Save Your Prayers

Waysted's 1986 album Save Your Prayers was the only one to chart within the U.S. and it's easy to see why: the erstwhile British metal band retooled itself to fit the sound of the day, namely the hard-charging metal coming out of Southern California. Save Your Prayers is never as gloriously sleazy as Mötley Crüe but it certainly has elements of Ratt, filtered through a little bit of the big arena rock typified by such mainstream rockers as .38 Special. In other words, it is built on big melodic songs and hooks but still has a balls-out roar that would satisfy fans. What it lacks is any one song to hook in doubters -- no hit single, in other words -- but the overall sound of Save Your Prayers is massive, heavy, and glossy, capturing much of the feel of mainstream metal in the mid-'80s. [Cherry Red's 2013 reissue contains the B-side "Fire Under the Wheels" and 7" edits of "Black & Blue" and "Heaven Tonight," plus good liner notes that recount the tortured making of the album.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine