Marshall Law

Let me start off by saying how much I actually really enjoyed this album. For a while I only had the songs "Screaming" and "Under The Hammer" downloaded, and for some reason I figured the those would basically be the highlights when I finally decided to give the whole album a spin. To my surprise, this record is far better than I thought it would be. There's a whole mess of catchy, very memorable choruses, solid riffs, cooking solos, and slick post-NWOBHM song styles. Taking a further look....

The production is your typical late 80's metal sound: slick and standard, though there is a somewhat annoying amount of reverb, particularly in the vocals. This would be a common issue with an number of Marshall Law albums, but usually never enough to ruin a listening experience. Vocalist Andy Pyke has a solid, charismatic set of lungs, carrying tune though upper tempo howling and shouting; he's clearly capable of some pretty violent shrieks as well, but employs them rarely. The duel guitar attack of Dave Martin and Andy Southwell are clearly based on the vintage Tipton-Downing mold, and while inferior to the real thing, these two are usually pretty excellent in their own right with a number of slicing trade-offs and scorching rhythms. The buried bass of Marshall Law one-timer Malcolm Gould is little to brag about, but drummer is pretty good on the other hand. A typical heavy metal drummer, maybe, but capable and fairly aggressive all the same, utilizing some sweet double bass moments, pounding fills and a hard-tapping mid-paced backbone to a number of songs.

Lyrically "Marshall Law" can be silly; the usual word of metal and silly sexcapades is rampant throughout the album, but let that deter you not. There is a fine mess of headbanging fun to to be had here and then some. There's just two songs on here that don't totally rock my cock: "Feel It" and "System X". "Feel It" shares the same chorus with a fucking Phil Collins song; need I say more? "System X" isn't bad or anything, but it's one of those songs that doesn't leave much of an imprint, plus the chorus isn't realized too well. Most everything else is gold though. "Under The Hammer" is some pretty fucking rocking speed metal, armed with a nice chorus and a really searing, kick-ass solo. The short, sweet "Rock The Nation" and the slightly moodier title track both cruise along at a heavy, top-tapping mid-pace; cool stuff. "Future Shock" is your standard "verse-chorus" metal song, but it's pretty memorable and a damn catchy song all the same. Then we have "We're Hot", and despite that corny Motley Crue title this fucker is probably the most aggressive song on here, bordering on thrash thanks to its hammering drumming and the in your face chorus. The major highlight however is still "Screaming". The intro is just neat and moody, the verses urgent and memorable, the solo is immense, and just try to get that chorus out of your head! "Screaming! (Screaming). In this nightmare! (Nightmare)!"

Overall, a pretty cool metal album and a worthy addition to any collection. If you dig early Dokken, Crue, or Pretty Maids, or especially 80's Priest, I recommend it. No-frills metal lives!