1967/ 1976
If you love Europe you love Pretty Maids! And sure this "Red, Hot and Heavy", a fundamental album for Rock in 80's, not only in Heavy Metal field. "Red Hot and Heavy" is an album fresh, innovative and... by a Danish band! Yes, Pretty Maids are Danish and this fact in 1984 meant he finally opened the doors to the Continental Heavy Metal!
Certainly this album started with one of the more important intros of Heavy metal story, a keyboard version of the first verse of "Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi" from "Carmina Burana" by Carl Orff that is a double track with "Back To Back". Where "Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi" is pure symphonic frenzy, "Back To Back" is a truly extraordinary Proto Power Metal: melodic, aggressive, technical and full of feeling. "red, Hot and Heavy" looks like something out of a Rainbow album JL Turner. Only the heavier guitars make a real difference. "Waitin' For The Time" is a pure AOR song with great Power Metal Refrain, POP verse and Hard Rock solo. "Cold Killer" start with a radiophonic voice but this song is an incredible example of Proto Power Metal with great NWoBHM, Judas Priest and Scorpions connections. Incredible is that this song is a perfect mix between Hard Rock, AOR and Heavy Metal. Puts chills the solo, as the refrain. "Battle Of Pride" is a typical 80's Proto Power Metal song with mix of Accept, Rainbow,, Thin Lizzy, Scorpions, Judas Priest and AOR. In my vision this is one of the most crystalline examples of Teutonic Heavy Metal, only that Pretty Maids are Danish(!). Incredibly Speedy Thrash Metal (but only aggressive) is "Night Danger", a pure Power Metal song. "A Place In The Night" is a song copied by billions of AOR Metal bands (sounds so Bon Jovi... Better to say that Bon Jovi have copied, unwittingly, hands down). "Queen Of Dreams" anticipates certain things more Hard Rock of too much Teutonic and continental Power Metal bands but remain a great homage to JL Turner Rainbow, for me as an incredible homage to Thin Lizzy, honored with "Little Darling" that close "Red, Hot and Heavy" with a version that have less magic only because Ronnie Hatkins isn't Phil Lynott!!!
So, "Red, Hot and Heavy" is a fundamental album for the story of Heavy Metal and your discography. Not a masterpiece but a great debut album.