Quiet Riot - Metal Health

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Music reviews of Metal Health

Music Review: Unjustly derailed and overpraised simultaneously!
Rating: 4 Stars

The bandmates decided to reform Quiet Riot, bringing talented young guitarist Carlos Cavazo into the fold and they finally were picked up by CBS and went into the studio. The result: 1984's "Metal Health." This album marked metal's first #1 hit, and since then it's been debated. I personally enjoyed the album and relished its 80s hair metal flavor, although I'm irritated by many who claim it's great because of the two hit tracks. With that said, let's take a look:

Metal Health (Bang Your Head) - One of the band's hits and rightfully so. The subtitle "Bang Your Head" is a perfect statement of how great this song is. Kevin's vocals are actually quite good here, despite what many critics said.

Come On Feel The Noize - Their huge hit that propelled the album to #1 status, this actually is a cover (the original was by Slade in 1975), but it improves upon the original in every way! They added a guitar solo, which Carlos performs brilliantly. A great headbanger, even if it's been overplayed.

Don't Wanna Let You Go - Chuck Wright performed bass here; a pretty good ballad with Kevin's vocals in fine form. This sounds a lot like Ozzy's ballads on Blizzard and Diary, which goes to show you that Quiet Riot was more than a hair metal band.

Slick Black Cadillac - One of their classics and a minor hit in Japan. This one's a good rocker with great guitars.

Love's a B*tch - A slow-paced song that's not really a rock song nor a ballad. This one's not bad, although it doesn't stand out as much as the previous tracks.

Breathless - An OFTEN OVERLOOKED track that I absolutely love. This one's a great rocker with keyboards in many areas. The chorus is infectiously great and this one is overshadowed by the hits on the album. My personal favorite.

Run For Cover - Another fast-paced assault, this one's more of a party rocker like Noize, but it's a prime example of how 80s metal should be done.

Battle Axe - This one's entirely instrumental, and it's great. Carlos solely wrote this 1 minute of pure rock instrumentation.

Let's Get Crazy - This one's a minor hit, as it's been put on many of their Greatest Hits albums over the years. It's an anthem rock song, but doesn't really stand out as much as the other tracks.

Thunderbird - The softest ballad on the album, this one's pretty good by standards. On the whole album, Kevin's vocals are the greatest here.

-Bonus Tracks-
Danger Zone - A previously unreleased track and a crunching solid one as well. I haven't listened to the "true" version on the band's official website, so I can't make any comparisons. This, however, is a hidden gem.

Slick Black Cadillac (Live) - Usually when an album tacks on a live version on an album, it doesn't match the original studio recording. This, however, is one of the few exceptions. For being a live recording and having an annoying mid-section, this one still rocks!

Overall, I think this is an essential 80s metal record. Did it deserve the #1 spot on the charts? Most assuredly, yes. It played out like a mainstream album but seemed like it was also as if it were a regular 80s metal masterpiece. As for Carlos, he is a great guitarist that shouldn't be compared to the late, great Randy Rhoads.

Description of Metal Health

Classic Rock CDs

• Music > Styles
• Hard Rock & Metal
• Pop
• Rock