voila_la_scorie Budgie's fourth album "In for the Kill!" carries on with the sound the band established from the beginning: hard and heavy driving riff-based rock with some strong heavy blues. Drummer Ray Phillips left band after the third album and for this offering of powerhouse rock, Pete Boot took the stool.

From the first track, Budgie introduce another classic riff rocker in the title track. It's a longer song that switches to a heavy blues number in the middle before returning to the first part's music. Also here is "Crash Course in Brain Surgery" which was originally recorded as a single earlier in their career and was later covered by Metallica. Some will recall Metallica covering another Budgie song "Breadfan".

Budgie albums ( the ones I know ) include a Burke Shelley acoustic number or two and "Wondering What Everyone Knows" fills that necessity here. I personally find this one more enjoyable than the acoustic songs from my two other Budgie albums, "Budgie" and "Never Turn Your Back on a Friend". The acoustic tracks are usually short anyway.

"Zoom Club" is a hard rocking tribute to a club in Germany and includes a lengthy jam session and a cool hard rock riff. And let's not forget Shelley's high pitched notes after the long solo section!

"Hammer and Tongs" opens side two with a slow beginning of guitar volume dial notes before exploding with a very heavy blues-based eruption of a song. At times it's like the band are trying to make blues rock heavy enough to drop into a crusher in a scrapyard and kick it into a heap of wrecked automobiles. It eases up in the middle and Shelley howls in falsetto. Then it changes to what I always think of as heavy strip tease blues. No doubt guitarist Tony Bourge was pleased with all the soloing he got to do.

"Running from My Soul" takes on another boogieing bluesy heavy number with more of Bourge's six-string explorations. It's the shortest song on the album and doesn't have many lyrics. Just blazing guitar rock & roll.

The final track, "Living on Your Own" is the most progressive song on the album, going through different parts, one part heavy and melodic, another gentle and easy but with a bit of rust, yet another more traditional heavy but still holding on to the melodic side. For Budgie's repertoire up to 1974 this is likely one of their most progressive songs with different musical themes integrated into a single track. Certainly it stands out from the rest of the album which is comprised of mostly heavy rock and heavy blues boogie.

Warthur Budgie's fourth album, whilst not quite so groundbreaking as their debut or Never Turn Your Back On A Friend, sees the band continuing to be at the forefront of the early heavy metal scene. The power trio seem more confident than in previous outings, which makes the diverse range of styles they play an engaging listen. Running From My Soul, for example, is a heavy take on fairly traditional rock and roll, whilst thunderous album closer Living On Your Own is a slower, doomier, Sabbath-inspired number.

The album also includes an updated version of Crash Course in Brain Surgery, a track the group had previously released as a single - a pounding piece of proto-speed metal which particularly showcases the skills of Burke Shelley, the group's bassist and vocalist. Shelley's bass style for this album is harder and heavier than ever, at points reaching hypnotic intensities comparable to the sort of performances Lemmy was dishing out in Hawkwind at the time.

At the same time, the album doesn't quite hang together as well as Never Turn Your Back On a Friend. It was churned out rapidly in the space between two intense tours, and whilst the process of touring had clearly made Budgie a tighter unit, they also feel a little bit more conventional - like they're beginnign to compromise here and there to conform to the expectations of a 1970s hard rock audience rather than producing any novelties to match their earlier work. Budgie's career to this point had provided ample proof that Budgie do not deserve the comparative obscurity they've faded away into, but ought to join Sabbath and Judas Priest in the early metal pantheon. In For the Kill isn't a classic that will convince doubters by itself, but it is further evidence in support of that position.

Nightfly Budgie have a special place in the heart for many fans of heavy rock in the seventies but they never really reached the heights of many of their contemporaries at the time. Like Led Zeppelin, Budgie knew the importance of having light and shade in their music; lighter, sometimes acoustic moments to complement the bombast on heavier riffs making the music much more dynamic. While their music did contain quite a few twists and turns at times, in the main the heavier moments were built around solid repetitive riffs.

In For The Kill was the fourth album from the band and whilst not being their best it does contain some fine moments. None more so than the opening and title track itself which has a heavy and insistent unison bass and guitar riff so favoured by myriads of metal bands to come. The track rocks along with a steady groove with Burke Shelley's high pitched vocals over the top, changing tack to a slower pace for a mid section including a fine bluesy Tony Bourge guitar solo.

Crash Course in Brain Surgery in no doubt well known to most Metallica fans, being covered by them on their $5.98 EP back in the eighties. In truth it's a fairly dispensable and mundane heavy rocker with little to get excited about. Wondering What Everyone Knows is the band in acoustic mode, pleasant enough but fairly average nevertheless.

Much better is Zoom Club, at almost 10 minutes a bit of a mini epic. It has a great riff and generally features some fine guitar work from the underrated Bourge where he's really let off the leash and includes a strong and lengthy solo.

While nothing on side 2 of the original vinyl album can match up to In For The Kill and Zoom Club it's still pretty good. Hammer and Tongs is built around a bluesy Black Sabbath style riff. Running From My Soul is a short and simple boogie based song. Living On Your Own is another longer track and a fine album closer. Heavy riffs alongside gently picked guitars, Shelley turns in a fine vocal performance and Bourge is given free reign to solo at will including some slide guitar.

So all in all, a good competent slice of seventies heavy rock. If you're new to the band though I'd recommend starting with their classic Never Turn Your Back On A Friend album.