Symphony of Terror--RealAudio

**UMR Review Poll Winner**
The band's first full-length release (following a 5-song EP), this was a surprising Power Metal offering for 1984. It should have established the band alongside Iron Maiden (who they were closest to in sound) and Judas Priest, but instead they inexplicably disappeared from the scene for a number of years. It would be a full decade until the next official release from the band. (One album was recorded but never released through a label.)
Again, the music is both very bottom-heavy and power-related for the day, which makes it all the more puzzling as to why they didn't make a bigger splash at the time. In fact, when they finally recaptured that magic (in 1997), there was a much lower commercial acceptance for that type of metal music than back in 1984. Harry Conklin, a very overlooked gem of a vocalist, makes his first appearance here.
Numerous cuts stand out as being solid fare. "Symphony of Terror" displays the sound that would eventually resurrect the group in the late '90s, which shows how ahead of their time they were. "Warfare," "Licensed to Kill," "Harder Than Steel," and "The Watching" are all good, with the semi-epic "The Crucifix" being a weighty closer.

TRACK LIST: Licensed to Kill/Warfare/Symphony of Terror/Harder Than Steel/Generally Hostile/The Watching/Reign of the Tyrants/Cardiac Arrest/The Crucifix