Rock, Metal

Warlock - Hellbound (1985/2011)

2011-05-12T18:36:56Z

Warlock - Hellbound (1985/2011)


01. Hellbound		play
02. All Night
03. Earthshaker Rock	play
04. Wrathchild
05. Down And Out
06. Out Of Control
07. Time To Die
08. Shout It Out
09. Catch My Heart
10. Hellraiser (Bonus Track)
11. Hellbound (Live) (Bonus Track)

Line-up :
Doro Pesch (vocals)
Rudy Graf (lead guitar)
Peter Szigetti (lead guitar)
Frank Rittel (bass)
Micheal Eurich (drums)

Sometimes it is remarkable how much better bands can get in surprisingly little time. There was only slightly over a year between the recordings of Warlock’s debut album ‘Burning The Witches’ and its follow-up ‘Hellbound’, but the German quintet made immense progress in that period. Where the former is an enjoyable heavy metal record with the occasional noteworthy song, ‘Hellbound’ is one of the greatest metal records of the mid-eighties. ‘Hellbound’ sees Warlock enhancing their NWOBHM leanings, which lends the album a classy edge without ending up sounding too polished. In fact, ‘Hellbound’ is highly energetic. At times even aggressive.

Back when ‘Burning The Witches’ was released, Warlock gained some attention for having a female singer. Quite understandably; female metal musicians were rare at the time and Doro Pesch’s voice was in deed what lifted the album above mediocrity. Her extremely passionate performance is still one of the highlights on ‘Hellbound’, but the album is full of fantastic guitar work by both Peter Szigeti and Rudy Graf. The band’s biggest improvement is certainly made in the guitar department; while the riffs and solos are not that much different in character than before, one can hear that more thought went into the arrangements.

Probably the best example of that growth is the incredibly elegant ‘Out Of Control’. In essence a beautiful melodic heavy metal track with likely Pesch’s best performance on the record, but its acoustic intro and some strategically placed bright overtones throughout the song give it even more sheen than it would have had without those subtle touches. Definitely one of the best European power metal songs of the eighties. ‘Wrathchild’ also is a hidden gem, with its melancholic dramaticism and climactic time feel changes truly enhancing the raw power of the simple, yet effective riff work.

It’s not all sophistication characterizing ‘Hellbound’ though. ‘Earthshaker Rock’ and the awesome title track are uncomplicated uptempo rockers that were obviously designed for the live situation. ‘Time To Die’ is as aggressive as pre-thrash NWOBHM gets, with Pesch’s sounding at her angriest at least until ‘A Touch Of Evil’ would be recorded. The title ‘Shout It Out’ suggests a simple sing-along anthem, but it is in fact relatively epic and a masterclass in building towards a climax; the whole song seems to imply some subdued anger or rebellion that culminates in a fantastic “prepare for battle” type feel in the final minute.

‘Hellbound’ was, in a way, the pinnacle of Warlock’s original line-up. Graf left the band not long after its release and by the time Pesch’s magnum opus ‘Triumph And Agony’ was released, Szigeti and bassist Frank Rittel had left as well. Many of these songs are still played at Doro live shows to this day and it is not hard to understand why. Even though ‘Hellbound’ is clearly a product of the mid-eighties, the songs themselves are timeless. That is why over half of these songs still give yours truly goosebumps after knowing them for so long. ‘Hellbound’ is simply a near-flawless slab of European heavy metal. ---Agonymph, metal-archives.com

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Warlock - Triumph And Agony (1987/2011)

2011-05-18T18:28:56Z

Warlock - Triumph And Agony (1987/2011)


01. All We Are
02. Three Minute Warning
03. I Rule The Ruins
04. Kiss Of Death
05. Make Time For Love
06. East Meets West			play
07. Touch Of Evil
08. Metal Tango				play
09. Cold, Cold World
10. Fur Immer
11. East Meets West (Live) (Bonus Track)
12. Angels With Dirty Faces (Bonus Track)
13. Under The Gun (Bonus Track)
14. Something Wicked This Way Comes (Bonus Track)

Doro (vocals); 
Tommy Bolan, Niko Arvantis (guitar); 
Tommy Henriksen (bass); 
Michael Eurich (drums).
Cozy Powell (guest drummer).

Triumph and Agony, what a fitting name, because this album is a triumph amongst the agony, the agony of losing both your original guitarists that is and it shows clearly in some of the album's poppier moments. It would be wrong to assume that Doro and crew burned out though, or that this album would be anything less than a traditional heavy metal styled banger. It's poppier sure, cheesy at times but it's still triumphant.

Take just the first 3 tracks for instance, All We Are is metal anthem, basic but memorable mid paced riff and a powerful but sing along chorus melted together with a sweet solo, which then immediately shoots into the fast riffs and more aggressive vocals of Three Minute Warning which in turn gives into I Rule The Ruins which keeps the fast riffs and stronger vocals for verses and bridges but trades for a gentler singing approach on the chorus.

