Retro Reviews - June 2026 Part One!

Yes, I'm still working my way through 1986, this time with some more obscure metal bands.  While I've reviewed many of them before, it is interesting to see them change and evolve through the decade.  It's very clear that metal was definitely expanding as the decade went on, as different bands had unique ideas of where to take the genre.  In any case, here's a handful of interesting albums from the middle of the 80s!

Cirith Ungol - One Foot in Hell

After the relatively successful King of the Dead (which I thought was decent, and an improvement over their debut), the band marched on with another slab of heavy/doom epicness and more Michael Whelan artwork on the cover.  While the lineup was the same, this third album definitely shows some interesting changes.

Right off, this is a much shorter album.  While King of the Dead surpassed 50 minutes, this one barely gets past the 35-minute mark.  The production is also a little cleaner on this one, and the songs do have a bit more energy, leaning more into epic metal with the occasional doomy moment.  Tim Baker's iconic voice wails as usual, which I've come to really enjoy, as it fits the story-telling of their lyrics.  The guitar solos have some interesting variety, not just doing typical 80s shreddy, but often mixing things up with melodic sections, or even having two guitars wailing over each other, which works weirdly well.  However, this shift into traditional metal territory does mean their songs aren't quite as impactful.  They're not bad at it, but when most of the choruses are just repeating the title over and over, it leaves me to wonder if some of these songs weren't given enough time to really develop, especially since many of them are shorter than what they've done before.

Overall, it's another decent album, but there have been some trade-offs.  While I do like the uptick in energy and the cleaner production, they do take a hit to their doomy atmosphere, which King of the Dead had in spades.  I liked the opener "Blood Iron" and the very Sabbathy "Doomed Planet," but "The Fire" and "100 MPH" don't feel as inspired.  The closer "One Foot in Hell" is classic Cirith Ungol, though.  It's a solid listen, as the band expands their sound, but those looking for classic doom metal might be a little disappointed.

Helstar - Remnants of War

Despite feeling their debut album was pretty lackluster (but not terrible), I decided to give their follow-up a shot as well.  Losing nearly everyone but singer James Rivera and guitarist Larry Barragan, this is quite the shake-up.  Nevertheless, they charge on ahead, this time picking up some thrash and US power metal elements.

The biggest change is in the song-writing, as conventional structures are mostly abandoned and many of these songs don't even have choruses.  Instead, they've chosen to focus a lot on tempo changes and shifting moods, even messing with the time signature from time to time.  The riffing is also more complex and the guitar solos shred all over the place.  Barragan and newcomer Robert Trevino play some pretty solid stuff all across this album.  The rest of the band play with energy, and the wails of Rivera work here, as they push into more dramatic territory, singing about wars and betrayal, nightmares and evil (and even have moments that sound like Cirith Ungol).

While this is certainly an improvement over the debut, as this is more interesting, it also tends to occupy the same space across the album.  There are more thrashy elements, and the change ups do help, but at the same time, the songs do feel interchangeable after a while.  The title track adds a nice touch of doom metal, and I liked the more melodic chorus of "Dark Queen," but otherwise, these tracks are a little too jumbled to really get into it right away.  Maybe if I give this a few more listens, it will click, but for now, it's some pretty typical US power metal, with plenty of noodles for guitar fans to enjoy.

Saint Vitus - Born Too Late

After trying to expand their sound with their sophomore effort, only to result in a mixed bag, their singer Scott Reagers decided to leave the band, so they picked up Scott "Wino" Weinrich.  As for the music, they go back the fuzz-heavy doom they had for their debut, but with a slight psychedelic haze over everything.

Yes, we're back into the plodding riffs and atmospheric tones of doom metal, and I think the band is better for it.  However, they keep the decent production around, as the band sound pretty good this time around.  Wino brings a great sense of drama and angst to the songs, especially since the lyrics have more grounded subject matter, like social isolation, mental illness, and drug addiction.  Dave Chandler's guitar riffs bring back a lot of classic Sabbath vibes, but with a lot more effects to warp the sound quite a bit, giving the songs a bit more of a jammy feel, especially when his solos sound as much like noise as they do music, which is not a bad thing here.

