format: Mini-LP
year: 1987
country: USA
label: Tomato Paste Records
#: EP-001
info: -
style: Hard Rock
Side A:
Side B:
Yep, there's a good chance you've come across this "beauty" on ebay or discogs in recent years and if you're anything like me (curious collector + sucker for obscure-looking sleeves) you'd at least have made a mental note of it. It seems to have completely eluded the collector world until the mid 10's, and finding any kind of info on this obscure NY-act seem damn near impossible. Prices have however been steadily dropping (uh-oh..) so of course I couldn't resist taking a chance when it turned up on the list of a Swedish dealer...
The burning question then: Is it a lost US Metal gem???
The smoldering answer: Absolutely not. Frankly I wouldn't rate it HM at all, BUT... as far as severely dated 70's-style Hard Rock goes, this is actually quite nice. They totally nailed the obscure-private-rock-album vibe without sounding like crap - neither production, musicianship nor vocals (a.k.a. The 3 Great Private-Pressing Pitfalls) suck even a tiny little bit. Opener "No Time For Fear" is their pièce de résistance, sounding like prime era Rainbow with a nwobhm/action-rock one-two punch, while the following "Skip It" as well as the closing "Mirrors" are decent but forgettable detective/spy-movie-type instrumentals. Last marble in the bag is so the promisingly christened "All Hands On Fire". On the upside it has a raher catchy, droning Hawkwind-type beat and lead riff, but I can't keep from comparing them to various retro-rock bands that pestered us back in the 90's and shall remain nameless.
Final score? This would only have been of marginal interest to HM collectors as a "proto-Metal" release if it had been released 10 years earlier. As of now, it's mostly only for die-hard Hard Rock and private pressings-fans. Of which I'm sure there are plenty out there.