Sentinel's Quick Reviews

Witchfinder wrote:

the sentinel wrote:

Well, I can't get enough of this album. I have spun it each night since I got it. I had heard the name mentioned over the years but never acquainted myself with the band. I remember a local record shop having the promo poster for this album hanging up on their back wall, but I never inquired about them. This would have been right in my wheel house back in '87. They are from Cleveland (in case anyone didn't know) and they remind me of a cross between Riot, Savatage, and early Alcatrazz, with a bit of Malice and TT Quick. So, basically, awesome American Metal. A savage twin guitar attack with soaring gravely vocals that remind me of a cross between Graham Bonnet and Jon Oliva. It wasn't until Witchfinder sent me some links that I really went crazy for these guys. I grabbed it on cassette and then my wife got me the re release with the bonuses and a different mix.  Anyway, on to the album proper:


1. Exhibit A - Excellent opener where Vik Hix really sounds like GB, and the opening line just gets stuck in your head for hours.
2. Steel and Starlight - Great song and an amazing melody. Another one that you will sing long after it's over.  
3. Tokyo Rose - Powerful song made even more so by the delivery of the Hix.
4. Rocked Outta Love - Full throttle rocker that sounds like it should have been on Savatage's Power of the Night album.
5. Castle Walls - Acoustic/ electric somber intro before the song kicks into heavy high gear.
6. On Your Feet - Awesome opening riff accompanied by thundering drums and a catchy chorus.
7. Lost Queen - Another great Metal song where the chorus is catchy and rents space in your mind.
8. Hot On Your Heels - See previous tracks description.
9.  The Minutemen - Proof that SP were a band that wrote about more than lost love (tracks 1,3,and 7 show this too).
10. Go Down Fighting - Terrific intro guitar work that builds to a crescendo and then the song starts and changes gear.
11. Fallin' For You - Another catchy melodic metal number.
12. Streets of Pleasure - This is a killer tune with terrific guitar and vocals.

Bonus Tracks: Raw production here, obviously.

13. The Best (Demo) - Good tune that sounds like it was intended for a soundtrack to Rocky or Karate Kid type movie.
14. Storm Warning (Demo) - Just so '80's and awesome.
15. Napoleon's War (Demo) - Cool instrumental that has really rough recording and a NWOBHM sound.
16. Midnight Oil (Demo) -  Another catchy chorus that stays with you and makes you want to listen all over again.

I am happy to hear that you like the album!

Also, I really like your reviews.  Please keep doing them!

Thank you and thank you.

UNCLE SAXON'S KICKASS CDS wrote:

Concrete Killers is really good, as well.  The debut is ok, but the next two are great.

Yeah, John, I am on the lookout now for the first and for Concrete Killers as well.

So, I decided since it was beautiful here in RI after last nights thunder and lightning and rain storm, I would skip the weights and go for a run/ walk to work on my cardio. Well, none of my portable cd players worked, so I busted out the Walkman and this cassette. I went almost 5 miles and about 3 full runs through this album. I listened to my tape 2 more times in the 2 hours I chopped wood on my property cuz we had some serious limbs come down last night and from a storm a few weeks ago. The only bummer is my cassette copy is missing "Streets of Pleasure" but it's on the Auburn sessions.

the sentinel wrote:

UNCLE SAXON'S KICKASS CDS wrote:

Concrete Killers is really good, as well.  The debut is ok, but the next two are great.

Yeah, John, I am on the lookout now for the first and for Concrete Killers as well.

The debut should be easier to find since it's been reissued by Auburn twice. I have no idea what's up with Concrete Killers.

I enjoy these reviews too so please keep doing them.

007 wrote:

the sentinel wrote:

UNCLE SAXON'S KICKASS CDS wrote:

Concrete Killers is really good, as well.  The debut is ok, but the next two are great.

Yeah, John, I am on the lookout now for the first and for Concrete Killers as well.

The debut should be easier to find since it's been reissued by Auburn twice. I have no idea what's up with Concrete Killers.

There are a few of CK on Cd on the bay at the moment, around 20-25 bucks or so. That's pretty much my threshold to pay for a disc. I have to wait until next week though as I won an auction for Banshee's "Take 'em By Storm" this morning and supposedly the new Anthrax is out tomorrow.

tohostudios wrote:

I enjoy these reviews too so please keep doing them.

