voila_la_scorie I've been enjoying this female power trio's debut album these last couple of weeks. I was digging through NWoBHM bands and checking out ones I didn't know. I had never heard of Rock Goddess. Girlschool are the most famous of the British all-women's hard rock/heavy metal bands of those days. I gave them a couple of quick listens on YouTube and decided the album had to be mine.

To say that these ladies pack a wallop doesn't quite do them justice. It's more like repeated hard-ass smacks to the side of the face and boots to your glutes. Think The Runaways at their most ass kicking moments doing a whole album of ass kicking songs. Jody Turner, Tracey Lamb, and Julie Turner not only blow the doors off but they blow the furniture against the walls and the pets out the window. Let's hope this is the ground floor!

There's not much point in doing a track by track breakdown, but there is a variety in the songs as there always was back in those days. Hard slammers, heavy stompers, mid-tempo rockers, and not a power ballad in sight!

My version of the album only goes to 11. I mean there are only 11 of the tracks listed in the album's track list as provided here on MMA, making the final track "Heavy Metal Rock 'n' Roll". But there is a bonus track, a cover of a song called, "I Didn't Know I Loved You ('til I Saw You Rock and Roll)" by Gary Glitter, which sounds like just the kind of party song that Joan Jett would cover.

This is crank it up and rock the house down music! And I'll just say it here and now that I like this album much better than either of the Runaways albums I've owned.

Unitron Despite every metal fan knowing about the NWoBHM, most of the bands that belonged to it are sadly forgotten these days sans Iron Maiden and Saxon. Some people will know about the first two Def Leppard albums and the first Diamond Head album, but try and ask someone about any other bands and it will just get harder and harder. This is such a damn shame, as bands like Girlschool, Raven, Jaguar, Satan, Tygers of Pan Tang, and Rock Goddess delivered some of the greatest classic metal albums of the 80's. Out of those bands, Rock Goddess is back with their first release of new material in 30 years, and boy, do they deliver.

This is what I call classic heavy metal, no flash and flair, just pure old school metal. Jody Turner's vocals and guitar work is of classic metal tradition, filled with both raw attitude and melody. Her solos are beautifully melodic, while the main riffs always have a gritty crunch or piercing bite. Tracey Lamb's bass gives each song a great bottom end, enhancing the crunchy heaviness. Julie Turner gives an absolutely pounding drum performance, especially on the final track "We're All Metal". The title track is epic in it's delivery, and the killer "Back Off" is probably my favorite on the EP.

Everything about this release screams classic metal, and this is how it should be done. If you're looking for some killer 80's style traditional metal, this is the best you'll find. I can't wait for what Rock Goddess have coming next, because this is already some of the best classic heavy metal I've ever heard. Hope you found this review helpful, feel free to comment!