Budgie - Deliver Us From Evil
(Griffin, 1982)

Throughout the seventies, the welsh hard rock and metal outfit Budgie both pleased and baffled the rock critics, and perhaps due to this eclecticism, something atypical of group in such a genre in the seventies, they never made it into the mainstream conciousness. The record-buying public unfortunately missed out on this talented three-piece band, the missing link between the sludge of Black Sabbath, the mathematics of Rush, and the crunch of Deep Purple.

Deliver Us From Evil, their final studio album, is an interesting and skillful batch of classic european metal styles and suprisingly tasteful electronics that mesh well with John Thomas's heroic axesmanship. Bored With Russia sounds like a hit song, and while sounding slightly commercial, the spirited delivery recalls a heavier Foreigner at its very best. Don't Cry and Give Me The Truth are punchy metal jackhammers, the former reminds one of a speedy Rainbow rocker, and the latter is simply a swaggering seventies beating of Aerosmith proportions. The more modern side of this release creeps up on songs like Truth Drug, a pummeling guitar romp reinforced with Duncan McKay's piercing keyboard work and Burke Shelly's emotive (yet heavily british and wholly incomprehensible) vocals. Hold On To Love is a classic british metal rocker, like the best of Iron Maiden or Krokus, totally lacking in electronics and kicking sweet gluteus on sweat and organics alone. Flowers In The Attic is a beautiful and powerful progressive ballad with the token heroic and cascading guitar interlude dropped like a bomb midway through. N.O.R.A.D. (Doomsday City), the other progressive feast on the record, bashes around odd lyrics and smashing guitar and keyboard passages, all wrapped within a strange time signature.

Basically, pretty much every thing on Deliver Us From Evil has unusually heavy guitar for 1982 and oxymoronically kickin' synthesizer work, and furthermore, unlike many metal acts of the era, the quality of the song comes first. The only faltering tracks on here might be the Berlin-esque ballad Alison (still somewhat decent, it grows on you) and the short and cheesy throwaway Young Girl (please leave my playlist). Despite these two oddities, the record still stands the test of time, showing a turning point in metal, a gateway featuring guitars turned up one notch higher, drums made to sound like a kung fu beating, bass guitar built for war, and vocals communicating with bats. It's unfortunate they weren't more popular, cashing in alongside the big hard rock and metal bands of the time, because Budgie could easily compete (and moreso). Truly a hidden gem in that chasm of mainstream rock absurdity.

Rating: 4/5