One and Done? Pt. 14: Satan's Hallow

Satan's Hallow was a band out of Chicago, IL riding the traditional metal wave.  To be more specific, they were one of the many recent traditional metal bands with a female lead singer, joining groups like Smoulder, Iron Griffin, Lady Beast, Savage Master, Huntress and many others.  Satan's Hallow though may have been the best of the bunch. 

Satan's Hallow's sound was rooted in the early 1980's NWOBHM and other speed/traditional metal of the time period.  It is of course obvious to draw comparisons to other female-fronted bands from the time period like Warlock, Bitch, Chastain and others.  Musically though, I think they sound much more like Angel Witch with a bit of Omen thrown in.  But with a woman singing.  Which is just freaking awesome.

The music here is terrific, no-holds-barred true heavy metal with some ripping solos and catchy-as-hell choruses.  And the vocals provide a lot of melody to the riffs.  The result is some blood-pumping, full throttle metal.  The best tracks are the title track, "Still Alive" and "Beyond the Bells".

Well there's bad news and good news.  The bad news is that Satan's Hallow is no more.  The good news is that four out of the five members (only guitarist Von Jugel is absent) have formed the band Midnight Dice.  I will have to check them out to see if they will be carrying on the torch from Satan's Hallow.

Savage Master: Myth, Magic and Steel (2019)

Just one look at the album cover here and you can pretty much guess what this album is going to sound like.  How a band like this came about in Louisville, Kentucky is the only real question.  Kentucky is not exactly a metal hot spot, and certainly not for the kind of swords-and-sorcery classic heavy metal that Savage Master represents.

Savage Master is a traditional heavy metal band with one foot planted firmly in the early 1980's.  Think groups like Manilla Road, Cirith Ungol, Omen, Manowar, Dio and more.  They are fronted by a ferocious female singer, so the obvious comparisons to Warlock, Chastain and Bitch will be made.  Stacey Savage has a strong voice, not necessarily a pretty one, but it works to her advantage in this style of metal.  It fits in quite well with the raw, traditional metal riffs.

The songs all have an epic traditional metal feel to them, with elements of doom metal sneaking through at times.  Many of the choruses are anthemic ear-worms that will be stuck in the head for a long time after the album is over.  This is especially true of "Flyer in the Night" and the title track.  The best song on the album is "Lady of Steel" which features guest appearances from two more female metal singers who trade off verses through the song.

This album does not really reinvent the wheel for traditional metal.  Everything here has been done before, but this is a highly competent and enjoyable release nonetheless.  Just do not go into it expecting anything original and it will be fine. 

King Diamond: Conspiracy (1989)

I am slowly working towards having all of the Mercyful Fate/King Diamond albums.  I have added probably five or six in the last year after previously just having the truly legendary albums like Melissa and Abigail.  There were a few more in my collection than that, I am just using those two as examples.

I really have no idea what to say about the music on a King Diamond album at this point.  It is fucking fantastic, as usual.  This album has a lot of great riffs and solos as Andy LaRocque and Pete Blakk form a truly exceptional guitar duo.  King's vocals are extremely powerful on this album as well.  He seems to have hit his prime by the time this album came around, with full control of his soaring falsetto to go along with his deeper wails.  One definitely knows what to expect from the music on a King Diamond album, and thus far, there has never been a real disappointment.

Where I can spend some time is talking about the story on the album.  Conspiracy is the sequel story to "Them", which was the story of a fictionalized King and his mentally ill grandmother who communicates with the dead.  Along the way, his sister dies mysteriously.  This album finds King returning to his grandmother's house in an effort to claim his inheritance, but his mother is plotting against him to claim the house herself.  It is a compelling story and I do wonder why no one has decided to make a film about any of the King Diamond or Mercyful Fate concept albums.

King Diamond never disappoints and this is actually one of the better albums from a musical standpoint, which really is saying something.  I am continuing on in my efforts to obtain the albums from this metal legend. 

