Between 1983 and 1987, Kick Axe released 3 albums on CBS/Sony and they have become a rare collectors item around the world. Last year the Canadians re-united and released a new album called IV. Back in 2000 Rewind Records released their debut album Vices that went gold back in 1984 and was a rare item by many but I thought that album was nothing to get excited over. So now in 2005 the MTM Classix serie has re-issued Rock The World completely re-mastered, it features a new cover design and an unreleased bonus track called Piece Of The Rock.
I did not think that Vices was that good and I have to say that Rock The World is far from being a classic record for me. Sure this is better than the debut and there are a couple of real nice Canadian hardrock tunes. I'm sure that fans of their albums will enjoy this one as much as they have done with before. Their trademark is crunchy guitars and elaborate vocal harmonies with a big drum sound and they have succeeded on having that on every record. They don't have enough strong songs to catch my attention.
Sure, The Chain is a brilliant AOR song in the best Canadian style and offers great deal of catchy hooklines mixed with a strong chorus, too bad that they did not come up with more of this stuff. We Still Remember is a nice track that reminds a lot of Zebra with strong background vocals. The bonus track Piece Of The Rock is a great 80s hardrock song with lovely harmony vocals and powerful background vocals.
This is a nice 80s hardrock album without shining out and definitely not a classic but I think we must thank MTM to give the die hard fans a true chance to get hold of this album without spending way too many USD on the Ebay for a copy of Rock The World. So don't miss this chance if you miss this record in your collection.