BLOODY CLIMAX — Back To The Wall (review)

BLOODY CLIMAX — Back To The Wall album cover Album · 1985 · Heavy Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
Time Signature
Out of the darkness...

Genre: traditional heavy metal

Karthago Records are on a mission from the metal god - namely, to bring into the light by now obscure "one hit wonders of heavy metal history" in the form of their Heavy Metal Classics Collection. The German act Bloody Climax's one and only album, "Back to the Wall", is the first installment in the series.

And this is really good stuff. It definitely deserves to be brought forth to the masses. Drawing on the New Wave of Heavy Metal, Bloody Climax combine the drive and energy of the largely underground NWoBHM scene with the strong riffage of the likes of Judas Priest (the title track features a Priest-inspired riff). A melodic feel with roots in melodic hard rock and AOR has also made its way onto the album, making sure that the songs are both catchy and hardrocking. Tracks like 'Edge of the Daring' and 'Turn to Ice' are extremely well wrought and deserve status as metal classics, while the instrumental 'Bloody Climax' is rich in wonderful twin guitar noodling. 'Cinderella' is perhaps the weakest track on the album. It s a ballad, but it is actually the heavier parts that do not appeal to me, while the ballady parts are pretty interesting. Not all tracks on the album are equally strong, but the level of quality is generally high.

And the high quality also characterizes the seven bonus tracks on the Kathargo version.

The level of musicianship is impeccable, and I particularly like the blazing guitar solos and the old school metal riffage. The vocal melodies are also enjoyable. The production is a bit uneven, but that probably owes to the state of the recording that the reissue is based on.

Fans of 80s metal MUST get hold of this album!
Share this review

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

The Goblin Sessions Heavy Metal
THEM
Buy this album from MMA partners
Tormenta De Arena Metalcore
VORAGO
Buy this album from MMA partners
Infinite Metalcore
FUTURE GHOST
Buy this album from MMA partners
Heretic Melodic Death Metal
SUNCINDER
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

Harrowed TwentyTenVideo
HARROWED
Bosh66· 3 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us