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ARMED FORCES
Let There Be Metal

Metallic Flame (1984)
Rating: 9/10

This mini-album is the first vinyl release from this New York band and an excellent debut it is too. Armed Forces play the sort of metal that grabs you by the throat submitting the listener to a barrage of intense mayhem, guaranteed to sort out the true metal maniacs from the wimps.

The title track, ‘Let There Be Metal’, could well become a metal anthem, centred around a menacing heavy riff that builds up to a titanic frenzy, reminiscent of Rush’s ‘Grand Finale’ from 2112.

‘The Intruder’ is undoubtedly the heavy metal track of ’84, beginning with a haunting keyboard intro (‘Into The Darkness’) before quite literally exploding into the ultimate power metal frenzy of all time, with vocalist Screamin’ Scott Broffa’s incredible high pitch vocals making the likes of Rob Halford and King Diamond sound like Lemmy!

In comparison, ‘Teaze Me’ could almost be a different band sounding like a heavy metal version of the US mid-70s combo The Raspberries. This is excellent commercial metal, which shows that Armed Forces are determined not to be labelled another thrash band by producing high quality metal whether it be of the hardcore or more widely acceptable variety.

The other track on this excellent platter is ‘The Nightrider’, a powerful rocker slightly spoilt by the rather pathetic backing vocal harmonies during the chorus. Still, a minor criticism when you’ve just discovered one of the most exciting metal bands of the 80s.

Bernard Doe

Review taken from Metal Forces, Issue 4 (1984)

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