Vinnie Vincent Invasion--All Systems Go (1988)
Rating--9.0
Ashes to Ashes--RealAudio Let Freedom Rock--RealAudio
Mark Slaughter takes over the helm at vocals, and the sound is a bit more refined on this second release than on the debut.
Still extremely slashing, however, and more intense than almost all of Slaughter's followup band work.
More intense, and better as well.
Riffs flow and crunch throughout, with "Ashes to Ashes," "Naughty Naughty," "Burn,"
"Let Freedom Rock," and "Heavy Pettin'" all being non-stop cruisers, with the sassy "Heavy Pettin'" being the closest harbinger
to the future Slaughter band's sound.
"That Time of Year" was the first single off of the release,
but it's also one of the three somewhat toned-down tracks off the disc. Because of this, a lighter impression may have been given than was expected. Still,
very driving work on the track, and some emotional vox by Slaughter. "Love Kills" is a mysterious tooler, and was the lead song for one of the
"Nightmare on Elm Street" movies (the fourth??).
A solid release, and overlooked in the grand scheme of both '80s heavy glam
and hook-and-riff metal in general. Vinnie himself has slagged this record in the past, but I think that's more due to a possible falling out between
him and Slaughter/Strum than anything else. The material rips; he has nothing to be ashamed of.
TRACK LIST: Ashes to Ashes/Dirty Rhythm/Love Kills/Naughty Naughty/Burn/Star Spangled Banner (intro)/Let Freedom Rock/
That Time of Year/Heavy Pettin'/Ecstasy/Deeper and Deeper/Breakout
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