"Headhunter" ('83), "The Blitz" ('84), "Alive & Screamin'" ('86)
Spitfire Reissues
By Vinnie Apicella Expanding on their latest entry into reintroducing the many classic-or in this case almost classic in spite of themselves but not quite there-three pivotal releases in the career of Swiss metal outfit, Krokus. Krokus was a big name player during the early '80s having just established themselves in the U.S. with this first and inarguably their finest recording, "Headhunter." Their big radio hit "Screaming in the Night," which also featured the video with singer Marc Storace walking along the diner countertop and beckoning for his lost love. a sad but powerful song that really broke ground for the band that up to then had released several albums for the Arista label with little or no public attention. Their prior releases were decent enough but "Headhunter" was a killer-no pun intended-it was pure metal with not a weak track on the album. The storming lead track "Headhunter" still sounds as fiery today as back then as they really upped the recording anti with really the first good quality material they'd done-attributable more to the year probably than anything else but this was a five member band with two guitarists and here you could finally hear it! "Eat the Rich" was another single from the record, a cruiser quality anthem that bitches about life being just that. The record had only nine songs on it and so falling short as many of the old favorites do but the many sleeper hits that deserved further exposure included the smokin' "Ready to Burn," "Night Wolf," and the old BTO remake of "Stayed Awake All Night," whose title would be used years later on a limited "Best Of." The next year was their biggest in terms of commercial success. 1984 saw the release of "The Blitz" and the biggest hit of their career, "Midnite Maniac." The commercial slant to the album was obvious and it wasn't long before Krokus was being used in the same sentence as fellow up and comers on the Glam circuit, Motley Crue, Dokken and later Poison. The boost in sales didn't seem to have the same effect with the band's credibility which took a slight hit from their longtime diehards but nonetheless, this was a necessary record for them to make and one that yielded several more strong tunes in spite of its glitzy appearance. "Out of Control," which followed "Maniac" at the opening was easily one of their best. Heavy and untamed, this one started out of the gate in a hurry and never let up till it was over. "Boys Nite Out" really wasn't much to speak of but it was the fashionable thing to do at the time. "Our Love," remains one of the more touching Rock ballads that too few people knew about but easily could've brought 'em additional accolades had it been handled properly at the time. Back on the heavier front, "Ballroom Blitz" was another remake, this time of the old Sweet tune, for which they did a pretty respectable job, and then the spirited anthem, "Rock the Nation," another solid addition and one meant for maximum volume. The album finishes up somewhat weakly but they made their point with this one. They still had their heavy edge but now it was time for a little overexposure. And wait a second! That was supposed to be the cue to introduce their next studio record, "Change of Address." What happened? They didn't see fit to include this one in the set? What a gyp! Well in a nutshell, the crumbling foundations featured on the album cover were ironically similar to the direction of their career. a dead weight pile of rubble laid to rest on the ground. They hit their commercial apex with this one, tried way too hard, didn't realize the disaster it was until a couple years later, and then it was too late. '86 saw the release of the first Krokus live record and featured this gruesome looking fiend on the front cover-I know this came from some work of literature in the past but can't recall-and as far as live albums, it wasn't bad. By this point Krokus had somewhere around six or seven records but you'd never know it from the material or length of content present here. Obviously exposing their more known material, this one featured clips from select American shows that by this time meant some pretty full on exposure opening for many of the bigger hit makers of the time-not to say anything of the ill-fated show with Accept! Surprisingly enough, "Alive" opens with a golden oldie, "Long Stick Goes Boom," from '82s "One Vice at a Time," and what up to then was among their biggest tunes. great way to get things started as well. They pulled quite a few of the only nine songs from "Headhunter," thankfully, including "Eat the Rich," "Screaming in the Night," "Stayed Awake All Night," and closing with "Headhunter." In between, they hit upon only "Midnite Maniac" from "The Blitz," and that was it, astonishingly. Why they couldn't add more tracks to the list I don't know but it was a definite shortcoming. They managed to include a lesser hit called "Hot Shot City" from the disastrous "Change of Address," which sounds equally as bad on stage as it did on the album-I know this is stretching but what about "Now," "Long Way From Home," or "World On Fire?" But anyway, they did also in another from the vaults, "Bedside Radio," from the ancient "Metal Rendezvous" release that you all know as featuring the two-car collision on the front, right? That wasn't their song either I believe, but I don't know who really did it originally so I shouldn't have brought it up in the first place. The pickings weren't abundant prior to "Headhunter," but they had enough to really have made this live record mean something more. The three newly remastered reissues are a definite addition to any metalhead's proud collection if only for the fact their available on CD-and you'll have to be satisfied with just that and little else. There are no bonus cuts or extra dressing to speak of, just the original music with a clearer crisp sound that focuses on the band's finest moments in a career that's still gone on sporadically up to now but will never yield the same results. they did make a nice run at glory again though with '88s return to form, "Heart Attack," but I suppose that's for another time when someone decides to give that one a go. In the meantime, for all intents and purposes, the "Best" of the Krokus years, revisited and ready to rock. |
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