These sorcerous war weapons of the Young Kingdoms owe a lot to Thin Lizzy – so much so that Lizzy themselves poached second guitarist John Sykes one album cycle later! On the poppier side of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, they still had fangs, as proven by the drive-by tommy gunning of “Gangland” and the sleaze-blues of “Hellbound.” They found the perfect middle ground between their raw earlier work and slickly commercial follow-ups here.

– Jeff Treppel