I thought I was up on all the Japanese rock and metal bands, so when I saw this in a bargain bin and it was on Metal Blade I thought, why not? Dead End were formed in ’84 and this is their second album, released in the US in ’87.
Musically, it’s really on the money. Killer riffs and grooves, and I really like the guitar sound on You. The thing that really bugs me is I can’t understand a word that is being sung. I’m not sure if they are singing in Japanese or not. There is no lyric sheet, so I’m not sure. But, all the song titles are in English. Anyway, vocals are usually the last thing I hook onto so it’s no biggie.
The songs that really grab me are The Damned Thing which has a great groove and some killer guitar. Phantom Nation has an epic riff and guitar tone, it is my favourite. The intro to Godsend is epic and very eighties, it reminds me a bit of Killing Joke. The middle section of The Red Moon Calls Insanity is really cool and again, killer guitar tone and some of the lyrics are in English. The close out track Song Of A Lunatic starts like some 80’s goth band and is so out of place compared to the rest of the album, but the guitar playing is awesome. Well, it was worth the $3 I paid for sure.
7.5/10 from The Grooveman.
