Talon - Vicious Game (1987)

By the time of Talon's third album Vicious Game, it had become painfully obvious that something was not sticking with the metal buying public, because they had yet to develop much of a notoriety for themselves. The material had been declining in strength, so the band decided to adopt a full time vocalist and Uwe Hoffman would concentrate primarily on guitars. As it turns out, this was not such a bad choice, because this is arguably the best vocal performance you will find on any of their records, maintaining the general style of Hoffman but more consistent on the high end. He's also capable of a more effective mid range that cuts like a David Defeis of Virgin Steele, or Eric Adams of Manowar.

When I took my first glance at the vinyl, I was a little concerned that this change in lineup might also have brought about a shift in the band's style, towards a hard rock accessibility. This was not an uncommon occurrence for the period, as bands were either jumping hoops into the thrash game or the hard rock, radio frenzy, but fortunately Talon keep it pretty consistent with the prior efforts. Yes, the knight remains, even if he's reduced to the face of some long-nailed fortune teller's tarot (or playing) cards. The band always had a cross-cultural appeal between the metal and rock genres, and to be truthful, Vicious Game does strafe the line towards the latter more than Neutralized or Never Look Back, but for the most part, we're dealt the hand of solid heavy metal.

The album opens with this powerful synthesizer intro that really breeds anticipation that the record might kick off with something as forceful as the prior two, but "Vicious Game" teases that it's possibly a power ballad until the verse kick into mid-paced rocking, a worthwhile showcase for Hader's vocals as he runs from mid-ranged to screaming that seems half Udo, half Peavy Wagner. There are perhaps too many of these Accept/Judas Priest style rockers, like "Push It", "Sunrise" and "Hopeless Love", and they're not as interesting as the faster tracks like "Fever" which is very much like 80s Manowar, or late speedsters like "Kings or Fools" and "Rough and Ready", which channel Talon's strength into something more productive and memorable. As usual, the band incorporate a quickly forgotten power ballad, but this time it's shoved to the end of the album ("So Cold"), and sounds a little like Queensryche, strangely enough.

The production here is better than the previous albums, and I figured that this selection of songs might have given the band the edge they so desperately needed. Alas, Vicious Game would be the final effort from Talon, before they moved on to other projects and hopefully better lives. Robert Bobel briefly turned up in Evidence One, while drummer Tommy Resch played with Sinner. Perhaps the luckiest of them, Uwe Hoffman himself, got to play in Headhunter, the great thrash side-band of Destruction's Schmier. Poor Talon is barely given a mention or nod anywhere, but the avid collector of all things 80s and German could certainly do a lot worse than this album. Personally, I'd reach for Neutralized any day over the rest of the band's catalog, but Vicious Game would appeal most to the fan of lighter hair metal or hard rock. It's got some strong points (the vocals and mix), but not nearly enough of them. Rest in peace.

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10]

Talon - Never Look Back (1985)

The knight who stood so proudly astride the debut Neutralized returns with a new, shining chrome dragon-horse thing, and one might think this mobility might transfer to the sounds of the band's music. However, at best, Never Look Back is just as heavy as the first album, only a lot less interesting. A new guitar player had entered the ranks, one Robert Bobel joining Uwe Hoffman (also the vocalist), and stepping in for Steve Hohenberger. Perhaps this explains the thicker guitar tone found on the sophomore, or perhaps not, but that's pretty much the only difference in style separating the two albums.

Otherwise, it's more of the same, with Talon once again setting themselves up with some of the better songs on the album. "Never Look Back" is another of those slower paced, fist banging anthems, with big chords and slight melodies, while "Defense Condition" blazes forth into speed metal territory, plucky melodies and a great verse structure. After this, I felt the album took a dive in quality. "Murder Mile" is not so interesting, and "Lost in Reality" becomes the moody, forgettable power ballad, though the lead in the latter is well done. "Diamond Cut Diamond" and "Save Your Breath" return us to iron pumping prominence, but neither is all that memorable, nor is the fast pounding anthem "Running Through the Night". I do quite enjoy "Venomous Gods" and "Call It Arsen", and wish they had been shoved towards the fore to improve the album's initial impact.

Never Look Back is not a poor successor to Neutralized, but it ultimately would not increase the band's stake in the game, and it is in fact the worst of Talon's catalog. Die hards of all things German and heavy metal, that dwell blessedly upon the bliss of Accept, Scorpions, Bonfire and lesser known acts like Samain would probably lap this up, at least the finer bits. Uwe Hoffman still sounds great at the helm, his last spin at the wheel, but this record really just fails to send the band sprawling over the walls of obscurity. The songs lack the desired level of emotional bite, and the chorus parts are rarely memorable. Worth a listen only if you're obsessed with Neutralized, or one of the many similar bands spewing forth from Europe in the mid-80s.

Verdict: Indifference [6.25/10]

Talon - Neutralized (1984)

Talon whimpered onto a German scene in which they could damn well have exploded, given ideal circumstances, because they were a fairly solid entry into the field of melodic heavy/speed metal. Clearly drawing on the inspiration of NWOBHM acts (Raven, Judas Priest) and their countrymen Accept and the Scorpions, they possessed the hooks and the 'looks' to run in the circles of early Running Wild, Avenger, Sinner and Samain, but for some inexplicable reason they just never caught on, and now belong only in the province of treasure seekers and record collectors on and offline. Neutralized was their first and best offering, with a pretty potent slew of songs that balanced great guitar work and enthusiastic energy.

It starts off extremely strong, with the mighty mid pace gait of "Hatred Grows Slowly", huge Accept chords glistened with streaks of spry melody, as the bass pumps below and Peter Hader's resonant, accented vocals. Some might find it hard to get past the 'hand clap' in the chorus, but the chord pattern reminds me a lot of Running Wild, and I enjoy guitar riff in the bridge also. "Neutralized" picks up to speed metal territory, and this is probably one of the best on the album, with it's John Gallagher-like screaming and incendiary bridge melodies that hook you straight into that phenomenal mid-80s German bliss. These are joined the weighted hard rock of "Victims of Suicide", driving hesher force of "Backlash" and "To the Bitter Dregs", and two late bloomers "Hotter Than a 1000 Suns" and "Gale Warnings", for a fairly strong selection.

The album does have its weakness in the throwaway ballad "Time Could Not Heal", but there are also a pair of tracks here that remind me of Avenger (and Rage) that are quite good: "Overlords Supreme" and "Preacher of Evil", so overall, its almost completely consistent and enjoyable. The production here is airy and 80s, with the vocals loud and proud, but it still sounds good if you're accustomed to the period. The potential of the band was pretty obvious, though most of the songs don't quite compete with the band's peers. Talon could easily have drawn some appeal from the more commercial hard rock oriented scene that adored Scorpions or Bonfire, but they had heavier chops that compare more favorably to Zed Yago, and especially the band Samain, who had an even more limited career but were slightly superior to this.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]