Reviewed:
- 100 M.P.H. (1980, live album)
- The World's Insane (1981)
- Standouts: Everything.
I'm still in NWOBHM mode (can't be arsed to keep spelling out the whole thing, Google it if you don't know) after taking a look at my Diamond Head CD's, so it reminded me of this album. Vardis don't quite qualify as unsung heroes of the movement; I'd be surprised if any serious fan of the period hasn't heard 100 M.P.H.. However, I doubt most metalheads in general will know of them. This is the only record they made of any real importance, I suppose. But what an album!
Surprisingly, 100 M.P.H. is NOT a studio album. This makes Vardis one of few bands that actually has a live record as their debut - and frankly, I wouldn't have it any other way. This thing is just full of so much crazy energy (the album cover even promises 'Guaranteed No Overdubs'!); they were a trio that fused metal with an up-beat, raw and bluesy rock n' roll sound - kinda like Motorhead but more melodic. In fact, I personally think 100 M.P.H. holds it's own against any Motorhead record... and I'm a huge Motorhead fan. And Steve Zodiac (pseudonym of course), jeez... he's just an awesome frontman. Yeah he doesn't have an amazing voice per say, but he gets things going to point where when you listen to this record you can feel the energy. It's almost as if you can picture the whole performance in your head. The sweaty, alcohol-fueled performance. I'm sorry, but I just don't get vibes like that from live albums these days. More about Zodiac though, he really is an underrated showman. His riffs get you pumped up, and his solos are presumably improvised, and they kick so much ass. Seriously, what an underrated guitarist. The songs are full of those Motorhead-esque, turbocharged heavy blues riffs that actually border on speed metal, and the music is just freaking fun. My favourite track is 'Move Along', which starts off as a boogie rock n' roller, before transitioning into this really lengthy and fucking awesome improv guitar solo, backed by a bass riff that is oh-so catchy!
This album is so fun then, that it's a regular listen for me in the gym, and it's an album I crank LOUD when driving. The album isn't a masterpiece or especially groundbreaking; it's not like the record was doing completely new or radical in metal or hard rock, but it just has a charm for me that most do not, let alone live albums. I stick this on, it almost always puts a smile on my face regardless of my mood, and I never skip any of it. Sure, it only sticks to one solid musical formula and direction throughout the set, but that's the point. This is by far one of the best records to come out of the NWOBHM. I actually owned it on vinyl long before I picked up a CD copy. It was reissued in 2009 by Krescendo Records, but I swear it was still out of print for a few years because I didn't get mine until 2016 (still the 2009 version). Until then the prices were really steep.
Adam's rating: 9.2/10
Surprisingly, 100 M.P.H. is NOT a studio album. This makes Vardis one of few bands that actually has a live record as their debut - and frankly, I wouldn't have it any other way. This thing is just full of so much crazy energy (the album cover even promises 'Guaranteed No Overdubs'!); they were a trio that fused metal with an up-beat, raw and bluesy rock n' roll sound - kinda like Motorhead but more melodic. In fact, I personally think 100 M.P.H. holds it's own against any Motorhead record... and I'm a huge Motorhead fan. And Steve Zodiac (pseudonym of course), jeez... he's just an awesome frontman. Yeah he doesn't have an amazing voice per say, but he gets things going to point where when you listen to this record you can feel the energy. It's almost as if you can picture the whole performance in your head. The sweaty, alcohol-fueled performance. I'm sorry, but I just don't get vibes like that from live albums these days. More about Zodiac though, he really is an underrated showman. His riffs get you pumped up, and his solos are presumably improvised, and they kick so much ass. Seriously, what an underrated guitarist. The songs are full of those Motorhead-esque, turbocharged heavy blues riffs that actually border on speed metal, and the music is just freaking fun. My favourite track is 'Move Along', which starts off as a boogie rock n' roller, before transitioning into this really lengthy and fucking awesome improv guitar solo, backed by a bass riff that is oh-so catchy!
This album is so fun then, that it's a regular listen for me in the gym, and it's an album I crank LOUD when driving. The album isn't a masterpiece or especially groundbreaking; it's not like the record was doing completely new or radical in metal or hard rock, but it just has a charm for me that most do not, let alone live albums. I stick this on, it almost always puts a smile on my face regardless of my mood, and I never skip any of it. Sure, it only sticks to one solid musical formula and direction throughout the set, but that's the point. This is by far one of the best records to come out of the NWOBHM. I actually owned it on vinyl long before I picked up a CD copy. It was reissued in 2009 by Krescendo Records, but I swear it was still out of print for a few years because I didn't get mine until 2016 (still the 2009 version). Until then the prices were really steep.
Adam's rating: 9.2/10
THE WORLD'S INSANE 1981 (Krescendo Records)
- Standouts: 'All You'll Ever Need', 'Curse the Gods', 'Love Is Dead', 'Steamin' Along'
The power-trio's second album is an actual studio effort this time around. In all fairness though, if you stuck some crowd noises at the end of each track, you probably wouldn't have guessed this was recorded in a studio. The production is raw and echoey, the bass has been mixed very loud, and as for the music and performances, they sound largely unrehearsed, but certainly not unprofessional. I wouldn't expect anything less after the success of 100 M.P.H. after all. Steve Zodiac must have sang everything in one take, surely?! There seems to be a little more of a boogie, bluesy kind of influence thrown in with the usual formula on songs like 'Power Under Foot' (which sounds almost rockabilly-inspired to me) and 'Money Grabber'. The latter even has a little harmonica on it. The title track is a surprisingly slow and plodding blues rocker unlike the cover of Hawkwind's 'Silver Machine', which works surprisingly well in Vardis' favour. 'Police Patrol' has bagpipes on it! Some of the tracks are your more conventional Vardis affair too, like 'All You'll Ever Need', 'Curse the Gods', 'Love Is Dead' and 'Steamin' Along' - just good old fashioned, no-frills metallic rock n' roll that you rarely ever hear these days.
I must say that I don't like The World's Insane nearly as much as 100 M.P.H.. On paper, it sounds as if it should be as good as the first record, nearly all the songs simply just aren't as good. The album sounds the way you want it to, but the songs themselves just don't bring out the same energy within the band like the one's from the debut did. Tracks like the 'All You'll Ever Need', 'Curse the Gods' and the Hawkwind cover come close, but they're still not as good as songs like 'Out of the Way', 'Move Along', 'Destiny', 'Situation Negative' etc., whichever way you look at them - and I simply just don't listen to this album as much as the debut. That said, I don't think this record is poor, just a bit disappointing when compared to 100 M.P.H.. It certainly does sound unmistakeably like Vardis, even with the occasional dabbling with other instruments. And honestly, the second half of the album is still pretty damn good across the board, so despite the fact I think it's inessential to most old-school metalheads, NWOBHM collectors in particular should definitely track down a copy.
Adam's rating: 7/10
