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Gaskin > No Way Out > Reviews
Gaskin - No Way Out

For Fans of the Softer Stuff - 64%

DeathRiderDoom, June 27th, 2009

Gaskin are a decent enough NWOBHM band but are often grouped into contemptible ‘softer’ side of NWOBHM – along with acts such as Jaguar, Chariot, Snowblind, Chinatown and the like. However, I can tell you now they’re at least better than Snowblind. Yes, what we have here is a mixute of some dirty NWOBHM crunchiness, such as the title track, and softer, straightforward rock songs such as the saccharin ‘Ready for Love’. Sure, this isn’t the best, or hardest NWOBHM aslbum made, few can be – and we can only sing the praises of Rave and Cloven Hoof enough, before we need to turn our attention to the softer side of the genre. Recording their first album on Rondolet in 1981, Gaskin followed it up with their second offering, the very next year – proving at the very least, that they could churn out more than half the NWOBHM acts out there. This offering features mostly straight forward soft rockers, with a couple of standouts to be found.

The title track, sitting at the ass-end of the album is a sure-fire winner. It has that classic NWOBHM feel, with dirtier riffs and vocal melodies. The chorus is big and memorable, and it’s probably one of their better known numbers – deserving of a place on a NWOBHM greatest hits sampler. ‘Come Back to Me’ is a crunchy hard rocker, featuring some nice dirty riffs, mated to some softer, more traditional rock vocals, and a very Beatles-esque, poppy chorus. Kind of Beatles NWOBHM here – in the vein of Ethel The Frog. ‘High Crime Zone’ is another one of the better, more hard-edges tracks and is probably the fastest on the album. Another good number here.

On to the weaker moments: ‘Say Your Last Word’ is an incredibly saccharin AOR number, bringing to mind artists such as Santers or Night Ranger’s slower numbers. The verses are decent enough, featuring the capable, soothing vocals of Bren Spencer. A decently delivered softer number here – but one that is not likely to impress your metal purists. Incredibly soft even for this band. A couple of the other tracks really fail to stand out and have a bit of a ‘filler’ ish quality about them. ‘Free Man’ is a rather lackluster number with nothing really going on, until the pacier final section, where it’s more akin to Saxon, than to The Beatles. ‘Movie Star’ is another pretty average track evoking a little too much Beatles for me (I can’t stand the band).

On the whole this isn’t a bad offering – it’s just a bit soft and lacking in ‘metal’ credentials for some. The sound overall is a mixture of crunchy riffs and thumping drums, fused with soothing vocals and softer love-themed lyrics (‘Broken Up’ is a good example) making it comparable to Whitesnake; more of a hard rock feel than a heavy metal feel, but hey – there’s nothing wrong with that – as long as it’s done well, right? Well – it’s done pretty good for the most part here, but a couple of tracks are a little on the boring side. Standouts are ‘High Crime Zone, Broken Up, No Way Out, and perhaps ‘Come Back to Me’. Not recommended for those afraid of your softer-tinged stuff, but not a bad wee release overall. Hell – it’s better than Snowblind, and Chinatown.

-DeathRiderDoom