We're now 5 songs in and we've been offered nothing but well written and performed heavy metal, surely there's poppier elements here than just some catchy choruses and a big rocker riff right? Well why not add a love related ballad reminiscent of glam? Turns out there's no reason not to because Warlock understands the thin line between ballad and power ballad. Don't get me wrong it's cheesy with lines like "Love don't let me be afraid of love" but it also delivers a good lead and excellent rock vocals at the end to help off set this.

Now that is about as close to a track by track breakdown as I care to give. It's of course not the hardest hitting album of the 80s, but it's also not light weight by any means. It's mixed well, everything is clearly audible, there might be an argument that it's too polished but it won't be me that makes that argument. ---Grumpy Cat, metal-archives.com

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Warlock - True As Steel (1986/2011)

2011-05-14T21:10:25Z

Warlock - True As Steel (1986/2011)


01. Mr. Gold
02. Fight For Rock
03. Love In The Danger Zone
04. Speed Of Sound
05. Midnite In China
06. Vorwarts, All Right!
07. True As Steel			play
08. Lady In A Rock 'N' Roll Hell
09. Love Song
10. Igloo On The Moon (Reckless)
11. T.O.L.				play
12. You Hurt My Soul (Bonus Track)
13. Turn It On (Bonus Track)
14. Evil (Bonus Track)

Personnel:
Doro Pesch - Vocals
Peter Szigeti - Guitar
Niko Arvanitis - Guitar
Frank Rittel - Bass
Michael Eurich – Drums

When a friend of mine gave me a cassette with the debut and the album reviewed here some time in 1987, I was ignoring it for over a week. I only took it cause he insisted that this would be something I would like, along the lines of Scorpions and Accept, but I was quite prejudiced back then about women’s involvement in my favourite music, and was certain that this would be some sleazy hard rock, and that my friend was pulling my leg…

Needless to add, the debut blew me away, and remains one of the ten most frequently listened classic heavy metal recordings in my household. The guys (and a girl) really nailed it from the get-go, and although this was an explosive first showing, it also raised the standard too high for the subsequent efforts to be able to reach it. It also showed how a diva can be a wholesome member in a male-dominated line-up, and not only but Doro Pesch’s charismatic presence was a main reason for the band’s quick promotion to the front echelon.

Not that music-wise the Warlock team slackened, no; they continued to make waves, always sounding relevant to the trends of the time, first with the surprisingly aggressive “Hellbound” which saw the band trying to pay tribute to the rampant speed metal movement, a belligerent angry offering that some of the fanbase consider their finest hour; and then with the album reviewed here, their compromised surrender to the mellower, more radio-friendly ways of execution that were gaining popularity in the mid-80’s.

In the Warlock case, however, this doesn’t mean a faithful copy of Motley Crue’s “Theatre of Pain” or DIO’s “Sacred Heart”; it means a fairly ballsy rendition of these new currents with more than just a few sharp riffs pricking the pop-metalish layer. “Mr. Gold” opens the album with sprightly energetic guitars, an invigorating cut that may have been left out of the preceding instalment for reasons unknown; and “Fight for Rock” is a catchy memorable hit that presents the more mainstream side of the album. “Love in the Danger Zone” is a really nice semi-ballad, one of the band’s finest achievements, with Pesch producing a spellbinding performance, combining verve with lyricism to a dramatic, poignant effect. “Speed of Sound” is a speedier, more dynamic proposition hence the title, another return to the vigorous approach from the previous opus; and “Midnite in China” is a rowdy heavy metal anthem with Pesch pesching... sorry, pitching it higher, threatening to break all the china in your house.

“Vorwarts, All Right” brings back the fast pace, and the headbangers will have their fun for about 4-min as this number can even quality for Scanner’s “Hypertrace”, the most aggressive proposition here. The title-track is a rousing song-along heavy rocker, an emblematic anthem that sets the tone for the remainder among which one will come across the heavy ballad “Love Song” with Pesch in top form again; the feelgood infectious hymn “Igloo on the Moon”, and the biggest surprise here, the short instrumental closer “T.O.L.”, a great display of musical virtuosity with guitars and keyboards (used for the first and only time on the album) duelling the whole time, with leads tearing the aether with their piercing, screamy flair the whole amalgam coming as one brief symphonic tractate, a really stylish way to finish this fairly entertaining effort.

The band established themselves as true champions of heavy metal, and it wasn’t just Scorpions and Accept making the rounds anymore in Germany; this bunch from Dusseldorf meant some serious business, and “armed” with the wild blonde “beast”… sorry, “witch”, behind the mike there was nothing stopping them from achieving a golden status. And that status became a fact, a year later with the release of “Triumph and Agony”, the guys’ (and a girl) most commercially successful recording, and one of the milestones in German heavy metal…

As it became quite fashionable for frontmen/women to leave their main acts and to embark on a solo career in the late-80’s/early-90’s, Warlock were befallen by this trend, too, and Pesch was on the road again even before the end of the decade with a couple of new musicians in the line-up, and under her own name; a successful career transition that sees her alive and well some 27 years later. Well, when you’re true as steel to your unbendable metal stance, nothing can break you; you can survive all tribulations, ordeals, and hardships… and extinguish all bonfires set up along the way, sometimes with just a single china-breaking falcetto. ---bayern, metal-archives.com

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