Heavier than Thou

The Rods' final pre-hiatus album is an overlooked masterpiece of traditional heavy metal. It's hard-rockin' metal at its finest folks, and features some of the best musical work in the bands history. Recruited to the lead vocalist position is ex-Horizon and Picture singer Shmoulik Avigal, who's clear and soaring voice adds a perfect amount of power and emotion to the album's sound. Heavier than Thou starts with a dramatic minute-and-a-half intro that showcases vocal harmonies and keyboards, and then it's into "Make Me a Believer", a forceful melodic track that opens the album very well. "Angels Never Run", my favorite track on the album, has an excellent hook and chorus. There are bruising, atmospheric slower numbers on the record, like "Crossfire" and "Fool For Your Love", which sound just breathtaking due to Avigal's solid carol.

I really enjoy the humorous intros/outros to certain numbers, like after the song "Chains of Love", where we hear what sounds like the band members cracking up at something. There's also the interesting movie/television sample before "She's Trouble", and the forty-four second closer "The Music Man", which is a cool freestyle harmonica tune. The album delivers superb riff work by David 'Rock' Feinstein (especially in the song "Chains of Love"), and the always-impressive rollicking drum sound of Carl Candey, who by this time in '86 had become increasingly well-known for his producing work. His drum execution is one of the prime factors in The Rods' unique yet straightforward hard rock approach.

The only thing I don't exactly care for on the album is the Led Zeppelin cover of "Communication Breakdown". It's not a bad cover by any means, but I'd rather hear a band like The Rods select a less generic choice, like their Supremes cover of "You Keep Me Hanging On" from their '82 LP Wild Dogs. That song was so moving and emotional, and worked flawlessly with the excellent musicianship of Feinstein & Co. Overall, I would recommend this album to anyone interested in any kind of heavy music. This is The Rods' finest moment, and is a tailor-made example of what this style of metal represents.