1. "Busted" (3:11) Halloween. Not to be confused with Helloween or Hallows Eve. Halloween were a heavy metal that billed themselves as "Detroit's Heavy Metal Horror Show." Growing up with heavy metal in the 1980's, it's surprising to me that I was unaware of this band. Hearing them some thirty years later, Halloween's "Don't Metal With Evil" sounds very dated. However, that is not to say it's bad. I think that part of the charm of this band was their image and their show. Had I been living in or around Detroit in 1984 and was able to be a part of Halloween's heavy metal spectacle, I am sure that they would have had a nostalgic connection with the band. Their music is rooted squarely in 1980's traditional heavy metal, with high vocals, catchy guitar riffs and those fun, sing-along vocals. In other words, don't expect anything outside of the box. These guys weren't out to showcase their talents, but rather to put on a good show and play real heavy metal. Fans of classic 80's heavy metal would do well to check these guys out. I'm actually sort of ashamed it took me so long to finally check out this band's debut.
A 2002 cd re-issue of what Molten Metal describes as a "cult American eighties power metal quartet." To get a mental image of what this band looks like, picture a mix of 'Too Fast for Love'-era Motley Crue mixed with the Plasmatics and some Twisted Sister thrown in for good measure. Musically, the band is about on par with Lizzy Borden or a b-grade Armored Saint. There was actually a lot of band that sounded like this in the mid-80's. Metal Blade's compilations were filled with them. What usually made or broke the band was the vocalist. Unfortunately for Halloween, at least on this disc, the vocals are lacking something although I do dig the high falsetto screams. There are a few standout cuts including "Rest In Piece," the acoustic instrumental "Angel" and "Children of Witches," which has a distinct Savatage quality to it. Also, the track "Revelations 32:1 (the Dream)" is a nice romp through 1980's power metal; a time when attitude and image were as important as the sound. The electronic drum sound on the toms in this song are a bit distracting to an otherwise good song. Surprisingly, the sound quality on this release is quite good, considering the age of the recording and the fact that this band was never signed to a decent label with any money to sink into studio recordings. The packaging on this disc are outstanding with new front cover art, plenty of photos, lyrics and short liner notes by vocalist Brian Thomas. Contains an unlisted bonus track, that I assume is called "Halloween." |