Metal On Ice

CD subtitle: Tunes From Canada’s Hard Rock And Heavy Metal Heroes

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Oh man, this is a fantastic CD.

This is the best $5 I’ve spent on spec in ages. Bar none.

Mike was recently ranting about Wal-Mart, and that’s where I found this CD, in the bin for $5. When I got it home, I texted Mike pics of the disc, and told him about it (I even emailed a teaser track so he could try it out). His interest was definitely piqued, so I went back and got him a copy and stuck it in the mail to him. His far more insightful review of this disc will likely appear on his excellent website at some point.

Metal On Ice is a book Sean Kelly wrote about Canadian metal musicians hoping to get a record deal, and make it big in America. Now, Sean Kelly was not a name that meant a whole lot to me without Wikipedia, and I never owned anything by Crash Kelly (or many of the other bands with which he’s been involved). But I do know Helix, and he was a bassist for them. He’s all over this disc, as guitarist on all tracks and as producer (along with Aaron Murray).

So, let’s get to the tunes on this EP:

Heavy Metal Love (f. Brian Vollmer) is the big, roomy rocker with which Helix rocked us in the 80s. Most excitingly, Mr. Vollmer still has it. He owns this song. What a blast!

Metal Queen (f. Lee Aaron) makes the disc worth three times the price all by itself. This classic Aaron track absolutely smokes. The riff is huge, and Aaron’s vocals are absolutely killer. This is a highlight track. Everything about it… just WOW.

On The Road To Rock (f. Nick Walsh) is a fun one, for me. See, I love Kick Axe, and here we have Walsh (of Slik Toxik) jamming out on this excellent cover of the Kick Axe tune. It rocks as hard as the original, sounds massive, and everyone just nails it.

Hey Operator (f. Carl Dixon) is a pure rocker from Coney Hatch in the vein of Reckless-era Bryan Adams (with a touch more edge to it, if that makes sense). And that’s no criticism, it’s an indicator that this is a well-crafted rock track. And Dixon (of Guess Who, April Wine and Coney Hatch) completely commands his vocals. This is rock solid rawk.

Don’t It Make Ya Feel (f. Darby Mills) showcases the Mills’ soaring vocals on this Headpins’ classic. It’s a bit like a lost Honeymoon Suite track (to me), but Mills ensures it’s not so obvious. Whatever, this is a really heavy, fun rocker that perfectly dovetails with the metal feel of the rest of the album.

Keep The Spirit Alive (f. Russ Dwarf) is the classic KiLLeR DWaRFs song. To me, it sounds like one of those ultimate inspirational 80s metal rock songs that used to appear on movie soundtracks. You know the ones I mean. It’s a big rawk song all on its own, too, nestled comfortably into a CD full of them. Very, very well done.

Metal On Ice [bonus track] (f. Brian Vollmer, Lee Aaron, Nick Walsh, Carl Dixon and Darby Mills) ought to feel top heavy, featuring (as it does) all of the guest singers from the project. However, in typically stellar fashion, they all contribute seamlessly. The song itself is a perfect track for the end credits of the movie they ought to make of all this (ya hear me, folks?), a big showcase rocker that totally satisfies.

In sum?

This CD completely rocks. Seriously, the first time I played it, I spun it again straight away just because I wanted more. And that leads me to my only complaint with the disc: it’s too damn short. Maybe I’m greedy? Probably. But 7 tracks feels like we’re only getting started on this. At minimum there oughta be 3 more tracks (10 total). At best, I’d say 5 more (12). But ideally? 7 more (14)! Hell, just keep going… call everyone from that era and let everybody who wants to participate have a track. Make it a double CD!

This is so well done, and it sounds so good. I cannot recommend it enough. Kudos to all involved.

Both metal horns emphatically raised high.

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