I admit it took me a minute to get back into the right headspace for this, but once I did, I was grooving along quite well.  The title track that opens the album definitely captures the feel of the whole thing, as all the songs have a strong 70s style to it.  "Dying Inside" and "The War Starter" both express their Sabbath-inspirations very well.  While I don't think it's as good as Epicus Doomicus Metalicus by Candlemass (as I do love their epic sensibilities), but Born to Late shows a band really maturing as songwriters, creating a pretty solid stoner doom album.

Fates Warning - Awaken the Guardian

After stepping up their proggy chops with The Spectre Within, the band carried on, replacing guitarist Victor Arduini with Frank Aresti.  While they maintain their blend of prog and US power metal, they really push the technical chops of their playing on this one.

The first two tracks make it quite clear that this band has a concrete vision of what they want to be.  Noodly riffs, weird rhythms, mixed meter sections, atonal harmonies, and an atmospheric sense of being at the mercy of some mythological power.  The lyrics for the album definitely drift into myth and fantasy of a few different kinds, supporting this atmosphere.  Despite this, I think there is something wrong with the production.  While it's not muddy, it doesn't seem to gel together as well as I'd like.  The guitars are thick, providing a decent wall of sound, but the drums are rather dry in comparison, like they're playing in a different room.  And poor John Arch sounds like he's shouting from the end of a tunnel, often buried by the other instruments.  It's a shame because these are some decent (if highly complex) performances, and Arch's wails are quite solid this time around.  I just kinda wish the band wasn't so focused on trying to sound so technical at the expense of songwriting.

Still, there are parts that I liked.  "Fata Morgana" is probably the most conventional song, and I liked how it switched from verse to chorus with a different tone.  "Giant's Lore" had some interesting riffs, and the closer "Exodus," despite being a slower song, built up a decent amount of epicness.  I also get the idea that I will need to listen to this one a few more times to really wrap my head around what they're doing.  I don't know if I like this one more than The Spectre Within, but this album certainly shows a band willing to expand and explore their progressive elements.

Flotsam and Jetsam - Doomsday for the Deceiver

Despite being best known for where Metallica found Jason Newstead to replace Cliff Burton, this band had its own quiet run through the 80s as a thrash metal band kicking around the west coast.  While the band had a bit of a rocky start, they were able to stabilize in the mid 80s to record some demos, which led to being picked up by Metal Blade for their debut album (the only one Newstead played on for them) that's been considered an underground thrash classic.

Sonically, this is very much a fusion of what was going on in thrash metal in the 80s: the speed of Slayer, the sing-song vocals of Anthrax, the dark epicness of Metal Church and Metallica, the technical chops of Megadeth, and some Maiden-inspired guitar work for good measure.  Pretty much US power/thrash metal stone soup.  Unfortunately, there is a bit of sloppiness in the songwriting, as there are times where the lyrics are mushed together, and many of the riffs and transitions feel like the band is trying too hard to sound edgy and weird.  The performances are pretty tightly played, but almost too tight, like every note is played with tension as they want to get it right, making for a bit of an anxious listen.  The lyrical topics are all over the place as well, drifting from raunchy lyrics to drug abuse, and from infamous historical figures to Satan starting the nuclear apocalypse only to be beaten by a monster named "Flotzilla" (which explains what the cover art is about).  However, they also like their long intros, often blending acoustic and electric guitars in interesting ways.

For what it's worth, there is some good energy here, as the band is clearly playing with their heart on their sleeves.  I ended up liking their two long songs in the middle, being the title track and "Metalshock," as I felt they showed their proggy Maiden influences the most on those.  The rest of the songs play at a furious, near-unrelenting speed, to the point that it's almost too much.  Still, it wasn't a boring listen, and I'm certainly interested in where the band develops from here, as I'm loosely aware that they shift into more of a US power metal sound later on.

Retro Reviews - May 2026 Part Two!!

