Kick Axe--Vices

Kick Axe--Vices (Sony/1984) Rating--8.3

Canadien glam metal from the early '80s, and how these guys never made it big (considering the year of release) is beyond me. There's some sass, some six string attitude and bite, and plenty of anthem-type tracks. Think Fastway, Quiet Riot, and Slaughter balled into one, with Nugent-like spitfire guitar-riffs intermixed. The vocals have that throaty, coated feel of a Graham Bonnet. A surprising find... even more surprising is they didn't share some of the fame of the above-mentioned bands.
The strutting attitude of "Heavy Metal Shuffle" kicks the disc off, and "Stay on Top" has a steady sway. The bass-thumping growl of "Maneater" is nasty, and "On the Road to Rock" is a contagious vocal-driven cruiser.
Both "Cause for Alarm" and "All the Right Moves" are good, and "Dreamin' About You" is a solid power-ballad type.
The band will lighten up a bit on its subsequent releases, but this one was simply overlooked by the hair crowd of the day.
TRACK LIST: Heavy Metal Shuffle/Vices/Stay on Top/Dreamin' About You/Maneater/On the Road to Rock/Cause for Alarm/Alive & Kickin'/All the Right Moves/Just Passin' Through

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