The Right to Rock

Yeah, I know, Keel is one of those "hair bands". But guess what, they're not like other "hair bands". They might have some of the ludicrous fashion sense that hair bands have, and they might play in the style of some hair bands that were around at the time, but Keel was far better than any popular hair band. They actually made their music, metal or not, more enjoyable and easier for us to listen to. They really give us our right to rock when bands like Poison simply want us to buy their records and fund their decadent "rock star" ways. Keel actually created some fine rock n' roll. Even if it isn't metal, I still enjoy listening to "The Right to Rock".

Of course we do get some radio-friendly material that might sound a little goofy at times, but we also get songs like "Back to the City", which are more pounding and straight-to-the-point. It's actually pretty aggressive when it comes to songs written by glam bands, not to mention the raunchy, if not catchy, chorus that really brings the song home. The song I like the most, however is "Speed Demon", since it's the fastest song on the album as the name suggests. It really gives you the sheer energy and the feel of speeding down the highway and going way over the speed limit. Oh, did I mention its ample use of a more creative riff than your basic rock and power chords that glam bands are known for using? Believe you me, it's not very often that a glam band would come up with anything this powerful. That's what I look for in a song from any glam band past or present. The band's vocalist/namesake, Ron Keel, actually delivers a very powerful energy to his voice. Granted, it's a little high pitched and gravelly, but it's not anywhere near as annoying as Vince Neil's voice. In fact, it can actually be pleasing to listen to to some extent. That's 'cos Keel puts more effort and power into his vocal delivery, whereas some glam vocalists would simply deliver a wimpy and somewhat nasally one.

Even for more radio-friendly songs, they can still be enjoyable, that is, if you can tolerate them in the first place. "Easier Said than Done" is one of the more radio-friendly songs. Its main riff is somewhat simple in containing the basic rock and power chords, but is somehow addicting to listen to due to the fact that it has a kind of spice to it. That's due to the fact that they use ordinary chords as opposed to only using power chords. The chorus can be a little annoying to some, and knowing its goofy nature, I can easily understand. It's one of those choruses that has a distinct melody that they try to stick in your head by singing the song's title. Here, they don't do it so repeatedly, which makes it a bit more tolerable than Autograph would come up with. Then we have the songs that are lousy no matter what your taste in rock or metal is. For instance, there's the slow and rocking "Get Down", which escalates during the chorus. What makes the song a little annoying is the backing vocals that sing "oh yeah, alright" during the verse between Keel's lines. If the song didn't have those, it would've been a much better song. Oh, and please ignore the Rolling Stones cover, it's really nothing special. It's just another song that contains a melody that's repeated constantly to the point where you feel the need to stick your head in the oven at 500 degrees (no, don't do that).

As much as it has it's problems, I still enjoy this album. For what it has to offer it's really not as bad as you'd think it is. It actually contains some very good and entertaining stuff. I know some wouldn't consider Keel to be a legitimate metal band, but even if it wasn't, I'd still listen to it, I just wouldn't consider it metal. It's one of those guilty pleasures for me, 'cos some of their songs can be so dumb, but on the other hand they can also be a lot of fun. With this album, containing some hard, pounding songs, including the rapid "Speed Demon", Keel really gives us the Right to Rock.

Like the last bloak said, Keel is a very cheezy 80's hard rock band that were produced by Gene Simmons of Kiss (common, who wasnt?!). But in all honestly, compared to their previous album "Lay Down The Law" this album has an amazing transformation- this is a band at first that was absolutley terrible, just terrible, and then, just cheezy- which for an 80s metal band, is no problem. If you are into bands like Kiss, Steeler and just straight up Cheez Metal the way it's suppose to be, you'll love this album, I certainly do. The songs "Speed Demon", "I'm the Victim, You're the Crime" and "So Many Girls, So Little Time" say it all. If you love cheez metal from the 80s this record is for you, simple as that.

Cheesy heavy metal.

This is all you need to know about this band. Highly hailed overseas and somewhat popular in their day this band shows heavy metal as it's brain dead worst. Sadly, they also put together an entertaining hook so one can listen to it, tap his foot and be disgusted at the utter display of stupidity presented here. Not as naive as a band like Jaguar (and not as much fun) the band is a marketing dream come true. (If you lived in 1985 when this came out, at least.) The band are all tight, the singing is good enough amd the songs drip with all sorts of cheesy mid-80's fist pumping that one can't get out of his head...no matter how much he might want to.

The songs are dumb. The lyrics are dumber. The riffs sadly...are somewhat catchy and can annoy the listener after one or two listens. I couldn't get through it more than once...but I gave it a chance and a song or two haunted me for more time than I would have wished. If you like that sort of classic metal with cheesy photos, head-banging perms and idiotically catchy chorus sections - this one is for you.

Terrible...but memorable...how did this happen?

Keel represent the most innocent and stupid of times in metal. The lyrics suck, the beats seem like cliches you'd see in some terrible movie and the band look like a spandex advert. Good going blokes...I am simply glad that I didn't pay a cent for this, despite the hype a very small group of people fed me before I took a listen to the album.

Fuck this...it's horrid in the most commercially viable way possible!