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It's fantastic to watch the transition of styles for Mass from where they started. Up to War Law, the band seemed to transition from a Hard Rock band with a slight Metal edge to the guitars through distortion, to a somewhat unique NWOBHM-like band from Germany. On War Law, we find Mass really pulling out the stops to become a straight forward Metal act in the vain of Judas Priest, and they do it very well to create a very catchy traditional Heavy Metal album. This seventh full-length (and finaly 2010 reissue through SPV Records) is easily one of the best shining moments of Mass, and finds the band cutting back on some of their more generic sounding tracks that still were enjoyable, but focusing more on quality tracks that will hold your attention right from the start. Much like Metal Fighter, Mass includes an introctory segment to this album that sounds more appropriate to the sound that they are going for on this release. Not only that, but it is dramatically shorter and dives right into the opening track "War Law", which is a fantastic, as well as catchy, metal anthem that kick starts the album in the right direction. From there, you have a nice selection of both fun tracks that still incorporate the band's more Hard Rock touch, such as the following track "Loud and Proud", which features some lyrics that seem to be inspired by the aforementioned Judas Priest, specifically with the song "Electric Eye", as well as some straight serious metal tracks, such as "Fire at Night", which is a hard hitting track, as well as one of the fastest Mass tracks recorded up to this point, and features some fantastic vocal work with music that paints a very dark futuristic atmosphere to the song. As a side note, there really hasn't been much of an atmosphere on these albums up until this point, and it's a nice change of pace for the band to present material like this on War Law, as it just makes the album that much more enjoyable. "Lose and Booze" proves to another great hard hitting song, and is one of the most impressive tracks on here, and really shows the band's interest in the NWOBHM style greatly. There's plenty of hard hitting riffs on here at a much slower pace then "Fire at Night" that had quickly become staple ideas for the style later on, but winds up having a chorus that still retains a traditional rock and roll approach. This unique combination is one of the reasons why Mass winds ups tanding out so well in this field, and causes this track to just be one of the more enjoyable tracks on the album. Same with "Metal Hymn", which starts off with the most typical metal worship guitars possible, even for the time of it's release. The only problem with this track is, while it doesn't necessarily have the same impact "Lose and Booze" had, it's essentially the same song structure, just with more Rock in the verses then anything, and with a more metal overlord type spoken section to close off the track. 2010 Reissue: Again, this is another reissue in the four album 2010 reissue effort from SPV/Steamhammer, and of course the last of them by the original year of release. Again, we find another mastered random track on here, but it's clearly not from the earlier material that was utilized as bonus songs on Angel Power or Swiss Connection. This is clearly from the same recording as the one from Metal Fighter, and also has the kind of Southern Rock ZZ Top feel to the music that was present during Angel Power, except it seems to have a slight Blues feel to it at the same time. This makes for an interesting track, and once again puts some more background on the transition of the band over the years. This track will be enjoyed by fans of the early Mass sound, as well as general Rock and Roll fans due to it's great production quality for the time, and it's digital mastering to create a catchy song that will make you wanna crack open your favorite alcoholic beverage, as well as other earlier Mass releases. The bottom line is these four reissues are great to have in your collection, as well as to play back to back and experience the transition through a nice digital quality compared to the original vinyl material, with exception to Angel Power. However, War Law really rounds out this group and is highly enjoyable album from start to finish with plenty of great Heavy Metal and Hard Rock moments composed of elements that both stereotypically, and proudly, represent what the styles for it's time were all about. Sure, this one sounds the most like a Judas Priest album musically, but the more Rock and Roll vocal approach throughout lends a hint of originality to the recording. Either way, this release is a great piece of history that may not be the most impressive album out there, but is typically flawless, finds Mass at their peak, and is an all around enjoyable release that you can break out whenever you want and find great enjoyment with. |
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