Warhead

Personnel: Paul Mario Day (vocals); Laurie Mansworth, Kenny Cox (guitar); Frank Darch (drums).
Audio Remasterer: Jon Astley.
Liner Note Author: Howard Johnson.
Recording information: Binfield Manor, Binfield.
A sorely underrated band with a sound derived just as much from Southern rock roots as the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, More had polish and basic song structures that made the group much more accessible than many of its counterparts. Simply put, the band just flat-out rocks, taking tight grooves and crunchy power chord riffs and placing them all over guitarist/lead singer Kenny Cox's blues-infused guitar shredding, which obviously owes considerable debt to Jimmy Page. At times, Warhead sounds like it was manufactured directly from the school of rock, with compositions taking a page from the books of Zeppelin, Skynyrd (especially on the wildly erratic "Depression"), Deep Purple, and Black Sabbath. It's a peculiarly strong debut, but will be of very little interest to anyone but the most die-hard metal fans. ~ Rob Theakston