Killers - Murder One
BMG
Heavy Metal
10 songs (51:45)
Release year: 1992
Paul Dianno's official website, BMG
Reviewed by Marty
Archive review
Untitled Document

I had heard in late 1992 that Paul Di'anno, former lead singer for Iron Maiden, was forming a new band called Killers and that it would be more Heavy Metal than his previous solos offerings. His first self-titled debut after leaving Maiden was more of an A.O.R. release but still had a few good solid rock songs. He then released 2 albums under the name of Paul Dianno's Battlezone, Fighting Back and Children Of Madness which were certainly more harder edged, with each having some solid tracks on them. However, neither album was really ground-breaking. The group toured extensively performing many Maiden classics much to the delight of the fans. In the summer of 1993, I walked into my favorite used CD shop and spotted a CD by a band called Killers.......could it be????......as I flipped the CD over I spotted the gruffy bearded Paul Di'anno and his other bandmates all decked out in leather, studs and tattoos....YESSSSS!!!....this was it!!!. At that time in North America, the metal scene was dying with both Iron Maiden and Judas Priest on hiatus looking for new singers and my other favorite band at the time, Helloween releasing Pink Bubbles Go Ape and Chameleon, both pretty good albums in my books but very different from what they were doing before and big disappointments for a lot of the fans. This particular CD Murder One and Objection Overruled by the newly re-formed Accept were pretty much the soundtrack to my summer that year. See here in North America, we didn't know anything about Blind Guardian, Running Wild, Stratovarius or even Gamma Ray for that matter (I thought Kai Hansen had dropped off the face of the earth when he left Helloween!!). None of these bands got any press, airplay or even distribution in North America (at least in Canada anyway) and their CD's were only available as very expensive imports. It wasn't until the internet flourished that I really discovered these bands!!!.......we were so deprived here!!!

This particular disc was a welcomed blast of straight-up Judas Priest, Accept style Heavy Metal and really didn't sound much like Di'anno's previous work both as a solo artist or even when he was with Maiden. The first track Impaler begins with a scream and a flurry of wild drumming (almost reminding me of the opening drum part in Hot For Teacher by Van Halen) before exploding into a great riff-driven smoker along the likes of a Painkiller or Saxon Motorcycle Man type of tempo. Paul's voice just wails on this track and it sounds awesome!! This is probably the best track on the CD and WOW...what a way to open an album!!!. The next track The Beast Arises is another solid but slower mid-tempo song with some cool guitar hooks and a great driving beat. Children Of The Revolution is a cover of an old T-Rex song and it is given the full-metal treatment with a slow pounding beat and great backing vocals for the choruses. Another favorite track S&M features a great guitar riff and again the powerful, passionate Di'anno vocal style. This song also has some nice melodic guitar hooks used in the pre-chorus but is a great hard-driving song. Taking No Prisoners is very much in the vein of his previous solo work and is a solid melodic hard rock song with a great chorus and some tasty guitar hooks. This song really breaks things up a bit and is an example of where to place a more melodic, less-aggressive tune (i.e. about 4 or 5 songs in!!!). It's by no means a ballad, but just a more melodic rocker. Marshall Lockjaw, whose character is featured on the inside booklet, is about a futuristic bounty-hunter and is another smoker!!. This track really cooks and the opening riff almost has a Motley Crue Live Wire type feel to it. This track is full of speed riffing and great shredding leads and is another highlight of this album!!!.

Those are the main stand-out tracks and the remainder are decent songs including a version of Maiden's Remember Tomorrow (not bad and a little different sounding.....but certainly not as good as the original) and really fit in with the overall sound and flow of the album. I think besides Di'anno's work on Maiden's first 2 albums, this is his next best work. His voice simply sounds flawless. It doesn't sound strained at all and at times, I think is some of the best vocal work I've ever heard him do. His voice really clicks with this hard-driving metal sound. If you like 80's style metal along the likes of Accept, Priest and Saxon or are a fan of Paul Di'anno you should check out this CD. I'm not sure if it's still in print but I have seen some used copies floating around the CD shops once in a while. It's a solid metal album and somewhat of a sleeper....I didn't see a lot written about it and was very hard to find!!!..If ever you spot this CD in a store......GRAB IT!!....it's a great metal album........you won't be disappointed!!!

Killing Songs :
Impaler, S&M, Marshall Lokjaw
Marty quoted 85 / 100
2 readers voted
Average:
 87
Your quote was: 85.
Change your vote

There are no replies yet to this review
Be the first one to post a reply!