BLITZKRIEG - Theatre Of The Damned

12 songs
55:13 minutes
***** ***
Armageddon

Bandpage

Blitzkrieg, who were founded in 1980, can be counted among the pioneers of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal movement. The band released two classics, namely their self titled single in 1981 and A Time Of Changes in 1985. There were further releases, but Absolute Power (2002) was the only one getting more attention. Maybe that situation will change with their new label.

I’m not too familiar with Blitzkrieg’s past, but the songs on Theatre Of The Damned are sounding the way I expected from an early heavy metal band. The production isn’t too fat which gives the album an authentic early Eighties feeling. The co-producer of this record is Saxon’s Biff Byford. The vocals by Brian Ross, who was also one of the first Satan singers, is very charismatic and harmonizes perfectly with the music. If you are fond of old school heavy metal, expect a lot of powerful mid-tempo metal tunes with fascinating guitar riffs, overwhelming double bass attacks, some real shrieks and everything else that you need for classic metal. Even if I have to make a comparison to an American band, Blitzkrieg’s songs often make me think of Omen.

The album contains some better tracks like the dynamic The Phantom, My Life Is My Own and the calmer but epic Into The Light, but also a blackout, Night Stalker, that suffers from a lack of speed. Other highlights are the melodic Together We Are Strong, the traditional metal hymn Tortured Souls and of course the two bonus classics Blitzkrieg (which was covered by Metallica in 1984) and Armageddon.

You notice that Blitzkrieg have become older in the last two decades, which is a normal evolution. Nevertheless they are showing the right attitude towards heavy metal and are still sounding fresher than many newcomers I have to listen to. If you prefer the classic metal to the trendier music streams, Theatre Of The Damned is the right album for you.