Thanks and will do, Toho.

I am going to attempt to breathe some life into the "Complete Works" forum as soon as I can figure out how to post album covers without having to download anything. I will probably start off small with bands who don't have a large catalog.

the sentinel wrote:

007 wrote:

the sentinel wrote:

UNCLE SAXON'S KICKASS CDS wrote:

Concrete Killers is really good, as well.  The debut is ok, but the next two are great.

Yeah, John, I am on the lookout now for the first and for Concrete Killers as well.

The debut should be easier to find since it's been reissued by Auburn twice. I have no idea what's up with Concrete Killers.

There are a few of CK on Cd on the bay at the moment, around 20-25 bucks or so. That's pretty much my threshold to pay for a disc. I have to wait until next week though as I won an auction for Banshee's "Take 'em By Storm" this morning and supposedly the new Anthrax is out tomorrow.

Too rich for my blood. I try to keep it under $20. At one time I'd go higher but right now it's just not feasible.

I always thought Vic Hix sounded more like Minoru Niihara.

007 wrote:

the sentinel wrote:

007 wrote:

the sentinel wrote:

UNCLE SAXON'S KICKASS CDS wrote:

Concrete Killers is really good, as well.  The debut is ok, but the next two are great.

Yeah, John, I am on the lookout now for the first and for Concrete Killers as well.

The debut should be easier to find since it's been reissued by Auburn twice. I have no idea what's up with Concrete Killers.

There are a few of CK on Cd on the bay at the moment, around 20-25 bucks or so. That's pretty much my threshold to pay for a disc. I have to wait until next week though as I won an auction for Banshee's "Take 'em By Storm" this morning and supposedly the new Anthrax is out tomorrow.

Too rich for my blood. I try to keep it under $20. At one time I'd go higher but right now it's just not feasible.

I hear that.

So, Hittman, another long lost gem (in my ears) from the late 1980's. Formed in New York City when lead singer, Dirk Kennedy, answered a classified after Scott Ian told him he was never going to be in Anthrax full time, they released 2 albums on SPV/ Steamhammer before fading into obscurity. I first heard them when I recorded "Behind the Lines" off the "Metalzone" in high school. I used to leave a tape running from midnight to 2 am to record whatever I missed of the show and then playback the tape the next day to see if there was anything I liked. I would then transfer that to a comp/ mix on another tape. I absolutely loved the tune and had no idea who it was since Dr. Metal ( Mike Gonsalves, he was a cool dude who unfortunately died in the Station Fire) never said the name of the band. It took me until around 2000 or so and the help of the internet to find out about Hittman. These guys are kind of a cross between Crimson Glory, Queensryche, and Dokken. Faves on this one are of the course BtL, Backstreet Rebels, Metal Sport, Dead On Arrival, and oh, hell, I like the whole album. Check 'em out if you don't know 'em already.

Another forgotten gem of an album from this USPM band, and I definitely recommend it for fans of the bands you mentioned.  Their 1993 follow up album - Vivas Machina -  was kind of a mess though and is nothing like their debut.

Believe it or not, this is the same band:

Oh, yeah. I was really kinda let down when I got a copy of that one. Very AOR and not like their debut at all. Very much the same as what happened with Icon from the debut to the sophomore disc. I actually still have the debut on cassette and the song order might have been reversed. I have to dig that out and check.

I like the sound of Hittman. This is the first time I've ever heard of the band or their music. I wouldn't mind picking those up but a quick check on ebay shows then to be rather pricy or from Greece.

Really dig Shok Paris and saw Hittman when doing the Tri-State club circuit back when.

Nice reviews....

James B. wrote:

Really dig Shok Paris and saw Hittman when doing the Tri-State club circuit back when.

Nice reviews....

Thanks, James.

007 wrote:

I like the sound of Hittman. This is the first time I've ever heard of the band or their music. I wouldn't mind picking those up but a quick check on ebay shows then to be rather pricy or from Greece.

