Armed Forces - Take on the
Nation (Bizzare/Straight)
1991
1. "Take on the Nation"
(3:32)
2. "Hard as Nails" (2:46)
3. "Nothing to Lose" (3:53)
4. "No Guts No Glory" (3:39)
5. "My Turn Tonight" (3:55)
6. "Trust in Me" (4:08)
7. "Die Hard" (4:24)
8. "Coming Apart the Seams" (2:59)
9. "Protectors of the Realm" (3:19)
10. "Back on my Feet" (4:31)
11. "Can't Stop the Madness" (4:17)
12. "Man on the Silver Mountain" (2:47)
Armed Forces are straight forward heavy metal that reminds me of bands like Metal Church and Vicious Rumors. The album opens with one of the band's most immediately catchy songs complete with shout-along chorus, chunky riffs and manic guitar leads. "Take on, take on the nations!" I can't say that about the rest of the album. It took me several listens to begin discovering all the cool nuances of this CD. One thing about this band is that they are not some radio-glam metal band. This is real metal! "Hard As Nails", "Nothing to Lose," "No Guts No Glory", "My Turn Tonight" etc. are all slamming the listener between the eyes with a pure metal assault. Actually the weakest part of this CD is the somewhat flimsy version of Rainbow's "Man of the Silver Mountain." It's not that their cover is bad, but I don't think it's the strongest song on the album. The production on this CD is solid with all the instruments clearly heard and a good guitar sound, which is essential on a good metal album. (Thanks James)