Customer Reviews

The Power of Rock and Roll

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I saw Helix live in '85 with Accept and Keel. While I never forgot how LOUD they were, I was never tempted to check out their catalog until recently. In the past few weeks I bought two Helix albums: 1984's Walkin' the Razor's Edge and 2007's "The Power of Rock and Roll". If you know and like the former, you'll probably like the latter.

The two albums are similar in style. They both have a hard edged, guitar driven sound (no keyboards in sight), but "Power" is even more of a heavy metal album. The thundering bass really stands out on several tracks; several songs are even more energetic, and best of all - no ballads!

Helix manages to put a good variety of material on "The Power of Rock and Roll", while still keeping things firmly in the hard rock/heavy metal genre. "Eat My Dust" sounds like a speed metal version of the Kinks' "You Really Got Me". This is nicely contrasted by the following track, the slower, bluesy "Baby Likes to Ride".

The album has a stripped down, almost live feel, most strongly on the title track "The Power of Rock and Roll", where Brian Vollmer asks "the audience" to clap their hands and stamp their feet. That no frills approach works in the band's favor. These tracks don't sound '80s, they sound timeless. To prove the point, the album closes with a new recording of Helix's 1983 hit "Heavy Metal Love".

In conclusion, the title of Track 4 says it all.

I have been a fan of Helix since Walking the razors edge. To be honest, I was very skeptical when I heard of this album. I have not enjoyed anything (ie. It's a business doing pleasure) since the outstanding, Back For Another Taste.
However, after reading positive reviews on amazon, I gave it a shot.
The album has all that makes helix fun, Good rock, no keyboards, guitars, and Brian Vollmer's voice.
Great album, try it.