Lizzy Borden: Master of Disguise (1989)

Lizzy Borden is a glam band that produced some obviously metal material.  By and large, they did not fit in with groups like Poison, Bon Jovi or Cinderella, despite the heavy makeup.  Their sound fits in much better with a group like W.A.S.P. or Twisted Sister.  The band is named after the notorious axe-murderer and their appropriately-named song "Give 'Em the Axe" is a terrific anthem for them.

Master of Disguise is a loose concept album about a sadistic sexual deviant with a taste for blood.  The songs all tell a story, and the lyrics generally come across quite well.  It is essentially a slasher movie set to music, and that is by and large something that Lizzy Borden does quite well.

Unfortunately, the music on this album does not hold up as well as some of the other albums Lizzy Borden has released.  I do not like it nearly as much as Visual Lies for instance.  The band has seemingly decided to tone their sound down somewhat in order to potentially fit in better with the groups that I mentioned in the first paragraph.  The songs are clearly metal, but they are generally much slower, with more emphasis on the vocals, while the riffing takes a back seat.  I would say this album more closely resembles a group like Nitro than the earlier comparison to W.A.S.P., who to me is the standard bearer for metal with a glam influence.  Songs like "Love is a Crime", while being one of the heavier songs on the album, would not feel out of place on an album by Whitesnake.

This album did not do a lot for me.  It is still catchy as hell and I still believe Lizzy Borden is a very underrated band and an example of glam metal done right.  However, the band has produced better albums.  This one just seems to be trying to hard for mainstream success.

Tyrant: Legions of the Dead (1985)

I have covered Tyrant somewhat recently.  At least I know I have in the last year or so.  That album was their 1987 underrated classic Too Late to Pray, which was the band's second album.  It was also their last album before reuniting a decade later.  I guess it is time to get a look at their debut and see how it measures up.

Tyrant unfortunately did not last terribly long.  They released just two albums, split up, got back together a decade later to release another album and have been quiet since.  That is a shame since they had a sound that fit in really well with the metal scene at the time.  And no, I am not referring to the hair bands.  They have a sound not unlike groups like Omen, true heavy metal bands with melody and power. 

This album does not quite match up to their second album, it finds a band still working on finding their sound.  As a result it is a little bit more of a derivative album, sounding very much like the band's influences in the NWOBHM and, a lot of Judas Priest.  Vocalist Glen May has that soaring howl that Rob Halford is renowned for down pat.  There are hints of the darker, more malevolent sound that they would later have, particularly on the climax of "The Battle of Armageddon", but these moments, while tantalizing, are fleeting.

This album does not really do enough to stand out, but it does provide an interesting preview of what Tyrant would later be capable of performing.  It is a good example of true 1980's American metal.  But Tyrant would do much better things later.  Their second album is much better, but this is a good album nonetheless.

High Power: High Power (1983)

Ah, the 80's.  Only that decade could have produced such an atrocious album cover.  I am not even sure what is going on here.  Is this a man transforming into a were-leopard-like creature?  I have no idea, but this cover is just laughably bad.  Of course I had to check it out.

High Power is a French metal band whose sound seems rooted in the NWOBHM style taking over Europe in the late 1970's/early 1980's.  This is their first album, which is something of a forgotten gem that has recently been unearthed.  The music is fairly typical for the era, high-energy, raucous riffs, catchy hooks and soaring vocals.  It sounds largely like a mix between Accept and Judas Priest.  A sound that was fairly popular at this time period.

So why is this album so forgotten?  This album likely had a very limited market, even though it could have caught on with the trend in music at the time.  The reason for this is quite simple: all the lyrics and song titles are in French.  Something like that simply would not have attained mainstream success at that point in time.  There have been the occasional mainstream foreign language songs, but they were often treated as a novelty and not had much staying power.  So High Power likely would not have been able to reach mainstream success unless they started playing in English, they could have attained more of a following.  Alas, they never did, and after a follow-up album in 1986, disbanded.

This album is something of a curiosity, a band who could have done a little more if not for one detail.  It is a fun album to listen to, due to the high energy of the performances, particularly if in the mood for early 1980's-style metal.  Unless lyrics are important. 

