Customer Reviews

Slave to the Thrill (Mlps)

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

 

 

Slave to the Thrill is the third release (but only the second full-length album) from L.A. melodic rockers Hurricane, which featured vocal powerhouse Kelly Hansen (who would later go on to front Foreigner). Hurricane's style was somewhere between Warrant and House of Lords. It was hard hitting, but very slick and melodic.

With 1990's Slave to the Thrill, Hurricane picks up right where 1988's Over the Edge left off. In fact, overall it may be a better album than its predecessor. The songs are well-written, there are plenty of great guitar hooks, and Hansen's performance is solid as always. There isn't a strong "I'm On To You" kind of single on this album, but there aren't any filler tracks either (unless you count that 1-minute instrumental intro to "In the Fire". As strong as those early Hurricane albums are, the band just seemed way more comfortable with their sound on this album.

Overall, this is a very good album, and one that most hair metal/melodic rock fans will want to hear, especially now that it has been reissued. Not only is this previously impossible to find CD back in print, but it features crystal clear digitally remastered sound. If you already have Slave to the Thrill on CD and are wondering whether this reissue is worthwhile, believe me when I say that the remastering is nothing short of incredible.

NOTE: The CD comes housed in a mini-LP style package. It's essentially a slightly oversized cardboard sleeve with the disc enclosed in an interior envelope with brief liner notes. I'm not a huge fan of this kind of packaging (it doesn't do a great job protecting the CD), but I have to admit that it is ideal for showcasing the album cover artwork, and as you can see Hurricane's album covers are worthy of the extra attention!

I happened to find this cd at a mall,as it was the last 1 left. I had heard their "Take what you want" and "Over the Edge" releases,but was not prepared for the coming storm. "Reign of Love" starts off the cd perfectly,which is followed by "Next to You",another very good tune. Kelly Hansen is very underrated as a vocalist(he is now fronting Foreigner),and the rest of the band plays solid throughout this release. I'm not sure what the explicit lyrics are,although there are quite a few sexual overtones throughout,but it is no worse than any Poison release.The original cd had a naked woman on the machine,but she has since been removed. Favorite tracks include: Reign of Love,Next to you,Lock me up,Let it Slide,and Young Man. Check this one out!

"Slave to the thrill" is the third studio album by American melodic hard rock/glam metal band "Hurricane" originally released in 1990. Three years past "Eye of the storm", "Hurricane" re-emerge under a new line up, featuring new entry, guitar hero Doug Aldrich (fresh from the break up of "Lion") along side founding members bassist Robert Sarzo, drummer Jay Schellen and lead singer Kelly Hansen.

Once again Hansen leads "Hurricane" though another set of adrenaline-filled, riff based glam metal. Doug Aldrich manages to uncover a great deal of his heavy blues based guitar style for the biggest part of "Slave to the Thrill". The album includes such groovy rock'n'roll highlights as "In the Fire", "Young man" and "Lock me up"; never forgetting "Temptation", clearly the exception to the rule, a substantial melodic rocker with a chorus that seems to come out of their debut album.

Still one can not fail to notice that the overblown hard rock attack has been compromised in favor of a more rhythmic-therefore radio friendly- style. Though the rhythm section remains up-beat on most songs, there is little evidence of the double bass attack and big toms which were a big part of the sound of the previous two albums. Fans that have followed the respective careers of Kelly Hansen and Doug Aldrich being also familiar with their musical orientation will probably make the most of "Hurricane"s third studio offering.

