Turn the Hell On

This band's name implies a more pummeling nature than their 1980 debut delivers. Despite a few excellent songs, much of Turn the Hell On's material doesn't leave a strong impression. A collection of competent, compact tracks, most of which don't rock especially hard, Turn the Hell On is a find that, much like a quarter buried at the bottom of a sandbox, isn't a terrible thing to go home with but doesn't reward you all that much for digging it up.

Fist is one of the more obscure bands from the NWOBHM and they certainly weren't among the most innovative or intense in the scene. In fact, even at the time, at least half of these songs wouldn't have scared away people who didn't listen to metal. It's not hard to imagine the balladesque ‘Terminus’ or the much-tamer-than-its-title-would-suggest ‘Collision Course’ playing between Boston's 'Peace of Mind' and Steppenwolf's 'Born to be Wild' on a classic rock radio station. About half the songs on this album rock steadily onward, with no frills or pretensions but also without a great deal of fury, personality, bombast, or showmanship.

There are times, however, when Fist ventures outside its hard rock-leaning comfort zone. Though the band never does anything startling or unusual, the songs where they decide to kick it up a notch are quite rewarding. Boasting tight, fast-paced rhythms and over-the-top, borderline operatic choruses Freddie Mercury would surely appreciate, ‘You’ll Never Get Me Up (In One of Those), ‘The Vamp’, and ‘Name, Rank and Serial Number’ are among this album’s highlights. While none of these compositions are daring or inventive, when the band decides it's in the mood to rock out FOR REAL THIS TIME and cut loose, which happens on just under half of these tunes, you're in for some good old fashioned fun.

The playing and the production on this album aren’t of the most professional caliber but they typically are what they need to be. The album’s sound quality is rough and the guitars are present but don’t exactly roar with life. The bass, on the other hand, is surprisingly busy and has more than a little prominence. While all the instruments sound perhaps a little muddy when put together, they typically form a good backdrop for singer Keith Satchfield. Our boy Keith is not an especially strong singer but somehow his enthusiasm and energetic presence more than compensate for any shortcomings. His voice is both gravelly and high-pitched, not unlike that of Grim Reaper’s Steve Grimmett. Even in this album’s lesser songs, he wails quite a bit, soaring each time but sounding like he’s going to lose control and crash into a mountain at any second, which somehow doesn’t diminish the value of his performance.

While the songs mentioned in paragraph #3 could certainly make it onto a The Best of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal compilation, more than half of the songs would never even be considered for inclusion, not even by the sort of people who want to load such compilations down with obscure stuff for flavor. They'd hear 'Forever Amber' or Axeman' and say, "Nah. This one's barely metal." For every ass-kicker on here, this album has roughly one and a half songs that simply lack energy and/or an engaging delivery. Based on their debut, Fist would seem to be a fitting name for this band, not because they ram a sonic fist of metal goodness straight into your face, but because these Brits use said fist to politely knock at the door and ask if you want to rock, if doing so won't disturb the neighbors, that is.