Description

Reduced price due to a 3 cm seam split on upper spine

Rare original pressing with printed innersleeve

Krank was a US power metal act from Philadelphia that started back in 1982. Most people know them for their appearance on the ‘Best Of Metal Blade 2’ compilation album released in 1987 (the same year the band split up). On the Metal Blade compilation they competed with bands like Omen, Lizzy Borden, Fates Warning, Slayer, Hallows Eve, Sodom, Destruction, Hirax, Flotsam And Jetsam, Cirith Ungol and many other high class acts. When the Krank track, ‘Rented Heat’, shows up at the end then most people probably thought the lyrics were almost laughable. For those who liked the track and went out and tracked down their only album ‘Hideous’, released by Metal Blade in 1986, they were into more of the same, that means bold power chord crunch, sleazy horror outfits and Frank Tysons compelling vocals. Image was a pretty important component of this band’s approach, and one glance at the cover art will reveal tight animal pants and hair that probably opened holes in the sky. As a result, like so many other bands that flirted along the edge of the glam realm, the music does feel like it often suffers, taking a back seat to the attitude. There are a few standout tracks that deliver both catchy, balls out front riffs and fun lyrics, but the rest feel like so much filler we’ve heard before from a large number of 70s and 80s hard rock outfits. ‘Rented Heat’ is an extremely catchy, nastily paced slow metal riff in the vein of Def Leppard or Twisted Sister, dowsed in a highly charismatic vocal performance, both the lead and backups. I jest not. This song could easily have been at the level of a “Burn in Hell” or Quiet Riot’s “Bang Your Head”, had it reached a similar level of exposure. The solo is great, the cautionary melody that develops around 3:10, as the track is winding to a close beyond the third verse, and the lyrics extremely entertaining, like a Motley Crue, WASP or Skid Row:

Me and the boys were cruisin’ the street
Lookin’ for some action
Six foot blonde that’s not above or beyond
A little transaction
Next stop we got a rent-a-cop
Hangin’ on our tail
It’s the same old line I hear it time after time
It never fails

Son you know you look out of line
And I say yes sir
Son you got something to hide
And I say no sir

Every time they get me
They never want to let me go
Every time I’m out on the street

Rented heat
You get what you pay for
Rented heat
Justice for all
Look out

They hauled my ass into city court
Wouldn’t even say what I’d done
I was supposed to be judged by my peers
I didn’t see one
The lawyer said my client
Was the victim of abuse
That judge looked me in the eye and said
There’s no excuse

Son you know you’ve broken the law
And I say yes sir
I could nail your ass to the wall
And I say no sir

‘Cause everytime they get me
They never want to let me go
Keepin’ white trash off the street

Through the whole album vocalist Frank Tyson is the centrepiece, with enough charisma to place him among the Dee Sniders and Kevin DuBrows of the world, and I can only imagine how cool this guy could come off over a heavier set of riffs. I absolutely recommend that anyone who enjoys fun 80s metal check out the entire album. Don’t mistake me here, Krank were better than about 90% of the glam crap MTV and other major sources were pushing, and far heavier. I would take this band any day over Nelson, Firehouse and Winger. But as a whole, the band simply didn’t not stand head and shoulders above the pack, instead tucked snugly within its folds, and at best this could have been one of those lucky bands that got an occasional opening slot for the L.A. Guns, Warrant or Poison, put on a thoroughly entertaining show, and then sadly forgotten the next week by the big haired interlopers who were more focused on Bret Michaels package and CC Devile’s dwarf-like dancing than the superior opening act.

Track listing:
1. Power
2. Til Hell Freezes Over
3. Evil
4. Nasty Habits
5. Rock The House
6. Rented Heat
7. Head Like A Rock
8. No More Lies
9. Don’t F*** With Me
10. Hideous (Heavy Metal Havoc)