So I'm still chugging along with these Retro Reviews, and this handful is a bit weird, but I'm sure fans of mid-80s rock music will recognize most (if not all) of these.  This era was huge for rock and metal, as they dominated the airwaves and MTV alike.  While not all of them are winners, let's kick things off with a pair from one of the titans of the decade!

Journey - Frontiers

After the incredible success of Escape, the band kept rolling along, finding time to record their next album in breaks during their touring.  While Jonathan Cain adds a lot more synths this time around, Frontiers is chock full of great melodic rock from start to finish.

Once again, the big hits stand out. "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" is incredibly cinematic and starts the album with impact.  This might be my favorite Journey song.  "Send Her My Love" is more somber, but has a nice vibe, really leaning into the feeling of longing for a past love.  And then there's "Faithfully," which has been named as possibly the best power ballad of all time (and it's hard to disagree!).  As for the rest, they're also pretty good, though there are times where the synths do overpower the song, most noticeably on "Edge of the Blade" and "Rubicon."  However, these are small issues as the songwriting is consistent throughout.  "Chain Reaction" and "Edge of the Blade" have good energy, while "After the Fall" is another solid AOR track.  "Back Talk" features Steve Perry rap-singing over a Bo-Diddly beat (which I liked more than I was expecting), and the title track brings back some of their proggy elements, making me think of 80s Rush between all the synth layers and rhythmic syncopation.  Honestly, there isn't a bad song on here.

This just might be the perfect AOR album.  It isn't any wonder at all a record label dedicated to the genre would be named after this release.  As good as Escape was, with its big hits, I think Frontiers is the better album overall.  It just feels more complete and consistent in quality.  Steve Perry's voice sails over the band wonderfully, Neal Schon goes back and forth between melodic soloing and shredding, Cain adds the right amount of drama with his synths (maybe a little too much sometimes), and the rhythm section of Steve Smith and Ross Valory keep things moving to ensure no song feels stuck in a rut.  A dynamic performance from all involved and (probably) the peak for this band's output.  Basically, I liked it a lot!

Journey - Raised on Radio

At the end of another successful tour, Journey decided to take a small break, during which time both Steve Perry and Neal Schon worked on side projects.  While there was some concern that the band was breaking up, but Schon made it clear that was not the case.  However, as the band got back together for their ninth album, there was some tension, resulting in the firing of bassist Ross Valory and drummer Steve Smith, largely replacing them with Randy Jackson and Larrie Londin, respectively for this album.  They would end up taking drummer Mike Baird on the subsequent tour.

Right off, the production is pristine.  The band was eager to make use of the latest technology for this one, as well as a few new effects here and there.  There is also a stronger lean into pop territory, with elements of funk and soul as well.  While it isn't a massive shift, I understand Steve Perry had a lot more control over things this time, and so it ends up sounding a lot like his solo album Street Talk.  This isn't a bad thing, as these songs are still pretty good, but with only a handful of full-on rock songs, Neal Schon doesn't seem to have as much to do, other than play some solid melodic solos, with a few shreddy bits thrown in.  I wonder if the idea was that, since by 1986, metal had taken over, the band leaned more into their cinematic, soft rock side, which was still somewhat popular, especially in movie soundtracks.  These are not bad songs, by any means, but they certainly have much less impact than the ones on previous albums.

Naturally, the big singles stand out, especially "Girl Can't Help It" and "Be Good to Yourself."  The title track is a fun little song, referencing all the 60s rock songs that influenced them.  "Positive Touch" has some bouncy energy, and "Suzanne" features a good, AOR-style chorus that I liked.  However, the rest of the album just kinda cruises along, with most of it pleasantly passing through my ears, but very little sticks.  It's not a bad album while it's on, but it's definitely a step down from the past handful they've recorded.  

GTR - GTR

So this is a curious project.  After Steve Howe left Asia, his manager suggested a new project with former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett. Despite their prog rock background, they aimed for a mainstream rock audience, much like what Yes, Asia, and Genesis had been doing at this time.  They pulled together a few other talented folks to fill out the band, but in the end, only ever recorded this one album.

