Release Date May 15th, 2026
Format CD/Vinyl
Genre Heavy Metal
Origin United States
Lȧȧz Rockit came out of the San Francisco Bay Area in the early 80s, before thrash metal had settled into a fixed shape and before half the scene started dressing its aggression in bigger concepts. Michael Coons, Aaron Jellum, Phil Kettner, Willie Lange and Victor Agnello were working from a heavy metal base, with faster cuts, rougher edges and a street-level attack that put them close to the coming thrash wave. “City’s Gonna Burn” from 1984 and “No Stranger To Danger” from 1985 catch that early phase: young, raw, impatient, more interested in riffs and hooks than in studio perfection.
“City’s Gonna Burn”, originally released in 1984, is raw, young and sometimes uneven, with one foot in classic American heavy metal and the other already kicking toward speed metal. The title track, “Caught In The Act”, “Take No Prisoners” and “Forced To Fight” show a band writing short, urgent songs with simple hooks and enough fire to make the flaws matter less. The guitars have that dry, early-eighties crackle, the drums are basic without sounding weak, and Coons sings with attitude more than range. The production is thin by modern standards, which is part of the point here, this is not a luxurious listen, it is an early metal document with nerve, speed and rough charm.
“No Stranger To Danger”, from 1985, is the better-built album of the two. The songwriting is tighter, the riffs have more shape, and the band sounds less like a young act chasing impact and more like a unit with its own road scars. “Dreams Die Hard”, “I’ve Got Time”, “Backbreaker”, “Off The Deep End” and “Wrecking Machine” bring heavier movement, stronger pacing and more bite in the vocal lines, making it the more rewarding spin.
Massacre Records brings these first two albums back on CD and colored vinyl, and musically the package has real value. The problem is the physical value. Prices are very high for what is offered (on CD as I picked them for 18€ each) and a 4-page booklet with no lyrics and basically nothing extra is thin treatment for albums with this kind of cult status. So the money value is in the music only. As a reissue, it feeds the ears, not the hands. As a listen, it still has fire, riffs and the sound of a band hitting the road before the genre had rules written all over it. You choose.
|8.0
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