Rough Edge: Steel Rider CD Reviews

STEEL RIDER

"Eat the Monster" (Victor Victor Music; 1988? / 2005)

If I were to say that you’ve heard this one before, I’m lying. Unless you were huddled in the corner of the basement this was recorded in twenty years ago. Rik Harley is the master mind behind this outdated buried gem, and it sounds like a twenty year old album.

At first listen, the memories of 1980 flooded back to me: heavy metal faces, twin guitars, nasty solos and a heavy metal sneer. Gone are those days, so why bring them back? Apparently Rik trusted a record company with his master tapes and they got leaked to MTV. A few songs were given to the show "Road Rules" and kids who never knew that there were heavy metal solos started hammering for this “vintage” sound.

My kids won’t ever know a world without the Internet and cell phones but guitar solos seem to be long gone. This at least brought back a time I knew about. The only problem is the production here - it stinks. It’s thin and the drums sound weak. Perhaps I could ask cockroach number 2,743 what he thought; chances are he’s still around ... unlike Rik Harley, who's been MIA since 1999.

Labeled as biker metal, "Eat the Monster" has that strip club vibe and after a while you just want to turn it off because nostalgia becomes “lostalgia.” The glory days are gone. Still, if there were some way to update the production, this CD would sound like classic Judas Priest and Thin Lizzy. There are audio samples on their website so you can listen and bang your head, or scratch it while wondering if you have some lost master tapes you forgot about.

Steel Rider: No one knows for sure but most people think it's guitar and studio wiz Rik Harley, but who really knows. Calling Rik Harley! Anybody know where he is?

For more information, check out http://www.eathtemosnter.com.

Rating Guide:

A classic. This record will kick your ass.

Killer. Not a classic but it will rock your world.

So-so. You've heard better.

Pretty bad. Might make a nice coaster.

Self explanatory. Just the sight of the cover makes you wanna hurl.

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