With Geoff Downes as the production, the album naturally sounds a lot like Asia, with layers of synths (mostly played by guitars this time) and a strong sense of drama in the dynamics.  They got Max Bacon to be the singer, and he has a solid voice for this kind of music.  I admit I don't know Hackett's work well enough to identify his contributions, but Howe certainly continues his melodic style from Asia.  The only real shake-ups are a pair of solo instrumental pieces from Howe and Hackett respectively, which are not bad.  I do think the production is a little thick at times, and there really aren't many surprises, but for the most part, these are some standard but well-executed 80s rock songs.  I also liked some of the more mellow spacey segments that showed up at the end of some tracks, and the album did get a little proggy towards the end, which was refreshing.

The album ended up being a modest success, so a second album was started, but in the end, the two guitarists struggled to continue working together and the group fell apart.  A live album was eventually released and a bootleg exists for some of the second album's songs, but otherwise, this project did not last long.  In retrospect, it ends up being mostly a novelty for 80s rock collectors, and a footnote in the history of these guitarists' longer careers.  I mostly enjoyed it myself, but at the same time, I wasn't really expecting much, largely due to its reputation.  Still, I can see this one growing on me with time.

Black Sabbath - Seventh Star

After the somewhat successful but critically mixed Born Again, Black Sabbath technically broke up.  Tony Iommi starting working on a solo album, working with a whole new band.  However, at the last minute, the label insisted on calling it a new Black Sabbath album, despite having a different sound, and so the twelfth album came to be.

I've seen other reviews refer to this as Sabbath's attempt at the popular glam metal style, and I can see some of that.  The production has a lot of mid-80s polish and synths, and both "Danger Zone" and the power ballad "No Stranger to Love" seem fit for MTV.  Former Deep Purple singer Glenn Hughes does have a very soulful style that fits the more dramatic and sentimental tone for these tracks.  However, other songs actually make me think of the Dio-Sabbath albums.  "Turn to Stone" feels very similar to "Neon Knights" and the title track feels like one of his slow, epic songs.  Honestly, if Dio sang on this, it would fit perfectly between Sacred Heart and Dream Evil.  For Iommi's part, he does play some pretty good solos on here.

The biggest sin is the fact that it says Black Sabbath on the cover.  I'm sure it was hard to know all the industry nonsense going on in the 80s, so fans probably just saw a new Sabbath album and got excited, only to be massively disappointed by what they heard.  Had they gone with a different name (or just kept it an Iommi solo project), I wonder if it wouldn't have better received.  As for me, I think it's a decent album of 80s rockers with a few good tracks (namely those two Dio-esque songs I mentioned).  Certainly not the best from the era, but not the disaster I was told to expect, either.  

Ozzy Osbourne - The Ultimate Sin

Once again, Ozzy releases an album the same year as Sabbath does.  While there had been some behind the scenes drama regarding song-writing credits, once that all got worked out, Jake E. Lee was ready with another batch of songs.  While Bark at the Moon was an incredible album, The Ultimate Sin ends up being a bit of a weak follow-up.

We're still very much in classic Ozzy territory, as he straddles the line between heavy metal and glam metal, and Jake is shredding his fingers off again.  He has some solid riffs and great solos, and the rest of the band plays well.  Unfortunately, the production makes the drums a little too loud in the mix at times, and the lyrics don't feel as inspired as before.  I think part of the issue is that they seem to focus on more grounded topics (personal feelings, political tension, rock 'n' roll), and these are things he's covered before, but there really isn't any horror or fantastical themes as the cover would imply, and so the songs don't really strive to be more than just straight-ahead, mid-tempo rockers, leaving the theatrical elements to the side.  I get the feeling that Ozzy is getting a lot of things off his chest with this one, with "Secret Loser" maybe pushing a little too close to the mirror.  While none of these things are necessarily bad, as the 80s was really start to wear people down in general, but the album does suffer from feeling a little generic, compared to what he's done before.  Having passed earlier this year, it may be a bit rude to be so down on his work, but looking around, it seems that Ozzy didn't care much for this one himself.

