Long Live Metal

What the hell went wrong with Tyran´ Pace? I have no logical explanation. They had a strong lead vocalist who mastered the art of high pitched screams and was supposed to be able to join Judas Priest as their new singer while the musicians seemed to know their trade. Noise Records, one of the most active European labels in this time, published this album and its successor. Admittedly, the band´s style of metal could be dismissed as being old-fashioned. Furthermore, we have to take into consideration that the thrash metal movement was conquering Germany so that it was a bold or perhaps even senseless undertaking to offer a tradition-conscious power metal record which was enriched with just a few speed metal elements. But don´t jump to judgements, because successful bands like Accept also play this style, even almost 30 years later. You can therefore describe this mixture as well as timeless, too. It just depends on your point of view. I tend towards the second alternative.

"Long Live Metal" - we had already heard more imaginative album titles. The cover reminded a little bit of Accept´s "Restless and Wild". Only a tiny bit, of course... Anyway, the vigorous music compensated for this lack of originality. Tyran´ Pace scored with a large number of coherent compositions without ignoring aspects of variability. Just compare the openers of each side. On the one hand, you have the leisurely rocking quasi-title cut, but on the other hand a storm breaks loose while they are starting the record with the speedy "Shockwaves". I prefer the latter song due to my love for fast rhythms. Nevertheless, both tunes convince in their own particular way, mainly because of the simple but effective riffs and the catchy choruses. But that is not all. The band members were honest working people who had many good songs in store. The mid-paced "Play All Night" constitutes a prime example of this. It kicks off with a crashing riff that smoothly merges into a heavy verse and a suspenseful bridge while the strong chorus pleases due to the melodious and powerful vocals. Moreover it goes without saying that they add a solid guitar solo.

Tyran´ Pace do not make my blood boil due to the fact that the intensity of well executed thrash metal is not achieved. Instead of unleashing the raging metal beast, they concentrate professionally on their core business by writing coherent songs. While I regret the lack of passionate madness, I have to say that I really like to listen to this record which is solidly produced. And in order to be not misunderstood here, all participants surely perform with passion. Even the fairly naive and stereotype lyrics ("Racing on the highway / Driving into hell...") do not change this situation. They are rather typical for the works from this period and definitely no reason to complain. Just enjoy songs like "Night of the Wolves" with its (attention, irony) very dangerous howling and its superb bridge or listen to "Red Sweat" that is also one of my personal favourites. It could be taken as the prototype of a traditional heavy metal piece. Therefore, I have high hopes that you will not regret to check out this album.

See, this is what happens when you let Ralf Scheepers into your band, and even allow him to write some songs. There is the fair amount of "Restless and Wild" and "Freewheel Burning" influence here, and also some of the combination of those two that Helloween got right with Walls of Jericho. But it just doesn't come out nearly as well. The songs are generally okay, but not nearly as memorable as they could be.

"Shockwaves" is the first song - this is definitely "Hell bent for Leather"-inspired, sounding more like Anthrax's first album than anything else! Definitely the best song on here - it covers all of its glaring deficiencies by going fast and being over fast. The rest of the album... well, there are a few not entirely forgettable songs. "Wheels of Love" has a nice chorus, reminiscent of something Accept would do. Same with "Raid the Victims". The rest... well, "Red Sweat" is okay, being the typical second song on an album, it's slowed down, emphasising riff work over pure speed, but it just doesn't come in with the massive kick in the teeth of a "Balls to the Wall" or the melodic composition of a "Rock Hard, Ride Free".

Yes, it is quite apparent who influenced this band... but there really wasn't much vision behind this album - no true desire to stretch the envelope beyond what had already been done. The creative spark that separates the metal legends from the also-rans is quite badly missing, and thus this album is quite forgettable.