As several other reviewers have noted, Hurricane is a band that is often forgotten in any discussions of 80's hair metal bands. On one hand, that's a real shame because this band was blessed with 2 musicians among the best at what they do, Drummer Jay Schellen and Singer Kelly Hansen. Both have never wanted for work since Hurricane's demise, Schellen with several different pojects, most notably John Payne's version of Asia, (Check out Schellen in the new band Firewolfe, or the 90's band Sircle of Silence. BRILLIANT!) while Hansen is currently the Singer for Foreigner, and does a masterful job filling Lou Gramm's sizeable shoes. On the other hand however, Hurricane is often dismissed simply because there was never anything about thier songs that set them apart from the rest of the hair metal pack. This album is the most glaring example of that. Just like thier debut EP "Take what you want", and thier first album "Over the edge", this album has a few good to great songs, but the rest is cliche filled non-memorable filler. One reason this band was noticed in thier heyday was the presence of guitarist Robert Sarzo and bassist Tony Cavazo, brothers of Quiet Riot bassist Rudy Sarzo and guitarist Carlos Cavazo. Hurricane's Cavazo and Sarzo brought little to the band except serve as sidemen to the band's real talent, Hansen and Schellen. This is thier second best album because of the addition of guitarist Doug Aldrich, who brings a real spark to the songs with an edge Cavazo never had. (Hurricane's best album is the little heard 'Liquifury' which featured Hansen and Schellen with sidemen, but as the sole writers and producers.) The good songs here, "Next to you", "Reign of love" are because of Aldrich's great guitar work adding to the brilliance of Schellen and Hansen creating songs that are memorable and melodic yet heavy. It's the 2 great songs here that salvage the entire album. "Don't wanna dream" is the quintessential 80's power ballad, with soaring, emotional vocals by the always magnificent Hansen, a truly memorable sing-along chorus, passionate guitar flourishes by Aldrich, and understated, but very powerful drums by Schellen. The lyrics are also outstanding, and will be very moving for anyone who has ever gone through a rough breakup. "Temptation" is the album's other great song, a fierce rocker wih great vocals as usual, wonderful softer verses that explode into another great chorus that will stick in your head for months. The album, for me was worth the purchase just for those 2 songs, but 2 classic songs and 2 good ones don't make an album. The rest of it is by the numbers generic melodic metal that does nothing to set it apart. Only the brilliance of Hansen and Schellen, with help from Aldrich who really was a great addition to the band, and is currently in the present lineup of Whitesnake, add any sort of life to listless, average songs. There are a lot of outside writers credited on this album, as on the previous Hurricane releases, and I wonder why, given the excellence of the songs on 'Liquifury' all written by Schellen and Hansen. In the end, this is an enjoyable, if inconsistant, album with 2 really brilliant songs, 2 other solid ones, and performed by great musicians, so for that I have to recommend it, but there's just not enough on here to really give it more than 3 stars. This band really needs a best of package, all the great songs minus the abundance of filler. THAT would be a 5 star collection. Since that doesn't exist, get 'Slave to the thrill' and 'Liquifury', then find the songs 'Over the edge', 'I'm onto you', and 'Spark in my heart' from thier 'Over the edge' album, and 'Take me in your arms' and the CLASSIC, haunting ballad 'It's only Heaven' from the EP and that's the essential Hurricane collection. Happy Listening! (BTW, there really is a significant sound difference between the remastered versions and the original releases, so make sure you pick those up rather than the original versions.)

I am so happy to have this on cd- I have the tape from back in the day. Kelly Hansen sounds amazing as always. If you like your 80s rock music you will love this cd.

I saw these guys open for Stryper (yes THAT Stryper) at the Centrum in Worcester, MA on the Over The Edge tour. Talk about a weird package...anyway, then comes this album. Production was far and above the muddy aforementioned record, and featured the brilliant Doug Aldrich on guitar. Who? Well, he recently shredded his way through the latest Whitesnake record, as well as a few solo records. Sadly, he couldn't save Hurricane from falling through the cracks of the new decade, but this album still stands head and shoulders above some of the more popular releases of their late 80's counterparts.

There really is nor there should be anything more to say than Kelly Hansen. What a fantastic voice and if you are a fan of 80's metal than this is a CD for you!

hurricane rocks!great c.d.and even better remastered in limited edition form!buy this c.d.and all of hurricane's c.d.'s!also great in concert!

TODAY I FOUND THIS LIMITED NOW OUT OF PRINT GEM AT MY LOCAL RETRO MUSIC STORE, AND BEING A COLLECTOR AS USUAL I GRABBED IT UP. ILL BE PUTTING MINE IN A PLASTIC PROTECTIVE CD CASE. FIRST OFF LET ME SAY YES GREAT COVER NO ARGUING THERE. SECONDLY YOU HAVE DOUG ALDRICH ON GUITAR AND THATS A GOOD THING ALONG WITH KELLY HANSON ON VOCALS ANOTHER GOOD THING.
THIS CD IS NOT A KICK BUTT ROCKER IF THATS WHAT YOUR LOOKING FOR BUT IT IS A GREAT CD. ALL THE SONGS ARE GOOD ONES ALONG WITH THE MELODIC MUSIC THAT IS FULL OF GREAT GUITAR WORK AND VOCALS. YOU CAN PUT IT ON AND LET IT SAIL. ITS DEFINETLY A GREAT CD FOR ITS DAY AND THE SOUND IS REMARKABLE ALSO. THE BEST THING IS THAT LIKE A LOT OF OTHER GREAT CDS FROM THE TIME IT IS VERY LIMITED AND GETTING HARDER TO FIND. IF YOUR A COLLECTOR OR JUST A LOVER OF ROCK FROM THAT ERA YOU WILL WANT THIS ONE. DONT LET IT GET AWAY ! IF I HAD TO CLASSIFY HURRICANE I WOULD HAVE TO SAY " LYNCH MOB ", JUST DONT EXPECT GEORGE TO BE THERE. IM GLAD I FOUND IT AND I HOPE THAT YOU GET YOURS SOON. YOU'LL BE GLAD YOU DID, SOMETIMES YOU JUST NEED TO GIVE YOUR NECK A REST FROM ALL THAT HEAD BANGING BUT YOU CAN STILL DO THE AIR GUITAR AND SING YOUR BUTT OFF !!!

The first three songs absolutely RAWK!!! After that, very mediocre, easily forgettable. And oh boy, another 80's Hair band doing a song called "Temptation". Was there a law passed that hair bands had to do a crappy ballad called "Temptation" or "Forever"? Band is a novelty because 2 guitar player were younger brothers of guitar players in Quiet Riot, and the singer is currently singing for what is passing itself of as Foreigner nowadays. Original artwork did not have the girl, only the empty chair.