format: LP
year: 1986
country: UK
label: Elixir Records
#: ELIXIR 2
info: 2 inserts - lyric sheet and merch order form
style: Heavy Metal
Side A:
I was kinda shocked when I noticed that a classic such as this has been missing in our review-archive for almost 2 decades. It's certainly not a terribly obscure release by Corroseum-measures, and I'm guessing few regular visitors to these pages are new to it, but with such an important album we don't want to take any chances. As far as style, vibe, hype and general legacy goes it's pretty much an archetype of True Metal Of Olde, and frankly I think it was among the first ever dozen or so rare private pressings I added to my collection some time in the very early 00's.
The strongest and most instant impression I remember getting from this album was the beautiful cover and in particuar its minimalistic color-scheme. In my mind the music of "Son Of Odin" will forever be draped in a veil of blue and black and that is the effect that I think all good record sleeves should have on the listener. I guess this is the reason I've always had a hard time with too colorful, comic-book/Repka type cover art, but I digress..
The recipe for Elixir's brand of Heavy Metal is a difficult one to explain for me, and the reason for that is curiously enough that it's so simple and straight-forward. They can be compared to some of Ebony Records' classic acts in that they don't stray far from the post-NWOBHM mould of the day - 'experimental' is one of the last words you'd ever use to describe them. What sets them apart from and ahead of most of their contenders is their gravitas - their complete absence of the 'oh-yeah-c'mon-let's-rock'n'roll-tonight' approach. That is not what sons of Odin do. Or if they do, those are not the words they'd use to describe it. By my own definition, this is in other words a very. Very. VERY - METAL - album, with nought a twinkle in the eye nor a slip of the lip.
There are also good songs, but more extraordinary than that, not a single bad one! Stand-out numbers include the sightly Maidenesque "Pandora's Box" and single-familiar "Treachery", the Cloven Hoof-meets-Angel-Witch warhorses "Star Of Beshaan" and "Hold High The Flame", the rumbling, raging powermetaller "Trial By Fire", the epic Dio-Metal monster "Son Of Odin"... I could go on because there is not a single 'filler' inbetween, but you get the point: This is a genuinly British-sounding Heavy Metal album, yet definitely post-NWOBHM in style.
Finally, it needs pointing out that while the significantly less rare "Lethal Potion" follow-up from 4 years later would typically be the early 90's sell-out release, it most certainly isn't! Sure, there are the 2 or 3 more melodic numbers featured, but on the whole it's another excellent chapter in the history of the band with some absolute scorchers, some which may actually outshine even the best parts of this debut.
Since the early 00's they've continued to Metal us with their Steel both on stage and on vinyl, meaning their post-reunion career has been significantly longer than their formative period - truly an achievement worthy a raising of swords!