Kick Axe - Welcome To The Club - CD

The mid-' 80s was an extremely healthy time for hard rock and heavy metal. It was also a prime era for Canadian acts, which seemed to be appearing at an alarming rate and all with one thing in common; they were consistently accomplished and uniquely skilful. Several of them were going global, such as Rush, Triumph and April Wine, but it was at a grass roots level that the real impact was being felt, with Kick Axe being at the sharp end of this new wave of maple leaf metal. Following on the heels of their debut album, Kick Axe got right back in the saddle with a well-crafted follow up; Welcome To The Club, produced, once again, by Spencer Proffer (Quiet Riot, King Kobra, W.A.S.P.) and his, for this record, assistant Randy Bishop.

It was a far more mature recording, exuding a new level of sophistication by bringing in to play the sort of sound being pioneered by artists such as Queensryche and Dio. They didn't, however, take their eyes off the prize, keeping brute force to the fore and all hands on the steering wheel. Issued in 1985, the record received, quite rightly, solid critical praise as it contains a brace of killer tracks, including 'Feel The Power', 'Hellraisers', 'Make Your Move' and a surprising cover version of the Beatles' 'With A Little Help from My Friends' that features several prominent Canadian musicians, including members of Triumph, Coney Hatch, Toronto, Sheriff, and Lee Aaron.