Titanic's album, released originally as an independent in 1995, still has plenty of crunch and kick in 2000. Magdalene Records states that its purpose is to re-release "classics that have gone out-of-print." While I'm not totally convinced that this album is a classic, it's pretty good.
Simon K. Tyler, the lead vocalist, has plenty of growl and snarl to his vocals, for that attitude factor that makes a good hard rock album. The songwriting and guitar playing by Bill Menchen is consistently solid on both counts. The rhythm section of Ray Kilsdonk and Tim Palmatier are solid. In fact, Tim Palmatier's drumming seems to better fit into the overall band dynamic than Robert Sweet's drumming on the three bonus tracks. Somehow, it seems that Sweet is trying to take over the show on those tracks, whereas
Palmatier is more of a team player.
Some of the better tracks are "Freak Show" with its look at how "everybody is weird to somebody," "Ocean of Blood" with its redemptive imagery, and "Gods of War" simply because, well, it rocks. That's the sort of album it is. The band makes no pretensions about trying to be radio-friendly or overtly bland. They aim to rock, and rock hard, and, by and large, succeed.
This is one Maiden Voyage that doesn't get wrecked on the iceberg of the compact disc format!
3.5 tocks
