City's Gonna Burn

This is a pretty unusual listen to my taste. I’m rarely into these sorts of bands and music genres. I’m more about the pop/mainstream and new wave music of that period. Unless it’s Ozzy Osbourne, Dio, or Iron Maiden, I couldn’t really care about bands like Lȧȧz Rockit and these up-and-coming heavy/glam metal bands. While the Californian Lȧȧz Rockit’s label is thrash and power metal, it seems that during their beginning, they touched glam metal with a bit of hard rock - the kind that would get played in rock ‘n’ roll clubs and aired on the radio. I’m certain their location, with the thrash metal label under the name, will play a bigger role in future releases. Still, there’s no denying the music here is solid, entertaining, and enjoyable, even for someone like me who swings back from such music.

The first two songs alone are very nostalgic. Imagine you’re back in the early 80s, or like what got played in the background during these cult-classic films. The song Dead Man’s Eyes reveals some Ronnie James Dio inspiration, despite being released just a year after Dio‘s debut. Ronnie already built his reputation well before the 80s. That said about the vocals, one of my other favorite aspect in this particular song is the engaging bass lines. Silent Scream mirrors much of the former examples, but it’s got more shreds worth unleashing, as well as hard drumming and a mixture of high notes and low ones.

As I already stated, Lȧȧz Rockit touches glam metal with a bit of hard rock in a few riffs and songwriting. The typical high notes from the vocalist, the simple but catchy riffs with explosive guitar bursts of harmonics, shredding, and solos, the heavy bass lines, and the standard drum patterns within the genre. These factors produce awesome music without needing to be challenging, which the aspect doesn’t need much flourishing. The music gets the job done, regardless of the approach.

Though perhaps best known for being among the more off the hook adherents of power thrashing madness on the western end of the USA following the release of their 1987 studio outing Know Your Enemy, Lääz Rockit's origins go a bit further, back to a time when the lines designating where traditional heavy metal from its power and thrash offshoots were less clearly drawn. To be fair, by the time 1984 rolled in, it was pretty clear via the debut efforts of Metallica and particularly Slayer that a distinctive border was taking shape that placed thrash apart from most of its NWOBHM forerunners. As such, the character of this outfit's debut outing City's Gonna Burn is arguably a year behind the stylistic curve by thrash metal standards, listening somewhere along the lines of where Flotsam And Jetsam may have been if Doomsday For The Deceiver had only taken a few occasions to turn on the afterburners and stuck closer to an early 80s heavy metal vibe comparable to Accept's Restless And Wild, or Armored Saint's March Of The Saint for something closer to the same time and location.

If there be any mystery that this band was on a fairly different wavelength when they started vs. where they ended up, it is instantaneously dispelled the minute that the iconic, fist-pumping heavy metal anthem of a title song and opener hits the first power chord. While by no means a slouch in the heaviness department or a snoozer by any stretch, "City's Gonna Burn" keeps things in blatant mid-tempo arena territory, having a bit more in common with contemporary offerings out of Quiet Riot and Twisted Sister than Metallica or Anthrax. This approach tends to hold true for the lion's share of this album's duration, as somewhat more riff happy yet similarly mid-paced and melodic anthems such as "Caught In The Act" and "Dead Man's Eyes" round out the majority of the songs. The vocal assault of shrieking madman Michael Coons is appropriately clean and soaring on these anthems, though he does show occasional hints of that somewhat edgier variant on the Bruce Dickinson approach that Eric A.K. took to Flotsam And Jetsam, and while the riff work gets a might busier than typical mainline NWOBHM here and there, the fancy soloing and generally simplistic songwriting carries all the marks of a more conservative interpretation than Metallica.

Nevertheless, for all of the remnant of heavy metal traditionalism that dominates this album, there are some highly noticeable hints of where this band was heading that should be kept under consideration. The most obvious points of interest for any thrash fans would be the high octane speed of cruisers like "Take No Prisoners" and "Forced To Fight", which hit roughly the same level of intensity as the faster offerings on Anthrax's Fistful Of Metal and even Razor's Executioner's Song. Likewise, even though it generally rests in mid-tempo territory, the chunky riffing and biting fervor of "Silent Scream" is reminiscent of a more dangerous take on the Diamond Head and Blitzkrieg approach that would be heard on some of Overkill's mid-paced fair on their first two albums. This same heavier feel looms its head during key parts of the dissonant, elaborate and haunting, but generally more conservative NWOBHM emulation in "Prelude", which also features Coons taking on the rawest gruff of any offering on here and getting fairly close to that iconic thrash metal vocal sound that would come into focus a few years later.

