AGENT STEEL — Skeptics Apocalypse (review)

AGENT STEEL — Skeptics Apocalypse album cover

Album · 1985 · Speed Metal

4/5 · 2021-07-15
Time Signature

CoVinyl Part 3

I was lucky enough to find a reasonably priced 1985 Roadrunner pressing of this album in fairly good condition so I figured I might as well grab it.

And I'm glad I did, because - despite all the UFO and conspiracy theory cheese associated with Agent Steel - this is actually a very good speed metal release which offers a mix of high tempo speed metal bangers and mid-tempo traditional metal tunes. After a theatrical spoken intro in the form of 'The Calling', 'Agents of Steel' kicks in. This track was a bit of a hit back in the day, and it's easy to hear why. It's short, simple, aggressive and catchy. It's probably the most conventional track on the album which progresses from more traditionally structured tracks towards more innovative ones with a track like 'Children of the Sun' having an almost Mercyful Fate quality to it and 'Back to Reign' blending Maiden-style metal with a more aggressive approach.

The production is fairly typical of a mid 80s release, which means that you will have to live with the reverb that people overused back then. Fortunately, some restraint has been shown, so the reverb - while there - is not really too bad. Overall, the album actually has a quite rich production. The wongwriting is not quite consistent with some tracks being simplistic and others being more complex, but that just makes for some welcome variation overall. John Cyriis' vocals fall somewhere between a young Geoff Tate and King Diamond; some listeners might find his style too cheesy, but I quite like it. The listener is treated to some pretty good dual guitar lead sections as well as blistering fast thrash metal style guitar solos, and there are actually a lot of pretty cool riffs on this album too, in particular in the midtempo tracks.

I quite like the cover artwork which, with its picture of part of Earth's surface seen from space, combines simplicity with a sense of almost Lovecraftian dread. You know, what could be out there watching... waiting... that sort of stuff. It's not the kind of artwork that you can spend hours looking at of course (unlike, say, "Somewhere in Time" or "Powerslave"), but it fits the lyrical themes of the album pretty well. Also, I mean, the Agent Steel logo is fucking awesome in all its 80s glory, and placing the album title smack in the middle is a bold move as well.

Overall, this is a great speed metal release which should appeal to fans of not only speed metal but also traditional heavy metal and thrash metal as well as early power metal. Younger fans of contemporary retro speed metal should definitely go back and check this one out to. If you find a copy - be it an original one or one of the rereleases (or even a digital copy) - do yourself a favor and grab it.

more than 2 years ago
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Time Signature wrote:

more than 2 years ago

"Unstoppable Force" is great too for sure!

UMUR wrote:

more than 2 years ago

It certainly is :-)

Time Signature wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Well, that's a double bonus then :)

UMUR wrote:

more than 2 years ago

The tracks from this release are available on reissues of the band´s second studio album "Unstoppable Force (1987)", which btw is an amazing release too.