Accept: Restless and Wild (1982)

Accept, to me, is a band that has not really gotten its due as an extremely important band in the history and evolution of metal.  They were possibly one of the first metal bands to truly touch on speed metal and are a major step from Judas Priest and the NWOBHM to Helloween and Blind Guardian.  In addition, Accept's first frontman Udo Dirkschneider should be more recognized for being such an important and influential singer.

This is Accept's fourth full-length album and is the jumping off point for most speed metal bands.  That is thanks to the title track and, of course, "Fast as a Shark".  Pay no attention to the rather ridiculous song title, this is a balls-to-the-wall (see what I did there?), rip-roaring track that spawned an entire subgenre.  There are some slower tracks on the album, such as "Neon Nights", but "Fast as a Shark" is the song that most remember from this release. 

The band is in terrific form throughout the album, crafting an absolutely perfect representation of what it meant to be a metal band in the early 1980's.  The riffs were heavy and loud, Udo's vocals were powerful, despite the fact that he is not close to what I would consider a GOOD singer.  His rough, gruff tone fit the music exceptionally well though.  Accept takes the sound that Judas Priest really perfected and runs with it.

Accept really should be more renowned than they are.  They were a very impressive early 1980's metal band that had a big impact on the speed metal genre.  Unfortunately Accept kind of gets the short end of the stick, not getting their proper mention along with groups like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden.  This album should be a metal classic.

Mercyful Fate: Into the Unknown (1996)

The last couple of years I have made a concerted effort to start picking up some of the missing albums in my collection from Mercyful Fate and King Diamond.  The title track from this album was actually the first Mercyful Fate song I had ever heard.  It appeared on a Metal Blade compilation that I picked up some time in college.  At the time, I was not sure what I was hearing.  King's voice was unlike anything I had ever heard.  Eventually though, I got into it.  But it took a long time before I ventured past the landmark albums.  Which brings me to this album.

The mid 1990's were largely considered a bleak time for true heavy metal.  That was not true for Mercyful Fate, who reunited in 1993 after a nine-year hiatus in which King Diamond focused on his solo career.  His solo career did not end though, King managed to work with both bands simultaneously. 

Unlike many Mercyful Fate/King Diamond albums, this is not a concept album.  Rather, it is a collection of short horror stories, involving pirates, ghosts and of course some Lovecraft.  Musically, this is not one of the best Mercyful Fate albums, but it is still damn good.  Denner and Shermann throw out some damn good riffs and some amazing solos.  A lot of the songs are terrific with the kind of energy that the band rose to stardom playing.  The title track is the big highlight, but "The Uninvited Guest" and "Holy Water" also grab attention. 

Even a lesser Mercyful Fate album is still better than a lot of albums and that is definitely the case here.  This one does not hold up to Don't Break the Oath or Melissa, but it fits in well with some post-Abigail King Diamond albums.  It remains a great album from a great band.  So what if it is not quite as good as their classic albums.

Manilla Road: Open the Gates (1985)

Manilla Road has never received the attention they have deserved.  They remain one of the greatest bands that few have ever heard of.  They are easily one of the most underrated metal bands of all time.  They absolutely deserve to be held up next to groups like Iron Maiden among the legends of the genre.  They also own one of the most consistently great discographies in all of metal.  Simply put, they have never released a bad album.

Open the Gates was the band's fourth album, released two years after the mind-blowing Crystal Logic.  Describing the sound on this album is extremely difficult because Manilla Road is never content to go with just one sound.  The only true descriptive word that encompasses this entire album is epic.  It just feels huge.  And the best example is "The Ninth Wave" which is a slow-burning piece about preparing for warfare with thunderous drums and laidback, yet urgent vocals.  But the band immediately follows up with a fast-paced barn-burner like "Heavy Metal to the World".

I would be remiss if I did a review of a Manilla Road album without mentioning the amazing vocals of Mark Shelton.  Shelton is a terrific singer, whose gravelly voice fits the band's sound like a glove.  He has an impressive range as well, which he shows off in some of the more captivating moments on this release, such as his wailing chorus on "The Fires of Mars" and the insanely infectious "Road of Kings".  Unfortunately, Shelton died last year, and the band with him.

