Shane’s Rock Challenge: KROKUS – 1984 – The Blitz

Shane | 28 July 2014 | Reply

Shane’s Rock Challenge: KROKUS – 1984 – The Blitz
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
6/10

I have to be honest: The Blitz was a disappointment.

Having made a couple of fun, but very AC/DC derivative albums, Krokus released Headhunter in 1983 (I’ll review it soon – I promise!), which was a Euro metal classic.

As was the way with record companies then (and now) if a band has a success doing something unique, they’re ready to be guided firmly to the middle of the road in the chase for more sales. Consequently, for The Blitz, the band are all glammed up and pretty, and the music has most of it’s rough edges smoothed out.

In hindsight it’s not horrendous, really, but not a patch on it’s predecessor, and this is the direction they’d pursue for some time to come.

Midnite Maniac is probably the highlight here: a muscular melodic heavy metal tune for the time. Their version of Sweet’s Ballroom Blitz is just okay, and lends its name to the title. The rest of the album is similarly, just okay, as the Swiss/Maltese bunch wrestle with their AC/DC mimicking early style, the 80’s metal of Headhunter, and the more commercial sound they were being pushed towards. It certainly didn’t help that most of the rest were songs with one-dimensional lyrics about rocking nations (Rock The Nation), having a boys night out (Boys Night Out), a lady who was hot stuff (Hot Stuff) or being ready to rock (Ready To Rock)! You get the picture…