True as Steel

When a friend of mine gave me a cassette with the debut and the album reviewed here some time in 1987, I was ignoring it for over a week. I only took it cause he insisted that this would be something I would like, along the lines of Scorpions and Accept, but I was quite prejudiced back then about women’s involvement in my favourite music, and was certain that this would be some sleazy hard rock, and that my friend was pulling my leg…

needless to add, the debut blew me away, and remains one of the ten most frequently listened classic heavy metal recordings in my household. The guys (and a girl) really nailed it from the get-go, and although this was an explosive first showing, it also raised the standard too high for the subsequent efforts to be able to reach it. It also showed how a diva can be a wholesome member in a male-dominated line-up, and not only but Doro Pesch’s charismatic presence was a main reason for the band’s quick promotion to the front echelon.

Not that music-wise the Warlock team slackened, no; they continued to make waves, always sounding relevant to the trends of the time, first with the surprisingly aggressive “Hellbound” which saw the band trying to pay tribute to the rampant speed metal movement, a belligerent angry offering that some of the fanbase consider their finest hour; and then with the album reviewed here, their compromised surrender to the mellower, more radio-friendly ways of execution that were gaining popularity in the mid-80’s.

In the Warlock case, however, this doesn’t mean a faithful copy of Motley Crue’s “Theatre of Pain” or DIO’s “Sacred Heart”; it means a fairly ballsy rendition of these new currents with more than just a few sharp riffs pricking the pop-metalish layer. “Mr. Gold” opens the album with sprightly energetic guitars, an invigorating cut that may have been left out of the preceding instalment for reasons unknown; and “Fight for Rock” is a catchy memorable hit that presents the more mainstream side of the album. “Love in the Danger Zone” is a really nice semi-ballad, one of the band’s finest achievements, with Pesch producing a spellbinding performance, combining verve with lyricism to a dramatic, poignant effect. “Speed of Sound” is a speedier, more dynamic proposition hence the title, another return to the vigorous approach from the previous opus; and “Midnite in China” is a rowdy heavy metal anthem with Pesch pesching... sorry, pitching it higher, threatening to break all the china in your house.

“Vorwarts, All Right” brings back the fast pace, and the headbangers will have their fun for about 4-min as this number can even quality for Scanner’s “Hypertrace”, the most aggressive proposition here. The title-track is a rousing sing-along heavy rocker, an emblematic anthem that sets the tone for the remainder among which one will come across the heavy ballad “Love Song” with Pesch in top form again; the feelgood infectious hymn “Igloo on the Moon”, and the biggest surprise here, the short instrumental closer “T.O.L.”, a great display of musical virtuosity with guitars and keyboards (used for the first and only time on the album) duelling the whole time, with leads tearing the aether with their piercing, screamy flair the whole amalgam coming as one brief symphonic tractate, a really stylish way to finish this fairly entertaining effort.

The band established themselves as true champions of heavy metal, and it wasn’t just Scorpions and Accept making the rounds anymore in Germany; this bunch from Dusseldorf meant some serious business, and “armed” with the wild blonde “beast”… sorry, “witch”, behind the mike there was nothing stopping them from achieving a golden status. And that status became a fact, a year later with the release of “Triumph and Agony”, the guys’ (and a girl) most commercially successful recording, and one of the milestones in German heavy metal…

As it became quite fashionable for frontmen/women to leave their main acts and to embark on a solo career in the late-80’s/early-90’s, Warlock were befallen by this trend, too, and Pesch was on the road again even before the end of the decade with a couple of new musicians in the line-up, and under her own name; a successful career transition that sees her alive and well some 27 years later. Well, when you’re true as steel to your unbendable metal stance, nothing can break you; you can survive all tribulations, ordeals, and hardships… and extinguish all bonfires set up along the way, sometimes with just a single china-breaking falcetto.

This was Warlock’s 3rd release in as many years and there was little sign of them slowing down. With Doro at the helm, they put forth an interesting variation on the sleaze/glam metal sound with a fair share of Judas Priest and Accept influences to boot. They started more concentrated upon the riff oriented style the previous mentioned bands exhibited and didn’t spend too much time trying to write epic sounding ballads or lighter edged rock songs. On this release they began evolving their sound slightly away from that style and towards something a bit more mainstream.

“True as Steel” is sort of a mixture of older guard aggressive heavy metal and the glam style that was really growing in prominence at this point in the 80s. You can hear bits and pieces of Dokken, Quiet Riot, and even a little bit of early Riot (pre-Thundersteel). There is a larger emphasis on sing along choruses, much as is the case on the next release “Triumph and Agony”. It still, however, holds onto a good deal of the speed metal elements that were heard on “Burning the Witches” and the very heavy “Hellbound”. The resulting mix of styles is a very interesting listen, although I would still argue that “Hellbound” and “Triumph and Agony” are slightly better.

The album opener “Mr. Gold” has an evil low voice shouting “No Mercy!!!” before launching into some solid speed metal with Doro doing some powerful vocal work. Immediately you get the sense of a more polished approach to chorus writing when you find yourself shouting “No mercy for Mr. Gold”, definitely a great concert opener. “Fight for the Rock” is solid down tempo Judas Priest faire with some dense vocal harmony work during the chorus, definitely invoking a little bit of Don Dokken there. “Love in the Danger Zone” again has some Dokken qualities, though in the half ballad rock department. I think that Swedish glam outfit “Alien” needs to fess up that they weren’t the first to copy Dokken’s approach to this style of rock song.

Once we hit “Speed of Sound” everything goes more in a “Hellbound/Burning the Witches” direction with a good deal of high flying speed metal, but the denser chorus approach still endures even on this one. Doro consistently sings her heart out from here to the close of the album, whether it’s shouting up a storm on the keyboard rich speed metal anthem “Midnite in China” or taking it down a notch with the cheesy 80s power ballad “Love Song”. If I had to pick a best song out of the whole lot on here, it would be the title track. Something about that Deep Purple inspired main riff and that unforgettable chorus just gets me every time.

Although I’d say that you’d be better off getting “Hellbound” and their most famous collection “Triumph and Agony” first, this is basically cut from the same grain and is equally enjoyable. Some of the choruses on here can be a bit much, especially if you are not pre-disposed to liking the 80s cliché vocal harmonies popularized by Dokken and a few others from the LA sleaze scene. Doro’s vocals carry the performance on here, as is the case with her live shows, which I was lucky enough not to long ago when she came through the States. She loves what she does, and it shows in every single note that she sings.