Description

Original German press with printed innersleeve

Originally released in 1986, Don’t Touch the Light is the debut album by the long-running German melodic hard rock band Bonfire. The band already had a pair of albums under its belt under the name Cacumen, so Bonfire’s debut sounded like anything but a rookie effort. Bonfire, along with Fair Warning in the 90’s, was instrumental in creating the German melodic rock style that is so recognizable today. They toned down some of the more metallic elements from the Cacumen days and crafted a sound that was 2/3 Bon Jovi and 1/3 Scorpions. The result is a type of rock that is highly melodic yet still rocks pretty hard. With just 8 songs (9 if you count the instrumental introductory track) at 37 minutes, Don’t Touch the Light is a relatively brief introduction to the band. Still, you get a pretty good idea of what Bonfire’s sound is all about, with plenty of hard rocking tracks like “Starin’ Eyes”, “Longing for You” and the title track, as well as the occasional ballad (“You Make Me Feel”). Don’t Touch the Light is an important album in AOR/melodic rock, but it is also an album that most 80’s rock fans should check out. They don’t make `em like this anymore!

Track listing:
1. Intro
2. Starin Eyes
3. Hot To Rock
4. You Make Me Feel
5. Longing For You
6. Don’t Touch The Light
7. SDI
8. No More
9. L.A.