I am not really sure why Manilla Road never became better known.  Perhaps it was geography.  Wichita, Kansas has never been known as a metal hotbed.  And Manilla Road certainly broke the mold for metal bands of the time period.  The American metal scene was dominated by thrash metal and going towards the glam scene.  So groups like Manilla Road and Cirith Ungol, and even Trouble to a certain degree, who were slower-paced, were kind of glossed over.

This album should be legendary.  In certain metal circles, I believe it is, but there are far too few that know about it.  This is 1980's American metal at its absolute best.  It should not be missed.  Check out Manilla Road.  Now.

Haunt: If Icarus Could Fly (2019)

Moving away from death metal releases from 2019, here we have a good old traditional metal release from 2019.  I discussed Haunt not all that long ago with their 2019 EP Mosaic Vision.  The band has been very prolific already in their young careers, also releasing this full-length and two splits this year alone.  And, their 2020 full-length has already been announced (and I have it on pre-order). 

As much as I enjoyed the EP, I think this release is even better.  The riffs are a little harder-edged on this release than the previous one, without sacrificing any of the catchiness and infectious hooks.  The songs are aggressive, yet melodic with incendiary solos.  The vocals are dry, yet soar over the riffs.

This is something of a loose concept piece about Greek myths including that of Icarus.  I am sure most are familiar with that storyline.  Icarus and his father became trapped in the labyrinth with a minotaur and attempted to leave by building themselves wings out of wax and feathers.  They flew out of the labyrinth, but Icarus flew too close to the sun, melting the wax and his wings fell apart with Icarus plummeting to his death.  Of course the story of Icarus was also the subject of the Iron Maiden classic "Flight of Icarus". 

This is a damn good album.  It is one of the better traditional metal albums of the year and even surpasses the band's EP from this year.  I will be keeping up with Haunt in the future, which may prove difficult, as prolific as they are.

Haunt: Mosaic Vision (2019)

The Fresno, California-based Haunt has been remarkably active since forming around 2017.  The band started as a solo project for Beastmaker vocalist/guitarist and Church Recordings founder Trevor William Church.  The label was also once the home of Dream Tröll, a band I have quickly developed an affinity for.  Haunt has so far released two full-length albums, two EPs, two splits and a single.  That is a lot of recordings for such a new band.  This release is one of the band's EPs, with just four songs on it.

I mentioned Dream Tröll in the previous paragraph and that is an adequate place to begin in describing Haunt's sound.  This is true, old school-sounding heavy metal with poppy melodies and extremely catchy choruses.  The music is a bit different than the other harder-edged material that I have heard from Haunt.  This is much more melodic.  The guitars are razor-sharp with blazing solos and wailing vocals.  Each of the songs on this EP is catchier than the last.

This is a fairly effective introduction to an impressive young band.  It is probably not their best release, as I said before most of their music is generally heavier than this release, but it is damn good in its own right.  I will be covering another one of Haunt's releases soon. 

Iron Griffin: Curse of the Sky (2019)

A couple of weeks ago, I covered a band called Smoulder, an epic doom metal band from Canada that released their first album this year.  What made that band stand out was the female singer and a commitment to performing music reminiscent of early 1980's doom metal bands like Manilla Road and Cirith Ungol.  Well, here we have a band very similar to Smoulder who also released their debut album this year.

Iron Griffin is a Finnish duo consisting of Oskari Räsänen, who plays all of the instruments, and Maija Tiljander who performs the vocals.  Iron Griffin's sound is also rooted in early 1980's traditional heavy metal and doom metal, with a lot of influence from the aforementioned groups and some NWOBHM thrown in for good measure.  The band is a side project for Räsänen, who is the drummer for Finnish trad metal band Mausoleum Gate.  Considering he plays all of the instruments, it is probably not wrong to call this a vanity project.

Musically, Iron Griffin plays mostly slower-paced metal that seems to be constantly building up to something amazing, but just cannot quite get there.  A perfect example is "Forgotten Steel" that plods along for awhile, until seemingly starting to work up a faster pace in the chorus sections, with interesting drum fills, and then just sort of falls flat.  It wants to go somewhere exciting, it just cannot make it.  So, in that vein, this is sort of a disappointing record.  The title track probably best captures what Räsänen is going for, with the faster pace and some decent riffs, along with a great bass intro.

