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1985 the best Speed Metal album of all times saw the light of day: "Skeptics Apocalypse" by AGENT STEEL, the band around the wacko singer John Cyriis. Despite all musical furiosity all of the songs excel in intricate, facetful, complex, but still damn catchy arrangements, the ultra genious, cliché free, unique melody lines and the technical skills of the instrumental fraction, which easily could compete with the forerunners of IRON MAIDEN, JUDAS PRIEST etc. Add to that the high, slightly queaking and absolutely convinving voice and you have another milestone of the US-Metal history, which had been rich in highlights already before.
Every fan of high quality Metal at least once in his life has to have heard such incredible creations like "Agents Of Steel" (already covered by SHADOWS OF STEEL), the hefty whirlwind "Taken By Force", the super catchy and deeply hitting "Bleed For The Godz" (also covered by POWERGOD), the speed inferno "144,000 Gone", the bone breaker "Guilty As Charged", which's beginning riff should have inspired German PARADOX to their classic "Pray To The Gods Of Wrath" or each other song of the album, to be able to realise why AGENT STEEL will stand above the wannabe Melodic Speed bands of today for always and beyond (I have heard it, but still don't get what people think is so fabulous about it… - Alex).
Only the sound could not fully keep up with the class of the music. On the re-release of the CD there also are two bonus tracks, an intro and an unreleased live song in bad quality, which, though, do not drag the whole thing down. (Online June 14, 2003)
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