This is not a bad album, as you can easily bang your head through most of it.  The title track and the big hit single "Shot in the Dark" stand out the most, with "Killer of Giants" having some decent dynamics as a somber power ballad.  I'm sure most Ozzy fans were content with this one, but in retrospect, I feel this one doesn't rank high in his discography, as it tends to pass in one ear and out the other.

Retro Reviews - May 2026 Part One!!

Here is the first of a very long stretch of retro reviews for 1986.  Turns out, there's a lot I want to review!  This article will be all about German metal, as I guess the metal scene there really picked up through the middle of the decade.  I will also be following up on albums that I checked out last year, so expect a few links to previous articles.  At the very least, it makes for a solid slab of thick, crunchy metal!

Warlock - True As Steel

Let's kick things off with the Queen of Metal herself!  While their first album got them some fans and their second pushed into some heavier territory, True As Steel definitely leans more toward a bigger, more commercial sound.  With new guitarist Niko Arvanitis, they forge another slab of metal that tries to go big, and sort of succeeds.

Right off, the production is thicker, going for this massive wall of sound meant to fill arenas.  Unfortunately, it kind of buries Doro's voice.  There are times where there is so much reverb on it, it sounds like she's singing in a cave.  However, this bigger production makes their songs feel more cinematic in style, as they are often telling stories with the lyrics.  The performances are certainly tight, especially when they play the faster songs, and there are some neat ideas, but I think the production gets in the way more than it should, making it hard to really enjoy the songs on their own.

That being said, once you get used to it, there really is a lot to enjoy.  "Fight for Rock" and the title track are solid anthems, "Love in the Danger Zone" and "Love Song" are decent ballads, and I rather liked "Vorwärts, All Right!" for having good energy.  Having the closer "T.O.L." be instrumental is a curious choice, but over all the album is not bad.  

Rage - Reign of Fear

This is another band I've often seen get grouped with Grave Digger and Running Wild over the years.  They started off as Avenger, releasing an album and an EP.  I listened to them last year, but ended up not reviewing them as I felt I didn't have much to say about them.  They're not bad, just some pretty average German heavy metal.  After a name change, they decided to pick up quite a bit of thrash metal energy.

It really is quite the shift, right from the get go.  The first handful of tracks definitely sound like very early Slayer and Megadeth, eager to go fast and play some very aggressive riffs!  The opener "Scared to Death" starts off with this ominous, symphonic swell, but then blasts right into high speed fury.  "Deceiver" gets even thrashier, while the title track and "Hand of Glory" ease up things a little, but retain a very thrashy attitude.  It's not until "Raw Energy" that the band slows down to something more typical of Judas Priest, but it's right back to speed metal for "Echoes of Evil."  Overall, the album remains pretty fast and aggressive, with few exceptions.  The biggest deviation was the CD-only bonus track "The Scaffold," which starts with some nice acoustic guitar playing before getting into a more doom metal sound as it plods along pretty well.

It's hard to know how much I like this album.  I'm not a big Slayer or Megadeth fan, but there is more melody here than on Hell Awaits or Killing Is My Business.  "Scared to Death" and "Hand of Glory" in particular lean a little into Metal Church territory, so I liked those the most.  At the very least, it's not a boring album as they play with incredible energy and precision.  While the Avenger material wasn't bad, those songs definitely feel like a different band compared to what they've done here, so perhaps the name change was justified.

Grave Digger - War Games

Speaking of Grave Digger, I enjoyed their sophomore effort, though it was pretty rough stuff, overall.  Bassist C.F. Brank joins the band, but it's the same recipe as before as they blast through another chunk of 80s heavy metal.