In one respect though, this album shows some incredible promise.  That is the vocals of Tiljander who can absolutely shriek like a banshee one moment and provide remarkably haunting vocals the next.  Her best performance is again on the title track with her crooning during the chorus being particularly effective.

There is some promise here.  The band largely pales in comparison to Smoulder, except in the vocal talents of Tiljander.  She is an incredible find and it would be great to see what she could do in a bit better of a band.  She is by far the high point of this album. 

Lunar Shadow: Triumphator (2015)

Lunar Shadow has been making a little bit of noise in the underground as one of the better example of a new wave of traditional heavy metal bands.  The German band has released two full-lengths and this EP, which was their debut, to impressive accolades.  I first heard about them after being randomly sent the J-card from the cassette release of this album in another order.  Not the tape mind you, just the J-card.  Well, that was not going to stand, so I tracked this release down.

From the album title and the cover art, it is pretty obvious this band ascribes to the swords-and-sorcery fantasy themes that are fairly common in a lot of early 80's metal styles and to the power metal and epic doom metal genres in particular.  The music here is a terrific take on NWOBHM bands like Angel Witch and Blitzkrieg, with soaring dual guitar melodies and decent, if not great, vocals.  The music is generally fast-paced with infectious hooks and melodies.  And the bass takes strong influence from the galloping bass work of Iron Maiden.  There is definitely a lot going on here musically, and even though Lunar Shadow does not break the mold or present anything truly new or original, they are incredibly proficient at what they do.

This is a terrific EP of a band who seems to be rising.  The band has recently changed their vocalist and I am anxious to hear what effect, if any, that has had on the band's sound.  This is a very short introduction to a damn good band.  I will have to track down their full-length albums.

Crossfire: Second Attack (1985)

I could be wrong about this, but Crossfire may have been one of the first metal bands from Belgium.  Forming in 1981 in a country not exactly known for the genre, it is a pretty good guess.  This is sort of a hidden gem of an album.  I first found out about it seeing it in some forum posts and kind of took to the album cover.  I mean, just look at that, it is simply awesome.  Eventually I tracked a copy down.

Crossfire's sound takes a lot of influence from the NWOBHM and groups like Judas Priest and Accept.  This is the band's second album, as could be guessed by the album title.  I am not familiar with anything else as I targeted this album first, so I do not have much point of reference compared with any of their other material.

The songs are generally somewhat fast-paced with riffs that are mostly in line with the hard rock and metal styles at the time.  "Highway Driver" for instance is reminiscent of Deep Purple (the classic "Highway Star" is the obvious comparison).  It is more of a hard rock, driving (no pun intended) song with muscular riffs.  Then there is the frantic "Atomic War" which is much more of a speed metal track with blazing fast riffs and a catchy chorus.  There are a few slower moments, such as the sort-of ballad "Running for Love".

This is neither a well-known album, nor band, but is a lot of fun.  It is a great example of good heavy metal from the 1980's.  Unfortunately this was mostly it for Crossfire.  They released a live album and a split later on, but never released another full-length.  As such, this is a hidden gem.

Ironborne: Hellion Battalion (2019)

I'm almost positive that "Ironborne" is a Game of Thrones reference.  I could be wrong, but as I recall that's what men from Pyke, led by the Greyjoys called themselves.  That would not be shocking for a band to adopt that name.  It sounds metal as fuck.

Ironborne, the band, is a decent heavy metal band from Northern Ireland who now has two demos to their name.  Their first one was released a couple of years ago and featured a Thor cover.  This one is real damn short, consisting of just two songs.

The first song is the title track and is a rollicking four minute track with some damn catchy choruses about unchaining the wolves of the night.  It's kind of cheesy but damn is it fun.  The second track "Stormchild" is shorter and not quite as good.  I like the chorus but a lot of the rest of it reminds me of some of KISS's heavier material, with the vocalist in particular sounding like Paul Stanley at times.  Maybe that's just me.  It is still decent enough and fits in well with the other song, but it is just a tad weaker.

I quite like this demo overall.  I am anxious to see what Ironborne can do on a full-length.

