DRAGONSLAYER — I Want Your Life (review)

DRAGONSLAYER — I Want Your Life album cover EP · 1983 · NWoBHM Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
Certif1ed
Filler and Killer from the original Slayer.

Well, the original UK Slayer, that is. The band discovered that there were no less than 2 bands in the US who shared their name, and decided that Dragonslayer would suit better - and avoid suits.

This EP is an interesting one, with similarities to Nazareth, Black Sabbath, Angelwitch, Saxon, Priest, and a whole load of other stuff besides. It's a bit like the direction some of us wanted Priest to go in during the 1980s, but they didn't.

What really lets the title track of the EP down is the drumming, which is boring and plain. The riffing is great, the vocals are just right, the melody is cool, the lyrics kill, the arrangement is well thought out and interesting, and the guitar solo is razor sharp, but the drums suck. While plain can be good, a la AC/DC, here, it's detrimental.

The next track, Satan Is Free, is a NWoBHM killer classic - a real gem. The boom-pish drums are just right - we don't care that they're boring in this piece, as the guitars and vocals fly over the top - and that twin lead line sends shivers up and down the spine when it kicks in. Superb power metal verging on thrash.

The EP closes with Broken Hearts, a song that starts off like a ballad - with keyboards!!! The haunting effect is similar to that heard on Twelfth Night's subliminal Fact and Fiction LP mashed up with something from one of Priest's early outings. It's comparable favourably to, and much better than Bleak House's epic "Rainbow Warrior". I don't even notice the crap drumming very often.

In summary, the title track is kinda catchy, but ultimately forgettable filler - dropping the coveted masterpiece star from the EP as an entity - while the remaining two are at completely contrasting ends of the NWoBHM spectrum - and mainly awe-inspiring killer.
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