While much of what worked on Witch Hunter sticks around, with plenty of chunky riffs and shreddy solos, I feel like this album is less experimental and more interested in settling into a conventional metal style.  However, I think they're comfortable with what they've created, making for a more consistent album overall.  Once again, they channel Judas Priest and Accept, and I found I liked the ones that leaned more Accept, like "Heaven Can Wait" and "Paradise."  "Fallout" even has a dark atmosphere as they discuss the destruction of nuclear bombs.  The strange instrumental "The End" that closes the album is really the only piece that seems different, going for a more cinematic little song than anything resembling rock or metal.

However, some tracks do feel kinda paint-by-numbers.  "Let Your Heads Roll" is a pretty standard song about rock 'n' roll, and "Love Is Breaking My Heart" is a very typical power ballad that any other band could have written.  While I don't know whether or not it's better than Witch Hunter, I would say that this one is more accessible.  Whether or not that's intentional, I don't know, but I do know that they would push for more accessibility with their next album.

Digger - Stronger Than Ever

Simplifying their name to just Digger, and replacing Peter Masson with Uwe Luwis on guitars, Grave Digger were certainly courting a more mainstream audience (if the robot duck flexing his arm on the cover art wasn't a clue itself).  I wasn't able to find out if this was something the band wanted to, or if they were pressured by their label/manager/etc.  In any case, the result is a very curious mixed bag of songs.

It's a weird album where their efforts for a more poppy sound are only on a few tracks, while others retain their furious speed-metal sound, making for a very clunky listen.  Things start with "Wanna Get Close," which sounds like a very typical 80s glam metal rocker for MTV, as does "Stay Till the Morning," and the title track wanders into AOR territory.  But then you have songs like "Lay It Own" and "Shadows of the Past" that are full of high-tempo energy, making me think of their messy first album.  Even the mid-tempo songs like "Moonriders" and "Stand Up and Rock" feel more like typical Grave Digger than anything radio friendly.  Chris Boltendahl switches his singing style based on the song, trying to be clean for the more accessible ones, but roaring as usual for the others.  While there have been a few keyboards in the past, the synths are quite prominent here.  They're cheesy, but not out of place.  I did like "Don't Leave Me Lonely," as the uptempo parts made me think of Walls of Jericho-era Helloween, but overall, this album is an awkward listen.  Part of the problem is that the band doesn't seem to be as into things unless they're doing the fast songs, leaving some rather uneven performances (though the production is quite nice).

I can see why fans would be frustrated with this album.  While it does have some of the Grave Digger they know and love, it feels compromised in its efforts to find a bigger audience, which it never did.  After this album, the band broke up, and Chris and Luwis focused on a new project called Hawaii.  That group only ever recorded a demo, but as they carried on, they decided to pick the Grave Digger name again and reboot themselves in the 90s.  I'll probably get to those at some point, as I am curious, but it may take some time before I get back around to this band.

Accept - Russian Roulette

Let's finish this article off with these German legends.  While Metal Heart was successful, it certainly leaned towards a more commercial sound, which ended up being a mixed bag in terms of quality.  Accept decided they weren't completely satisfied with that and decided to go back to their gritty roots with their next one.  They also decided to focus on a strong, anti-war theme, considering it a stupid game, like Russian Roulette.

Not that all the songs talk about war, as they cover other topics typical for them: monsters, empowerment, and masculinity.  They definitely get right to it with the opening track "T.V. War," a solid speed metal track to get things going.  However, songs like "Monsterman," "It's Hard to Find a Way," "Walking in the Shadow," and "Man Enough to Cry" lean into some very typical 80s metal.  They're not MTV fodder, but there certainly is a strong AC/DC vibe on these songs.  The title track gets rather somber, as does the 7 minute "Heaven Is Hell," showing the band's range.  One thing they did keep around was the emphasis on gang vocals, appearing on most of these songs, giving them a more anthemic touch.

While I do think this is an improvement over most of what was on their last album, I also find there is isn't a whole lot that stands out.  It's a good pick-and-mix of their various staples, and it's all played well enough, but it's hard not to feel like I've heard them do each of these better on previous (or later) albums.  It's not a bad album, and perhaps something of a refocus for the band, but not much more.