One and Done? Pt. 15: Meanstreak

I am not really sure how to check this, but Meanstreak may have been the first U.S. all-female metal band.  Girlschool from the U.K. was likely the first all-female metal band, but it gets kind of fuzzy after that.  At some point, Phantom Blue arrived, but that seems to have been a couple of years after the formation of Meanstreak.  Also, Meanstreak was likely the first all-female thrash metal band, though the band was more of a borderline band, straddling the line between thrash and heavy metal.

Even more interesting is the fact that three of the members are married to three current and former members of Dream Theater.  Guitarist Rena Sands is married to John Petrucci.  Guitarist Marlene Apuzzo is married to Mike Portnoy.  Finally, bassist Lisa Pace is married to John Myung.  Sort of an odd fact there, but ultimately completely irrelevant to the music at hand.  Meanstreak sounds absolutely nothing like Dream Theater.

And of course the most interesting fact is that this album is fucking good.  Featuring big, meaty riffs and the howling vocals of Bettina France, this is a straightforward rocking album.  Meanstreak is at their best when they are playing the faster, more thrash-oriented stuff.  Songs like the title track, "Searching Forever", "Nostradamus" and "Lost Stranger" are terrific with loud and nasty guitar riffs
and the sneering vocals of France.  There are some weaker tracks here such as "Snake Pit" that just does not really do enough to keep the flow of the album, but the weaker moments are few and far between.

Unfortunately with just one full-length to their name, Meanstreak is kind of a forgotten band.  That's a shame because this is a very good album.

Mystik: Mystik (2019)

This band could be huge.  Mystik released their debut full-length album this year and they have some things going for them that could definitely attract attention from the metal press.  For one, they fit in quite well with the revival of 1980's-sounding true heavy metal.  They would do quite well on a playlist with groups like Enforcer, Haunt and other groups carrying the torch for true heavy metal.  Two, they are quite good.  This album sounds terrific, just a good old-school metal album.  And then there's that other thing...

Okay, fine.  Here is that other thing:

This is three of the four members of the band.  So now, you see that other thing.

As I say frequently about stuff I review here, this review is solely about the music.  The fact that three (now actually two, as one member has since left the band) of the members are beautiful women is not important to this review.  What is important is that Mystik fucking rocks.  The songs are generally fast-paced with Maiden-esque riffs and Julia von Krusenstjerna's smoky vocals soaring over the riffs.  It helps that the songs are catchy as hell, with sing-along choruses and head-banging riffs.

Mystik's debut is a terrific slab of traditional metal with roots in groups like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and of course Warlock.  The playing is tight and the songs infectious.  It would not be a surprise to see this band become metal press favorites, but hopefully people will realize that this band is so much more than three women playing metal.  They are fantastic musicians first and foremost.

Enforcer: Zenith (2019)

I have been a huge Enforcer fan since hearing Diamonds for the first time in 2010.  It was their blend of NWOBHM style riffs with the pop sensibilities of groups like Def Leppard, particularly on songs like "High Roller" and "Running in Menace".  It was definitely a retro sound, and even a little cheesy at times, but goddamn they were fucking good at it.  The songs were catchy as hell.  And as good as Diamonds was, Enforcer kept getting better on each new release.  Their last album, From Beyond was their best yet.  And so, I was definitely looking forward to a new Enforcer album.

Unfortunately, as good as this album is, it is not as good as any of the three previous releases.  Maybe Diamonds, but not Death by Fire and definitely not From Beyond.  Enforcer is trying to do something different here, perhaps not wanting to get too stale.  Unfortunately, that messed with the formula that had made Enforcer so impressive before.  Now I mentioned before that Enforcer always had pop melodies on occasion.  What changed on this release was that the band became more and more focused on these melodies, to the detriment of the obviously more metal riffing.  This is apparent from the beginning with the gang vocals leading into "Die for the Devil".  The accompanying riffs are just a little too much like the kind of rock and metal that infested the airways in the 1980's.  A lot of the aggression is gone for a much more radio-friendly sound.  The ballads in particular are maybe a step too far away from what this band used to do so well, particularly the piano-driven "Regrets". 

