1985 Metal Blade
I dunno…I’ve read some scathing reviews of this album, but I’ll never understand it. Lizzy Borden is one of those bands I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for; because while their back catalogue is loaded with good but uneven albums, to me ‘Love You To Pieces’ stands as a classic of mid-80’s metal.
With a stage show that was VERY influenced by Alice Cooper, Lizzy Borden gained some notoriety for their shock-rock image in the late 80’s but never quite made it into the big leagues. No fault of the music here, as ‘Love You To Pieces’ kicks off with an intense, almost speed-metal riff and Lizzy’s incomparable soaring vocals on “Council For the Cauldron.” The guy really is a great singer, and the most overlooked and underrated of the 80’s lot in my opinion.
“Save Me” was a song that, with better exposure, should have been a hit for them. Really, the only duff tracks on here are “Red Rum” and “American Metal,” the latter of which was actually a favorite of some of my friends back in the day. I always thought it to be a bit campy for my liking. Oh, well. The rest of the tracks positively kick with melody and power.
If you’re not a metalhead already, this disc probably won’t convert you. It’s a squarely metallic album that will have you laughing if you’re not on board. For me, I’m on board and I ain’t moving.
The most fond memory I have of this album is listening to it for the first time and being blown away by the production values. By today’s standards, they’re a tad dated, as today most independent releases have pro-sounding production. Back in 1985, though, indie releases were a crap shoot and there certainly was a lot of crap. I felt screwed more than once by dropping my cash on independent releases, as many of them had abysmal and almost unlistenable production…especially on the band’s label Metal Blade (Pandemonium’s 1983 release ‘Heavy Metal Soldiers is an example of this). ‘Love You To Pieces’ stood out through solid production, solid songs and conviction. Can’t fault any band for that.
Rating: 4 out of 5
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