PRESS GUIDE

[published]: 1984, June
[in]: Music Express, Vol. 8, No. 80, p. 61
[article]: 'Vices' album review
[by]: Keith Sharp

Team Pasha's Spencer Proffer with hard-rockin' Winnipeg-based Kick Axe and what do you get... Quiet Riot Mark II? Well not quite. Proffer did produce Quiet Riot's Billboard topping Metal Health album and Kick Axe are from the same school of decibel brain damage. Yet there's enough intrinsic differences here to make Kick Axe interesting in their own right.

In George Criston they have the obligatory power-throated lead vocalist and the dual guitar threat of Ray Harvey and Larry Gillstrom adds plenty of instrumental fuel into the fire. What's important is that at least a couple of the album's tracks emerge as more than heavy-metal mayhem. The anthemic, singalong qualities of the title track would do credit to Slade, while Heavy Metal Shuffle, Alive & Kickin' and Cause for Alarm are strong FM tracks that suggest Kick Axe could be a strong live item.

While not yet in the same league as The Scorpions, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest or Def Leppard, Kick Axe, with a little maturity, could well be a prime contender in the metal stakes.
Rating: Fair