Krokus – The Blitz
Rock Candy Records
www.rockcandyrecords.com

Rating: C

Krokus was riding a wave of success with the Platinum selling album Headhunter.  Up to this point they had done it their way with a take no prisoner’s attitude.  That was about to change.  The record company smelled money and the band was convinced that if they changed their image, softened their sound and **gasp** cut their hair, and pandered to MTV it would be good for their career.  Like most bands that followed this advice, it was true…for the short term. 

The world really didn’t want a kinder and gentler Krokus, but the band listened to the advice and moved forward.  They cut their hair and changed their look and lost founding member and bassist Chris von Rohr in the process, as this was not the direction he wished to go.  Pop metal producer Bruce Fairbairn came in and did what he did best…make music for the radio.  It was a formula that had proven results, as he had taken Loverboy to major success and would do so with Bon Jovi later in his career. 

Together they made a solid album with a radio friendly song in “Midnite Maniac.”  It gained them popularity and sold a lot of records.  The remake was Sweet’s “Ballroom Blitz” and it had enough glitz and goo to garner radio play as well.  The tunes were good enough, they just were a departure from the band’s bread and butter sound.  Gone were the skull and crossbones as this album cover featured a girl in a white dress. 

In the short term it worked, and Krokus were bigger stars.  In the long haul, however, this lead to the band decreasing in popularity and eventually breaking up.  It’s hard to say if their fortunes would have been different if this album had Tom Allom at the controls while remaining true to their metal roots.  It did fine, and it is probably their most well known album for non-diehard fans.  Rock Candy Records did a great job making it look and sound good as this new version of The Blitz features fully remastered sound shaped from 24 BIT digital technology, 16 page full color booklet, new interviews, 3,500 word essay, enhanced artwork and rare photos.

At the end of the day, it’s still a good album, just not a great one.  Though one must admit “Midnite Maniac” is a pretty fun toe-tapping tune. 

TRACK LISTING:
1. MIDNITE MANIAC
2. OUT OF CONTROL
3. BOYS NITE OUT
4. OUR LOVE
5. OUT TO LUNCH
6. BALLROOM BLITZ
7. ROCK THE NATION
8. HOT STUFF
9. READY TO ROCK

By Jeb Wright