Pure Steel Records [Release date 27.09.19]
Weapon first came onto the scene back in 1980 during the New Wave of British Heavy Metal boom. The current line-up sees original duo – vocalist Danny Hynes and guitarist Jeff Summers – joined by drummer Darren Lee and bassist Tony Forsythe.
The title track opener sets their musical stall out nicely, pelting metal riffs backed by a pounding rhythm section and one of the many top notch solos from Jeff Summers. Touch of a Sabbath riff here and there and guest vocalist Clare Cunningham (ex-Thundermother) adds a further bit of class to the proceedings.
Weapon UK mix it up though as ‘Queen Of The Ride’ has a cheeky blues riff, bit like prime time Gillan. They even manage to get in a stirring ballad ‘Redman’, a chance for Danny Hynes to shine. His vocals remind me of Alice Cooper at times particularly on ‘All I Need’, not a bad comparison I am sure! Nice bit of guitar picking before it leads into a fully-fledged solo.
If you want a good old headbanger look no further than ‘Sea Of Hope’ or ‘Hell On Earth’, on each song the guitars and rhythm section fit each other perfectly. Weapon UK pay tribute to the excitement of the NWOBHM era in ’79 Revisited’ and listen out for the Radio 1 Rock Show jingle.
Weapon UK will certainly appeal to fans of classic rock as they have a metal sound, but are good on the melodies and lift themselves from the pub metal sound of many NWOBHM bands (sorry but to these ears many of the bands linked to that era didn’t find success for good reason!).
Two bonus songs, a rip roaring run through ‘Set The Stage Alight’ and Clare Cunningham returns on the Celtic themed ‘G.O.W’ Reprise’.
‘Ghosts Of War’ is a perfect album for those after a dose of classy metal/hard rock that has the NWoBHM vibe but adds a modern sheen. ****
Review by Jason Ritchie
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Power Plays w/c 15 April 2024
ENMY The Ledge (FiXT)
KAROBELA Get Hard (indie)
KATH & THE KICKS Neptune (indie)
THE BEE TELLERS River Poem (Black Sand Records)
LAUREN FREEBIRD Like A Bomb (indie)
Featured Albums w/c 15 April 2024
09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023
14:00-16:00 KATARINA PEJAK – Pearls On A String (Ruf Records)
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