Nightfly
After the excellent Nasty Nasty Black ‘N Blue were on a roll, returning two years later in 1988 with the almost as good In Heat.
On In Heat they went for an overall smoother sound with a more commercial edge though without taking it as far as the more pop inflected Without Love which it has to be said was a step too far. There’s still plenty of great metal riffs though, most of the tracks taking a mid pace tempo but best of all is the more frantic Great Guns Of Fire which comes across with a riff like High N Dry era Def Leppard, a song that may just be their finest moment ever with a killer riff and hook and a guitar solo to match.
There’s the occasional weaker moment like the more pop orientated Suspicious making the album as a whole less consistent than Nasty Nasty but when it’s at its best In Heat can almost stand head and shoulders with that great album.