I remember buying the single Name Rank And Serial Number on Neat Records after I heard it on the radio, so when the album came out I bought it straight away. After playing the album I was a bit disappointed as the production/mix were not that great – the whole album sounds really flat. The drum sound is pretty bad as it sounds as though the drummer is playing cardboard boxes. Now I know they were a great Live band as I saw them supporting UFO – they seemed to have a great energy and I liked their songs, plus Dave Irwin was a really tasty guitar player.
The songs that shine through (despite the bad mix) are You’ll Never Get Me Up In One Of Those, which is the best song the band did with double kicks all the way and a killer hook and melody. One Percenter, which is a tribute to biker gangs and is so NWOBHM, and the song that got me into them, Name Rank And Serial Number. There were so many bands from this period that never made it out of the bottom division, and Fist are one of those. MCA weren’t the best of labels when it came to NWOBHM bands as they ruined a few (Tygers, Diamond Head etc.).
7/10 from The Grooveman.
