstream was eating up and after poor management, some bad deals and hair bands taking over the airwaves, they said adios and disbanded. They were just another good band that slipped between the cracks and were pursued by only the hardest of core, that is until recently. In 2004 they got back together and put out the aptly titled "IV" which was considered dodgy by some, but it's acceptance was considered to be good enough to warrant the re-release of this overlooked and buried little treasure. A good enough reason for "IV" to exist, I believe, even if Criston was not a part of it. George can be heard on two songs on the recently released Bitter Suite album which is an archival release that was buried and just recently dug up.
This won't bring new fans in droves, but for those that consider themselves fans of 80s hard rock, with a metallic twist, then this belongs in your collection. It won't rock everyone's world, and is certainly no "Club" or the underground fav "Vices", but with its vintage sound, strange otherworldly lyrical content, and offbeat approach, it's worth looking into. For those that loved the first two
Kick Axe records, then what are you waiting for?
Written by
Alanna Sunday, September 18, 2005
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