Steel and Starlight

I've been on a big Dio kick lately, but sadly, I've exhausted his "best of" repertoire; as in, following blessed exposure to Dream Evil, while keeping Black Sabb's Heaven And Hell close at cramped hand (as Ronnie/Tony blueprint of excellence), I find myself not quite digging Holy Diver, The Last In Line and Master Of The Moon - although I still need to check out Strange Highways at some point. As well, Rainbow's got some awesome songs but for the most part, I struggle to sit through their entire albums, except for Rising, as it's simply too good.

Anyhow, here we are again romanticizing the great metal year of 1987, when a little known entity from rock n' roll mecca of Cleveland named Shok Paris turned around with a highly Dio-esque, guitar driven gem titled Steel And Starlight - a must listen for riff hungry citizens who are also inclined towards powerful, stadium roared vocals.

Actually, the Ohioan quintet's sophomore release has been gathering dust and cobwebs in my drafts list since 2017, so it's time to pay tribute to this ear watering, eleven tracked relic which benefits from a pure and clear production, alongside axe men's incredibly bright and treble-y tone. Most early songs, such as the banging opener "Go Down Fighting", the Riot V shared and charged "Tokyo Rose" as well as top cut for which I'd love to see a killer cover of, "Rocked Out Of Love", begin with slickly delivered, crystalline solos, while the title track and potential single's harmony lines subtly sound like Maiden's classic "The Evil That Men Do".

Front man Vic Hix's languidly expressive mid range reminds me a bit of secondary Rainbow singer Joe Lynn Turner...but without the sappy ballads alluded to in far-flung Straight Between The Eyes reviews. Well, okay, "Castle Walls" is a token soft track, putting an end to Side A's dynamic totality with a soothing unplugged progression and accompanying, slightly classical lead before transitioning into yet another memorable demonstration of the band's strong composition skills not at all dissimilar to UFO either, for want of a European contemporary. I'll repeat myself again, as the first four songs are wicked cool, especially "Rocked Out Of Love", as it's got that vintage American vibe in line with Ozzy's overplayed but still amazing "Crazy Train" while also hinting of inter oceanic traveller Def Leppard, in an era not yet spoiled by lucrative MTV contracts. It also has a distinctly sleazy Twisted Sister/Ratt edge.

Although Steel and Starlight's second half falls short of perfection, it starts off with the celeritous, NWOBHM style foot shuffler whose first few bars bring to mind Survivor's nostalgic "Eye Of The Tiger" from five years prior. Its energetically romping, Steve Harris like bass line and loosely pummelling drums also contribute to making it a seven keyed keeper. The buffed groover "Fallin' For You" features equally virtuous lead guitar chops which do a great job keeping me in my lane as an aspiring musician (as in, no longer will I try to learn Priest's godly "Tyrant" or Oz's ripping "Over The Mountain" - instead, for now I'll gladly stick with Alice Cooper's simple but fun "I'm Eighteen" and Alice In Chains' coming-of-age staple, "Would?", which even an orangutan can play).

Side B's highlight consists of "Exhibit A", where Mister Hix apes "air raid" Bruce Dickinson with his robust and august cries above a magnificent display of Blackmore-esque dexterity which form to create a shimmering Deep Purple/Iron Maiden hybrid I'm surprised the ever-helpful Songsterr site doesn't yet count within its expansive riff vault. Then, that auspicious Def Leppard compatibility factor reemerges as "Lost Queen" plops herself down for some additional head bop horn throwing. The last two tracks, "Hot On Your Heels" and re-issue CD bonus, "Streets Of Pleasure", are reminiscent, in title and tone, of Ratt, they of relentlessly ribald and salacious effervescence. The latter's flashy guitar solos hark back instantly to heavy metal's buffon haired renaissance.

What a relief to expound on Shok Paris and its number one contribution, Steel And Starlight. For those who've yet to succumb to its timeless guitar hero charms, consider this your gregarious suggestion to do so. (Hopefully, our talented pal Majsai rides wind to it soon.)

