Just like NWOBHM, where bands came crawling out of the woodwork as they saw it as an opportunity to gain some recognition, the late eighties saw a raft of melodic rock bands appear in the UK and record labels were signing them with just hearing a couple of tunes. Shogun were one of those bands, and were even signed to Jet records for this album.
The band are okay musically, but the weak link is vocalist Alan Marsh. When you are playing music where the emphasis is on the hook and melodies, vocals needs to be your strongest component. Don’t get me wrong, he is not a terrible singer, it’s just his voice doesn’t fit this style.
A lot of the tunes sound like eighties US tv show music. Listen to You Are What You Are, to hear I mean. I would say my favourite track is the opening track, Cloak And Dagger as it has a decent punch and groove.
5.5/10 from The Grooveman.
