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Dark Star > Dark Star > 1981, 12" vinyl, Avatar Records & Screenworks Ltd > Reviews
Dark Star - Dark Star

"I’ll meet you at midnight..." - 77%

Feast for the Damned, December 22nd, 2020

NWOBHM as a whole is often overshadowed by some of the bigger names in the genre such as Diamond Head and Iron Maiden, but when you dig deeper into the realms of British gems, you’ll eventually come across bands just as, if not more talented than these headliners of all headliners. Think of Angel Witch, Satan, Tank, or my absolute favorites, Pagan Altar. But when you delve even deeper into the genre, you’ll find bands like our current subject, Dark Star.

Dark Star is a band that’s totally forgotten by your average metal lover (assuming they ever knew it) and even the NWOBHM enthusiasts (unfairly) write them off as a one-hit-wonder. They lean towards a more accessible, radio hard rock sound (think of UFO) with sing-along choruses and super catchy guitar melodies at their best, and lousy ballads at their worst. Rik Staines’ vocals are perfect for the sort of music they were making on here. Hitting high notes on catchy heavy metal anthems, soothing clean singing, and everything in-between. The other ace the band has up their sleeves is the bass. It sounds fantastic as it trembles away under each song, or at least on the original recording. The remaster lowers its volume and hides it behind everything else, so there is a big “fuck you” for doing that.

However, the problems are in the songwriting department. It’s inconsistent as all hells. There are the mid-tempo rockers like Kaptain America and Rockbringer which I can’t help but love no matter how stupid they may be. If the album was made out of songs like those, Dark Star would probably be a much better album. Unfortunately, that’s not the case at all. The Musician is one of the two aforementioned lousy ballads and it’s one of those songs that I might enjoy every once in a while for its stupid amount of cheese and its “feel good” acoustic approach, but that’s literally all there is to it. Green Peace on the other hand goes for an elegiac power ballad style, which could have been good if they didn’t make it a 7-minutes long snore-fest.

Thankfully, the band makes up for those two worse-than-filler songs with their “one-hit”, Lady of Mars. For its entire four and a half minutes, it never lets the listener down and keeps on giving the much-needed NWOBHM awesomeness. It starts with an amazing lead part which is followed by Rik’s fantastic verse part before it erupts in the chorus with the whole band backing it up and the first lead returning. Then, out of a sudden, the song halts and leads you into a slowed-down section where you get the bass driving the song forward with the soothing lead and the rest of the band accompanying them with their own backing vocals.

Should you listen to this album? Absolutely! Should you expect it to be groundbreaking? Probably not a good idea. Dark Star is a solid band, but they won’t go up against the likes of Angel Witch and Tokyo Blade anytime soon. They bring nothing new or unheard of to the table, but what they do bring is a blast to listen to.

The highlights of the album are Lady of Mars, Rockbringer, and Louisa.

Paul Simon + Metal - Good Songwriting - 50%

Sweetie, March 28th, 2017

Amongst the many bands that would emerge from the U.K. lies Dark Star, formed in 1978, and only put out two records before clocking out and never returning. So while there isn't much to work with, their debut is something of a slightly less than average album in which effort is displayed, yet not in a way that has depth, hooks, or emotion. For the most part, it's packed with hazy, slower riffs that don't really hook the listener very well and fail to go beyond the standards. Same tempo, a very "power-chords chugging in the same rhythm"-type formula with no changes of pace. Speed clearly isn't evident either, and while some of the solos show that they can play, none of them rock very hard or make up for the less than average rhythm sections.

On another hand, they do throw in a couple curveballs, as there are a few parts that stick out from the rest. While "Lady of Mars" seems to be the one that gets any kind of attention at all, I think that "Rockbringer" blows this one out of the water. The guitars stick, the instrumentation overall is far less stagnant, and the vocals actually have emotion to them. Same can be said about the only track I'd say I love from this, "The Musician". It's a ballad and it's almost all acoustic driven, carrying far more emotion and amazing vocal delivery than anything else on here. This track clearly has some folk-rock influence. It's this one that made me realize that the vocalist, Rik Staines, sounds exactly like what Paul Simon would sound like if he fronted a metal act... (which is a huge plus, seeing that Paul Simon is a God). So I'll admit, I do enjoy parts of this record, but I certainly don't like it for what it was meant to be.

The very last track, "Green Peace", is the only other one to show any sign that the tracks weren't just written on a template as blues is heavily incorporated into it. Not too impressive, as it's drawn out for a long time and relies too heavily on the big guitar solo to carry most of it.

Overall, I certainly dig the effort, but I can see why Dark Star got left behind. If a few tracks were trimmed out, this would pass for a pretty fair demo.

Star that never shone - 88%

Arkkiperkele, May 27th, 2009

Dark Star...another number in the catalogue of forgotten NWOBHM rangers, deservedly in the semi-cult category (if only among NWOBHM enthusiasts). They fought their way through a couple of 45s to win a tactical victory in form of a slot on the Metal for Muthas compilation. That went for ”Lady of Mars”, a spatial, atmospheric crossbreed of a ballad and a stomping anthem blown full of naivety and simplicity, still catchy, adept, and strangely touching.

It requires emphasis here that Metal for Muthas wasn't that spectacular, especially from a current point of view. ”Lady of Mars” formed a mid-record apex of the compilation and a strong reason for anyone into traditional heavy metal to check 'em out.

But before withering away completely and sharing the fate of so many second and third line NWOBHM bands, Dark Star landed themselves a full LP on Avatar Records. It was to be their only serious effort to land a place in the sun which would ultimately fail.

Discounting Lady of Mars, this should tickle a fancy of those into heavier moments of Thin Lizzy (on Jailbreak and Chinatown) and UFO and it is possible to feel for some Blue Öyster Cultish weirdness too, if only for a teaser. Dark Star lends a lot in sound and even appearance to '70s hard rockers and give an impression to have one leg in the past-gone decade and other striving for opening the '80s.

Checking out the songs, you'll find it is good solid stuff, with not much surprises. Kaptain Amerika is a opener echoing apparently how shit the Cold War was. Continuing into Backstreet Killer, a lengthy mid-pace rocker with a nice stomping riff and a head-nodding chorus, and struggling with The Musician before reaching their single spot-on with Lady of Mars, we have the A-side wrapped up conveniently. Side B takes off nicely after a rather lukewarm Louisa lets go to the riffage treat of Rock Bringer, but overall remains a measure behind the first one.

Good, standard, no-frills NWOBHM, Dark Star shows the more laid-back, mid-paced and calmer side of British heavy metal at the time. Damn hard to find, apparently it hasn't been reissued on CD.

If nothing else, invest yourself with a copy of MfM (you can never have too much NWOBHM) or take brief listen on YouTube for Lady of Mars and pay your respects for another fallen hero.