Named after the classic Judas Priest songs, Rapidfire were formed in 1992 from the ashes of California thrash band Hellhound. The band featured three ex-Hellhound members including Robert Kolowitz - guitar, Rich Pelletier - bass and Steve Pelletier - drums. The band was completed by vocalist Glen Sievert and guitarist Kuscha Hatami.
Rapid Fire - Settle the Score (Stormspell Records) 20091. "Blood And Vice" (3:19)
2. "Den Of Thieves" (3:44)
3. "High Speed Disaster" (3:16)
4. "What If" (4:02)
5. "Settle The Score" (5:19)
6. "House Of Madness" (3:42)
7. "No Mans Land" (3:26)
8. "Hot Rod To Hell" (4:11)
9. "Catacombs" (3:45)
10. "The Ultimate Deception" (4:17)
1993 Demo
11. "A Certain Kind Of Killer" (4:30)
12. "Terror In The Sky" (4:04)
13. "False Prophets" (4:25)
14. "Too Bad" (5:32)
If RapidFire's "Settle the Score" had been released in 1985 metal fans world wide would consider it a classic album. The sound here is similar to 80's American power metal bands like Metal Church, Meliah Rage, and Vicious Rumors. Bands like this were considered power metal because they rode a fence between thrash metal and more traditional heavy metal. That is exactly what RapidFire also delivers; supercharged, galloping, hook-laden, heavy metal! Unfortunately this style of heavy metal wasn't all that popular by the mid-1990's when death metal and grunge were the flavors of the month.
Being that three out of the five members of RapidFire had formerly been in speed metal band Hellhound, it's really no surprise that the band carried over some of their thrash and speed influences. Songs like "Blood and Vice" and "High Speed Disaster" are supercharged, fast paced romps. However, other songs like "What If" and "Hot Rod to Hell" are more mid-paced, even though they are still crushingly heavy. The songs have more in common with bands like Leatherwolf and Armored Saint, than they do with the early thrashers. Vocalist Glen Sievert has a rich, clean, mid-range voice that fit perfectly the style of music. He adds just a bit of grit but isn't growling or screaming whatsoever.
Many sites are listing this album as a reissue. Quit frankly, the only thing reissued here is the four bonus tracks from the band 1993 demo. The rest of the tracks, while written back in the early 1990's were not recorded until 2008. According to the extensive liner notes in the cover, the band basically fell apart shortly after recording that first demo. However, before completely dissolving the band members began laying down the songs they had written on a four track. However, even those recordings were never completed. With interest in the band's Hellhound demos and their '93 demo, the original members, minus guitarist Kuscha Hatami got together and finished ten of the twenty tracks they had begun to lay down in late 1993. Surprisingly, the production isn't bad either. For some reason I assumed that the recording would be very rough, but "Settle the Score" is a high-quality release. The CD includes a 12-page booklet with band bio, lyrics, photos, etc.