Shrapnel
1986
Dr. Mastermind was the brain child of bassist/vocalist Matt McCourt (Wild Dogs). Originally the band was known as Evil Genius, but McCourt was urged to change the name upon signing a deal. He chose Mastermind, but was threatened with a law suit from a progressive band of the same name. So McCourt tacked on the "Dr." and was set to record. Rounding out the recording line-up was guitarist Kurt James (Driver, Stryper) and drummer Deen Castronova (Wild Dogs,Steve Vai, Journey and a ton of others). Judging by the name and the cover you know this isn't going to be anything deep so don't expect multi-layered tracks and don't expect power ballads either. The lyrics are pure cheese and McCourt has definite limitations as a singer. However the music rips because we have some solid performers who knew how to knock out some catchy pure metal songs. Their sound is comparable to Accept, Judas Priest, Lizzy Borden and others. The album is short with seven of the ten songs are under three minutes a piece. However that does take away from how entertaining this album is. Tracks like "Domination", "We want the world" and "Man of the year" plunge straight ahead. While tracks like "The Villa" and "I don't wanna die" see the band stretching out a bit and throwing in a few tempo changes. This is adrenaline fueled classic metal that has held up well enough for a 25 year old release. Easy to find free downloads of it in numerous locations online so give it a listen.
Wild Dogs are easily one of the most underated bands out there. Dr. Mastermind carried on that raw metal while working in his own thing. If you can get past that awful "I want to be Blackie Lawless" album cover you'll find some good crunchy metal.
ReplyDeleteWild Dogs' Reign of Terror is awesome. The previous are alright...but the song Evil In Me is wonderful.
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