Ranger: Knights of Darkness

As I listened to this album, I was frequently reminded of all those bands I heard in Los Angeles back in the early 80s, the ones that helped establish the edgier sound before hair metal took over. I mean, this is some really old-school stuff, early sounding thrash metal with a screaming lead vocalist. If you think about Running Wild mixed with early Slayer and a little Judas Priest thrown in, you'll get the idea.

As I mentioned above, this album reminds me of my old cassette collection from the early 80s. I would have loved this album back then, especially since I was happy to get my hands on anything that was fast and heavy. Unfortunately, this style of music was regularly pushed aside by the more radio friendly works of Poison, Bon Jovi, and other bands like them.

The problem with listening to a band like this now is that it may be bogged down by too much nostalgia. I don't think that's what this band is going for per se, but metal just has so many genres and sub-genres right now that it seems unlikely that this album will get much traction outside of its powerful nod to the past. Maybe that's a good thing, but I'd like to hear more of this kind of metal because it still has potential to be fresh and exciting. The trouble is, though, that it doesn't seem to be much more than a heavy dose of old-school fun.

Track Listing:
1. Ranger
2. Touch of Death
3. Steel Dawn
4. Supreme Evil
5. Knights of Darkness

Added: August 17th 2013
Reviewer: Carl Sederholm
Score:
Related Link: Band Label Page
Hits: 1981
Language: english

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