There is still some good stuff on this release and I do not want to give the impression that I truly dislike this album.  Liking and album and being disappointed by it are not mutually exclusive.  "Searching for You" is something of a return to form for the band, capturing the speed metal intensity that marked some of the best moments from their earlier albums.  There are also moments such as "The End of a Universe" and "Forever We Worship the Dark" which come close to the band's prior material. 

This is probably the most varied and dynamic Enforcer album to date.  The band has taken a lot of risks with this release, departing from what made their previous albums so great.  Unfortunately, they have gone a bit too far.  This would be really bad for most bands except for one thing: the songs are still catchy as hell.  So even though I was disappointed by the direction the band took on this release, I still find myself singing a lot of these songs in my head well after I have finished listening to the album.  Enforcer is coming to Nebraska soon in support of Warbringer and I will have to attend.  I have liked this band for a long time, and I still like this album.  Time to see them live.

Warlock: True as Steel (1986)

In discussing the history of women in heavy metal, a very good starting point would be Doro Pesch.  Sure there had been women in bands that have toed the line between hard rock and heavy metal for years prior to Warlock's arrival on the scene.  But the diminutive singer with the huge pipes was probably the first real big true metal star as a female.  But more than just being a terrific female singer, Doro was a terrific singer, period.  (And no, I do not know why a band with a frontwoman would call themselves Warlock, the name for a male witch.)

Pesch got her start as a member of Warlock, but the band existed in a constant state of flux, with Doro being the only constant member of the band.  After a series of legal issues, eventually the group changed its name to Doro.  It was always basically her band anyway, so why not?  This was the third full-length album by Warlock and they would only release one more before changing the name.

The music is fairly standard 1980's German heavy/speed metal, owing a lot of influence to groups like Scorpions and Accept, with some Judas Priest thrown in for good measure.  Most of the songs are fairly quick-paced with fist-pumping anthemic choruses.  This is an album that is a product of its time and it would fit in well with other 1980's metal acts like W.A.S.P. and Dokken.  So yes, there is a little bit of a mainstream feel to it, and some cheesy moments, such as "Lady in a Rock 'n Roll Hell".

Of course the major reason to check out Warlock is to hear the vocals of Doro Pesch, and she definitely delivers here.  Her voice is very strong on this album, able to deliver snarled lines and then soft melodic lines and change between them quickly.  And her style fits the music quite well.

This is actually the first full-length Warlock album I have picked up.  And also the first album with Doro at all.  I just never really got around to it before, but I have been trying to get some classics occasionally recently and this was on my list.  It may not be the best Warlock album, but it is a damn fine example of 1980's German heavy metal with a true metal legend behind the mic.

Malice: License to Kill (1987)

How many metal bands can say that they have appeared as themselves in a mainstream movie?  I can't think of too many honestly.  Cannibal Corpse appeared in Ace Ventura.  White Zombie appeared in Air Heads.  Armored Saint appeared in Hellraiser 3.  And Malice appeared in Vice Versa.  For those that do not remember, Vice Versa was a body-switch movie with Judge Reinhold and Fred Savage.  It was...not very good.  I only vaguely remember it, but I don't think I enjoyed it too much. 

Now Malice, I enjoy them quite a bit.  With a sound that can best be described as Judas Priest playing glam metal, it is somewhat surprising that this was as close as the band came to breaking into the mainstream.  "Against the Empire" is a song that would have fit in very well on Priest's Defenders of the Faith album and the band definitely has some damn catchy songs.  They also utilize an impressive dual-guitar attack. 

As far as downsides, Malice is a little overly-reliant on the mid-paced rock songs.  They are at their best when they are playing no-holds-barred speed/power metal as in "License to Kill" and "Chain Gang Woman".  Unfortunately, they do not do that nearly enough.  The other issue is James Neal's vocals are very similar to Rob Halford, but he does not have quite the pipes to really emulate Halford.  He definitely cannot hit the real high notes.

Overall, this is a pretty decent album.  I am not sure it quite qualifies as a hidden gem, but it definitely has its moments.  I am still baffled why the band didn't make a little more noise in the mainstream though.