Reissue of 1981 album from UK metal act featuring Bruce Dickinson who later gained fame as the vocalist for Iron Maiden.1981 release. Standard jewel case.
Reissue of 1981 album from UK metal act featuring Bruce Dickinson who later gained fame as the vocalist for Iron Maiden.1981 release. Standard jewel case.
CD Reviews
This is good!
L. B. Ivarsson | Rock City | 02/10/2003
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Samson were a part of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, but never gained success like many other bands (Saxon, Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, to name a few). On this album Bruce Dickinson (later to join Iron Maiden) is the singer, and that alone would certainly be of interest to some people."Shock tactics" is a good heavy metal album although it's not great. You get what you expect in songs like "Riding with the angels" and "Bright lights" since they follow the blue print for heavy metal at the time (1981). But Samson are clearly showing us that they are talented above average in cuts like "Earth mother", "Nice girl" and "Go the hell". They even include a blues inspired number: "Blood lust", but whether or not Dickinson can sing the blues is up to you to decide.I give this album 3 strong stars, but some days when I play "Go to hell" real loud I tend to think it's worth at least 4 stars! If you're a dedicated fan of New Wave Of British Heavy Metal you shouldn't hesitate to buy this one."
AND ONCE THERE WAS MUSIC ...
Poverty | Puta Que O Pariu | 07/31/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"THis CD is from a time when there was still good rock around: the beginning of the eighties. The ammount of great talented bands playing, composing and releasing album after album year after year was incredible. Then, all this was replaced by glam, rap, grunge, Spice Girls, Ricky Martin, Madonna, Backstreet Boys, etc, etc, and good rock was almost dead. This SAMSON from Britain was one of the best, but it lacked good management and they were finished prematurely. SHOCK TACTICS is without doubt and controversy their best album ever."
Classic NWOBHM album
Justin Gaines | Northern Virginia | 01/03/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Originally released in 1981, Shock Tactics was the third album from New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) mainstays Samson, and the last to feature vocalist "Bruce Bruce", who as Bruce Dickinson would go on to join Iron Maiden and pretty much take over the entire heavy metal world.
It might be tempting to write off Samson as just a stepping stone in Dickinson's career, but to do so means overlooking one of the legendary NWOBHM movement's more interesting bands. Samson's sound was more rooted in blues-based rock than most of their peers, so if you can imagine Bruce Dickinson fronting Whitesnake you'll get a general idea of what the band's sound - particularly on Shock Tactics - is all about. It's bluesy, but it's undeniably a heavy metal album, complete with the energy and intensity that so characterized the NWOBHM scene. Between Paul Samson's guitar work and Dickinson's - sorry, Bruce's - trademark vocals (which were anything but rough), this album has plenty to offer. It's a well-written and well-executed album, and a great example of just what the NWOBHM scene had to offer.
Despite some of the negative reviews I've seen here, I think Shock Tactics is a fine album that should appeal to NWOBHM fans as well as those who follow Dickinson's career, both solo and with Iron Maiden."
Bruce who? Bruce Bruce!
Quinn Miller | Columbus, OH United States | 08/05/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Yeah, that's Bruce Dickinson before his days with Iron Maiden turning in another set of wailing vocals, and he sings here as well as ever. Don't expect Maiden here, although "Earth Mother" could have fit onto an album like Powerslave well enough. Paul Samson's guitar work is more than competent and quite down to earth, only occassionally flashy. Drummer "Thunderstick" really drives the grooves throughout the album (the guy wears a hood over is head while playing, of course with eye holes cut-out) which makes some of the material sound a bit more thrashy than it might otherwise seem. A personal favorite is "Blood Lust" with its interesting mid-break filled with sound effects (alarm clocks, fire engine sirens, you get the idea...). "Communion" closes the album on a sombre note, which is apt because Bruce would shortly therafter be gone for the greener pastures of Maiden. Shock Tactics also contains "Riding with the Angels," a summer rocker written by Russ Ballard, who was turning up on a bunch of other hard rock/metal collaborations at the time."
Track Listings (9) - Disc #1