Blitzkrieg
A Time Of Changes

THE REVIEW

The Blitzkrieg and the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal. Or: how to be among the pioneers of a musical scene and never really be a part of it.

The group, in fact, saw the light right at the dawn of the movement, between 1979 and 1980, thanks to Jim Sirotto, a young guitarist from Leicester. After an initial phase of adjustment (graced, for a brief period, by the feminine touch of Sarah Aldwinnckle behind the microphone), the true turning point came with the inclusion in the lineup of someone rightly considered one of the best singers of the entire NWOBHM scene: Brian Ross.

It was precisely the arrival of the latter, in fact, that allowed the band to attract the attention of Neat Records (one of the most attentive and dynamic labels of the period), leading them to debut on the record market in 1981, with a historic 7" titled "Buried Alive/Blitzkrieg". Such was the success with the public and critics (the approximately 2500 printed copies literally flew off the shelves) that many foresaw a wonderful future for them, rich in fame, success, and lots and lots of girls. Needless to say, at this point, the usual NWOBHM script of lineup changes, departures, the slamming of doors, and the echoing of 'anculo-ulo-ulo down the corridors intervened: a few months after the publication of the aforementioned 7", Ross decided to leave the band for the Avenger first and then Satan (with whom he would record the historic debut album "Court In The Act"). Only about four years later, in 1985, with the singer's return to the fold, the band would reform to finally give birth to their first (and here reviewed) full-length.

Let's begin by saying that "A Time Of Changes" is a splendid eighties heavy metal album. Virtually devoid of embellishments both in composition and arrangement (except for some more than fleeting - and not always successful - effectistic insertions), it is essentially based on the most classic of metal formulas: guitars (Sirotto and Procter) at the forefront, engaged in a riffing that is certainly not elaborate, sparse in digressions and experimentalism, but very effective and immediately engaging for the listener, with bass and drums inevitably relegated to the background. Above all, then, emerges yet another excellent performance by leader Brian Ross, in this album, even more than in the past, determined to bring out the darker nuances of his singing (thanks also to a considerable, but not excessive, use of reverb), without forgoing those glass-shattering high notes of the grandmother for which he is known and appreciated among the genre's aficionados.

The final result is a band that is decidedly comfortable with faster and more aggressive tracks: really excellent, in this regard, the punkish "Hell To Pay" and the shamelessly Priest-like "Armageddon". More lackluster episodes are, on the other hand, the hard rock oriented "Pull The Trigger" (relic of Satan's production), and the weak "Take A Look Around": tracks certainly not despicable, yet in my opinion lacking in verve and vigor, suffering from a general monotony and predictability of structure and songwriting.

Deserving of a separate discussion are two tracks. Firstly, the splendid title track (a doomy ride, enriched by truly well-conceived minor harmonic guitar embellishments, with a whirl of guitars and drum rolls in the center that make it, in fact, the most intricate and suggestive track of the entire package) and, above all, the real masterpiece of the album: "Blitzkrieg", a splendid example of eighties power heavy, unbeatable when compared to the questionable cover released a few years ago by the cocky drumstick-wielding dwarf and his boozy friends (who basically limited themselves to "dehydrating" the guitars, ending up making it sound like a missing piece from "Master Of Puppets"… and adding an "indispensable" closing belch).

An excellent album, therefore, but, as mentioned, not a masterpiece. Yes, because if on one hand "A Time Of Changes" should preferably be part of every leather-clad enthusiast's discography even in midsummer, on the other hand, in my opinion, it lacks something to truly be considered indispensable: it lacks the magic, the stroke of genius, that additional quid of innovation and creativity that distinguishes the masterpieces. The same work of Sean Taylor behind the drums is, in all honesty, far from exhilarating, most often limiting itself to a sort of metronomic homework that, if listened to attentively, can be tiresome. If we then consider that we are talking about the same drummer who just two years earlier had recorded the excellent "Court In The Act" with Satan, some perplexity is more than legitimate.

But that's not all. At the time of the official release of the album, in 1985, the English scene had practically completed its task: to create classic heavy metal as it would be known and appreciated in the years to follow. And it is curious to note how precisely the title of this album provides the perfect definition for those years. It was, in all respects, a "time of changes": it was time for other (far more extreme) musical scenes to take up the British baton and evolve it until it reached today's sonic shores. That's why "A Time Of Changes", if correctly contextualized, ends up being an album in some respects already dated at the time of its release, a victim of the culpable delay with which the tracks that compose it reached the ears of those same listeners who had been enjoying the masterpieces of Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Angel Witch, or Satan themselves for several months..

"A Time Of Changes" still remains an excellent testimony of what the NWOBHM was and perhaps the last great album of the movement. As if the dragonfly band, after witnessing the birth of that scene, returned just in time to have the final say at its funeral wake.