Hey there kids, it’s time for another riff onslaught! Shok Paris’ NWOBHM-charged USPM comes at us with a metric ton of powerful riffs courtesy of the Ken Erb/Eric Marderwald tag team, and equally powerful vocals from a monsieur Vic Hix. Go for the Throat was a pretty good mission statement, but it’s with Steel and Starlight that Shok Paris refine their craft. Realistically, I could just stop the review short there, but there are a few things worth diving into that make this album both tick, and stop it short of sharing a seat alongside the titans of the genre.

The A-side of the album is a veritable fuckin’ Tour de Force of strong, veiny riffs composed into these melodic onslaughts. Like, you get hit with these more rocking beats, but the power of each individual riff not only makes the room around you rock like a hundred mosh pits, but provide enough energy to power up a third world country. A lot of it is on Hix’s vocals, positively wailing out these striking high notes – but to a tasteful degree, as to not becoming grating nor tiring. When he’s toning it down a bit, as shown in “Steel and Starlight” and the epic “Castle Walls”, there’s a more operatic, fuller-ranged Dio-like thing going on there. So, if you stopped at The Last in Line or Sacred Heart like Vivian Campbell did but couldn’t wait for Dehumanizer, well, there you go.

But come on, songs like “Tokyo Rose” and “Rocked Outta Love” – that’s where the album’s rocking and rolling like nobody’s business! Whether it’s of the more glammy variety like the former, the more German variety like the latter, or of the more Cloven Hoof meets Savatage kind like the opening number, when the album’s aiming for the jugular, when it’s operating on all eight cylinders – that’s their bread and butter, and they butter that bread damn well. It’s those building blocks that give “Castle Walls” the get up and go it needed to strike with thunderous aplomb after a quiet, extended intro. But it’s not through extended intros, acoustic endings and longer lengths that it becomes an epic – partially because it’s only a minute and some spare change longer than the next longest song – but through its continental scale riffing and powerful vocals channeled through a bonafide Dio-esque track. If they were to do an EP that consists purely of the A-side, this would be quite a way to end things off.

That isn’t to discredit the B-side – indeed, “On Your Feet” maintains the rolling momentum, “Exhibit A” kicks off with a monolithic riff before digging into some proto-Symphony X riffing, and “Hot on Your Heels” ends things off on a note higher than the average Grateful Dead concertgoer. But man, it’s pretty clear which side is stronger, namely due to the other two songs on this side. “Falling for You” has this relatively turbo generic rock riff going for it that comes across quite weak after six exhilarating salvos. “Lost Queen” starts off promising enough with a more invigorating rock beat, but then trails off after the solo. It just… kinda ends, you know? Thankfully, that isn’t the case for the album as “Hot on Your Heels” gallops majestically into the wind.

Dio and USPM is a pretty slick combination and Shok Paris manage to pull that off quite well. A couple of relatively weak tracks stop Steel and Starlight from being as strong as Ample Destruction and Digital Dictator. That being said, the other eight tracks riff and rock with that all American charm you’d expect from the 80s USPM scene.

Shok Paris' sophomore effort represents guidance as to how to write epic and powerful songs, including the glammy numbers featured therein. The energetic performance displayed by the band and their lays of virtuosity differentiate the album from other releases within the USPM scene. The result is a set of songs that will blow away your mind in quite a unique fashion. Likely to other USPM releases, the influences are not easy to spot, but at the end, the album's musical foundation is nothing different to what you would usually expect.

On the one hand, the guitar playing for some tracks is blatantly inspired by the NWOBHM or later albums released by Iron Maiden or Judas Priest. For instance, the opening track's intro is quite reminiscent of that featured in "Aces High", and in general, this number could have made it in a Maiden release. Another example is the neoclassical number "Exhibit A", which mixes some elements from Blind Fury and also from Yngwie Malmsteen.

On the other hand, there are various numbers seemingly influenced by Accept that could either have been part of "Metal Heart" or "Balls to the Wall". The title track is quite similar to "Screaming for a Love Bite", the closing number contains a similar intro to that in "Love Child", and "Rocked Outta Love" is widely inspired by "Midnight Mover". It is uncommon to find out Accept influences within the USPM, as Accept was more of an inspiration for the European power metal songwriting, but this case seems to be an exception. A third category is made up of glammy numbers, being "Tokyo Rose" the most remarkable number. The intro solo included in this song is a fucking mind-blowing thing, and by itself, makes of this number a wild one, even when at some moments sounds like Bon Jovi song.

