Vengeance
Arabia

Seek and you shall find. True. But it becomes a bit more challenging if you don't know what to seek, or rather "who" to seek. Yes, that damned oriental-sounding melody, heard by chance on the radio back in 1989, tormented my dreams as a young metalhead with more pimples than studs for twelve long years. One day, however, I convinced a dear friend to rummage through his vast collection of Metal magazines in the vague hope of finding a clue. And so, between "do you remember these???" or "and who the hell were these?!?", we spent a pleasant afternoon lost between articles of now-disbanded groups and photos of guys in strictly elasticized jeans and brilliantly white, soft basketball shoes. Then, just as I was resigned to the idea that I had dreamed it all up, my eye fell on a small bold print: "Vengeance - Arabia" and... Bingo! (as Mike Bongiorno would say). The rest, without boring you further, I leave to your imagination.

"Arabia" is the fourth and best album of the five Dutch hard-rockers, proponents of a powerful and varied Hard n' Heavy, certainly indebted to AC/DC and Van Halen, but that doesn't fail to surprise the unwary listener (why this poor listener always ends up looking like a fool...) with truly original solutions and a pinch of healthy irony. Among their ranks was a certain Arjen Lucassen, perhaps best known for launching the Ayreon project in the mid-'90s, and who here too doesn't hide his skill and eclecticism. But his bandmates are no less, particularly the theatrical singer/imp Leon Goewie who boasts a powerful and very unique voice (which a critic of the time described as a cross between Sebastian Bach and Bruce Dickinson). And it is precisely he who best characterizes the title track, which begins with an Arabesque melody before exploding into a big riff supported by a drumbeat as simple as it is mighty; a track I wouldn't hesitate to define as Epic Metal, but in the manner of Vengeance. Of a completely different style are the playful "The Best Gunfighter In Town", "Broadway-Hollywood-Beverley Hills" (with a medley citing "Smoke On The Water" and "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love") and "Wallbanger", whose riff will turn your pitiful speakers into a wall of Marshalls. An authentic Power '80s track is "Castles In The Air" with its harpsichord intro and the soulful voice of an inspired Leon Goewie, a song that would not be out of place in the repertoire of the best Helloween with Andi Deris. It's impossible to stop here given the album's extensive stylistic variety (which also boasts powerful, far from dated production) and so here are more epic atmospheres in "Cry Of The Sirens", the arpeggios of the inevitable ballad "If Lovin' You Is Wrong" and in closing the festive "How About Tonight", a delightful example of Country Jazz Boogie Metal complete with banjo and David Lee Roth reminiscences with which our friends bid us farewell.

I add that the CD reissue also includes two excellent covers: "Bad Boy For Love" by Rose Tattoo and "Just What My Doctor Ordered" by Ted Nugent, plus a second CD with demo versions and an unreleased track. In short, to use their words: "Hate Hard Rock? I bet you've never seen the Vengeance!".