Yeah, what is it with Greece and boots? A lot of stuff has come down in price in recent years though. I remember reading some years ago that as record stores were closing (major chains) in the 1990's there was a group that was buying up all the "cut out" inventory and there is stockpiles of new and unused cd's and tapes somewhere in California. This is possibly one of the reasons for the drop in prices and also the fact that the "rebirth" of '80's Metal from a decade ago is over.

I don't mind most bootlegs at all. I only collect because I like having a physical copy, even if it's not "the real thing". As long as the bootleg is near-identical to the original, then I don't have an issue with them.

Besides, a lot of official reissues from South American labels are of lesser quality. Del Imaginario Discos is to be avoided at all costs.

Painkiller wrote:

I don't mind most bootlegs at all. I only collect because I like having a physical copy, even if it's not "the real thing". As long as the bootleg is near-identical to the original, then I don't have an issue with them.

Besides, a lot of official reissues from South American labels are of lesser quality. Del Imaginario Discos is to be avoided at all costs.

That's a good point. I have often thought of grabbing a cheap boot than giving someone exorbitant money for an old used copy since the band sees no money either way. I am lucky though to have been patient enough to wait out the price drop on most of my want list the last five or so years.

Quote :

Besides, a lot of official reissues from South American labels are of lesser quality. Del Imaginario Discos is to be avoided at all costs.

I have some of those and they sound fine to me. Maybe if I had a side-by-side comparison, it would be noticeable. But in the car or in work, they're fine. They look good too. Quality, heavy glossy stock for the booklets. Clean, clear images.

I picked up a used copy of that Hittman disc for next to nothing about ten years ago. Pretty good stuff, maybe a tad on the generic side. I had no idea till recently that it was a sought-after, frequently bootlegged collectible. (shrugs)

Maybe it was the warm weather today or the thoughts of Spring, but I felt like bustin' this one out as it reminds me of sunny days with the windows down and the sunroof open. I didn't get this until a few years after it had come out and Udo was already back in Accept (and I always was a fan of Bangalore Choir) so I never had the feelings of anger/ disappointment that some fans did back in 1989. It is simply a product of it's time (1989) and a changing musical climate. I have always liked this album and also always felt they should have played some of these tunes in concert. Songs like "XTC" and D-Train" really rock. I have read some fan sites saying that "they should have changed their name" and things to that effect. But I am sure those are simply knee jerk reactions to fans who hold Accept close to their heart. Plus, getting out of a contract with any label is easier said than accomplished and I am sure they were pushed to keep the name for brand recognition. Besides the previously mentioned songs, I also like "Hellhammer" and "Break the Ice" and truth be told, I like the whole album. I have the Japanese edition with two bonus tracks "I Can't Believe In You" and "Break the Ice."

I never heard anything from Eat The Heat before this. I have no problem with the change in singers but that also probably has to do with not being in the loop when this all went down with Udo and Accept. That song sounds good enough. I'd get this album eventually.

I think you would like it. It's easy enough to find on the tube. Good point on "being in the loop" when all of the change happened. I remember it but wasn't overly heart broken about Udo leaving as he was making some great albums and it just gave me more awesome Metal to listen to.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

I have some of those and they sound fine to me. Maybe if I had a side-by-side comparison, it would be noticeable. But in the car or in work, they're fine. They look good too. Quality, heavy glossy stock for the booklets. Clean, clear images.

I agree that the sound quality is generally fair. I was criticizing its very cheap packaging. A lot of the Metal Blade Records stuff that's licensed to Icarus Music has their hideous logo stamped on. Even the disc surfaces give the impression of a homemade copy, whereas other versions would have ink written on a clear surface.

This one is certainly an all time fave and where my love for '80's Metal began.



I can't remember how many times I have played this one and still have my original cassette from junior high school. Ha. This is the one that broke them into the mainstream due to infectious sing alongs like "The Hunter" and "In My Dreams" and of course heavy Mtv rotation for the video for "It's Not Love." There was a time when Dokken was my favorite band before Priest and Maiden took the top spots. That time was 1985-1988, and I couldn't get enough. I really wish they had kept their crap together and churned out more great albums, but it seemed as though there was something between Don and George that the two could not get past. My personal opine is that they never liked each other from the beginning and only coexisted while the ride was good. Anyway, was in the mood for some classic tunes, so, get to Rokken with Dokken!