That said, the album could easily rank among the best releases in the USPM scene. Much of its quality owes much to the astonishing guitar playing from Erb and Manderwald, but also from the impressive vocals provided by Vic Hix. His style is like a mix between Alan Marsh and Dee Snider. With all the above in mind, there is a simple conclusion about the album: you should get it.

Who would've thought that one of the greatest heavy metal bands of the 80s would have been based in Ohio? Location played a big part in the success of many bands, who often fed off the scenes both in their musical influences and everyday inspirations. While a lot of great bands found geographic aid in their search for bandmates, labels, and shows, Shok Paris' location seems to have allowed them to focus on crafting their own style a bit more - Manilla Road might come to mind for a unique band from an out-of-the-way place, and that's the caliber of band I'm talking about here. Shok Paris did quite nicely for themselves in terms of their musical output across three strong studio albums and a top notch live album - their frontman developed his style in his own direction, making him one of the most unique vocalists in metal, and the band seems to always know where they're going - there's never a lull where they lie back on a typical metal chug or excessive guitar solo, never a dull moment where they aren't intensely hammering their powerful style of heavy metal straight at you.

Vic Hix has a great voice, perfectly built for this type of heavy metal - tons of power and a great range, from high to low, and an overload of attitude and character. He's sort of like Keith Deen of Holy Terror but tailored for USPM rather than thrash - not as bodaciously maniacal and unhinged, but more controlled - soulful in the way that a heavy metal vocalist could be soulful. All of that power and intensity but with more precision and control, a greater regard for the song like Jon Oliva, leading and weaving melodies through the music. He's got balls of steel, big wrecking balls that throw the force of metal around in such a perfect pattern that they surely demonstrate as impressive a natural phenomenon as the mechanics of kinetic energy. It's as if all the glassy smoothness of John Arch was turned into wild, untamed heavy metal power exploding forth from those balls of steel! He's so good and his style uniquely interesting that that it's easy to do nothing but think about how damn good this guy is while listening to this record. The riffing matches up to his prowess though, and the music fits together so smoothly that it takes the constant intensity of the vocals and riffing to keep it from feeling unnaturally perfect.

The music is reminiscent of very riffy, melodic NWOBHM - the undeniably metal side of it moving into early power metal, while still being able rock to the appreciation of more tamed listeners who can't get into balls-out speed/power metal. Make no mistake, the balls are out all over here. It's similar to the big, early 80s sound of Judas Priest, especially evident from the start with how they begin the album with a big, building melodic guitar part then break into a heavy/speed metal charge. Another part of it simply riffy power metal, where the guitars are afforded the ability to yield to the singer while still rocking and riffing, reminiscent of Dio, though this band isn't all about the vocalist to the same extent. The guitars can still take over and share the starlight, and they do so in a way that reminds me a bit of Tysondog's songs where the riffs really stand out and kick it off. The vocals and guitars also practice some excellent and incredibly catchy call-and-response, where the vocalist sings a line, the guitars tail it with a lead or riff, and they go back and forth. Both of them fit together so perfectly, they work off of each other and complement each other perfectly.

There's so much power here - the vocals and the riffs are constantly playing off of one another, rocking hard and putting as much power into this format as they could. They channel so much intensity without crossing into speed metal stylings to fuel it - there's no quick chugging, it's all big chord-based riffing, and the drums rely on regular back beats without doubling the speed - just one-two-three-four, not double speed or anything to emphasize the speed. The way the band pulls this off is great, because it still retains somewhat of a form of rock while throwing so much of the power of metal at the listener, and they work with what they do perfectly without trying to rely on something other than their forte. They find other ways to vary and color the music, almost entirely through the indelible character of the vocalist and power of the riffs, how they are a single force to be reckoned with together. This perfection makes this one of the high marks of the style - I don't think most bands could even try to pull this off like they do, this simply isn't possible without the incredible ability to channel this sort of unique sound through a combination of natural talent and unusual development of the vocalist and how he interacts with the band.

One of the greatest blue collar USPM albums - simply fucking rocking with all the soul of the heart of America. From the moment you spin this album, balls of steel swing, gleaming in starlight, and throw the power of metal back and forth as your head will be banging. Shok Paris are the best at what they do.