Transitional albums such as this tend to be passed up by the more purist elements in the thrash metal scene, and it's not wholly without reason given that when this album lands on a more basic heavy metal vibe, it's blatant enough that entire songs on this album could be thrown into similar territory as the likes of W.A.S.P. and Lizzy Borden. If nothing else, it's a bit more suited for those who like a speed metal sound comparable to a number of German outfits like Iron Angel, Living Death and the 80s incarnation of Angel Dust where there was still a more melodic remnant from the influence of Accept. However, on the merits this is a solid album that contains a number of highly memorable songs that are executed with a high level of energy by the standards of 1984, not to the point of beating Overkill to the same area of speed thrashing majesty as heard on Feel The Fire a year prior, but definitely enough to set it far apart from the nascent onslaught of keyboard-oriented spin-offs of Joe Lynn Turner era Rainbow that would begin dominating heavy metal circles in the mid-80s.

Lääz Rockit´s compact debut takes you back to the beginning of the speed and thrash metal scene of the United States. Its music is located at the interface of heavy and speed metal and the band seems to be unaware of its possibilities. The guys do not lack of self-confidence, but they are still firmly rooted in the traditional approach of heavy metal. Occasional attempts to break into the world of speed metal remain exceptional. I am speaking of "Take No Prisoners" with its wild main riff and the up-tempo rhythm. The guitar leads are well elaborated and deliver the necessary amount of sharpness, while the chorus brakes the song without depriving its power. "Forced to Fight", the second neckbreaker, is even harsher. The band rolls out the heavy artillery and the catchy chorus with its pinpoint staccato background vocals merges with the edgy riffs in a wonderful way. But as mentioned before, these songs are not really characteristic for the album.

The band is concentrated on mid-tempo tunes that show a certain quantum of naivety. But this is the privilege of debutants and it is more important that Lääz Rockit do not lack of integrity. Their attitude is free from false considerations. They appear as true metalheads that do not think of commercial success. The album does not provide a ballad and this is only one of many indications that the band is not interested in playing music for the mainstream. It is rather a fact that Lääz Rockit keep an eye on the maximum impact of their riffs. Songs like the opening title track celebrate the power of the guitars and they do it in an admirable manner. Admittedly, the tracks are neither progressively structured nor do they possess any kind of bizarre elements. Nevertheless, even in comparison with other traditionally designed songs, they score with an exceptionally good flow and an amazing degree of memorability. But that´s not all: another trump card of this full-length is its evenness. Maybe with the exception of the final track, all songs are more or less in the same quality range.

Despite the casual yet powerful guitar work, there exists another outstanding feature. The natural vocals of Michael Coons are vigorous and relatively melodic at the same time. The production emphasises his contribution, because it has been put in the focus of the mix. Thus, the voice stands in the foreground and Coons makes the best of the situation. He masters the high-pitched tones as well as the less challenging lines in a very good way. But do not get me wrong, the highlighting of his performance is not at the expense of the contributions of his band mates. All of them do a good job and their respectable musicianship is adequately appreciated by the producer team. The only major flaw of the album is caused by the horribly bad artwork. It seems to be the clumsy scribbling of a five year old child. Anyway, it needs no explanation that this visual shortcoming does not affect the splendour of the songs. I freely admit that "City´s Gonna Burn" does not break any records. It is not the most brutal or the most melodic heavy / speed metal album of its decade and I am slightly disappointed about its short playtime, but it is definitely a worthwhile purchase for each and every friend of authentic metal.

Anyone who's ever read any of my reviews will probably know that Laaz Rockit was, and always will be my favorite band. Laaz Rockit have impacted me in many ways and influenced me into the realm of thrash metal. I'm not gonna get sentimental or phylisophical...However, even some of the greatest bands from the bay area were capable of releasing mediocore albums. Let it be known that this simply isn't a great album. That's not to say that this album sucks...but it is infact the worst of Laaz Rockit's impressive catalogue. Possibly due to the unfocussed direction of the band, or maybe even just based on the fact that this was their debut which was released in 1984.
There are some really good songs on this album such as Forced to Fight, Take no Prisoners and Prelude. For the most part however, the glam vibe is ringing strong. There are only slight tinges of thrash, which could even be more comparable to generic speed metal. The guitars lack for any real crunch, but I'm sure that the production is what really makes this album suffer the most. The one great thing about this album was the introduction of Michael Coons vocals. This guy definately has some unique sounding vocals, and on the this album as well as the follow-up No Stranger To Danger...Mike Coons' voice is crisp, clear and can reach some very high notes with ease.
If your a fan of old school power metal or even the late eighties glam rock such as Skid Row, then you'll probably love this album. As for the thrash fanatics, this album is simply worth owning to pay homage to one of the greatest thrash bands in the history of the genre, and having this piece of nostalgic thrash history will simply complete your collection.