For their third record, as well as second and last with Dickinson, Samson stuck to the same rules, although they certainly further worked on the somewhat rough edges from
Head On. The new
Shock Tactics would become a greater achievement than its predecessor, and remains the arguably best-known album the Brits put out.
The improvement is clear right from the beginning, as opener
Riding With the Angels now shows the full extent of Dickinson’s voice, who’s performance is much closer to his latter on
The Number of the Beast than it is to the one on
Head On. The vocals are definitely more catchy, and see a plunge in a more operatic area, where those on Samson’s previous album were more standard rock-orientated.
The guitar also achieves greater presence, though overpowering the recognizable bass that was an interesting feature on
Head On. By the sound of it, Paul Samson took his time to listen to
Thin Lizzy, most notably
Jailbreak, which well could have served as an inspirational source. The songs are overall better structured, the riffs pack more punch, and though the solos are still nothing really noteworthy, the serve their purpose well. And no, drummer Thunderstick still failed living up to his name.
As a result of these improvements, the overall material is stronger, and real filler can’t be found. Sure, the 6-minute
Blood Lust gets a bit repetitive towards the end and should have been cut down, and songs such as
Bright Lights don’t contain the most original lyrics, but that doesn’t mean they’re not catchy.
The best about
Shock Tactics may be that it is such an improvement on
Head On. In favour of the earlier recognizable bass, the guitar and vocals received tremendous improvement. The songs are catchier, pack more punch, and are better presented. Samson still didn’t become (and never became) anything near essential with this record, but it is a great hard rock album, once again made all the more interesting because Dickinson has his name on it.
- Paul Bruce ‘Bruce Bruce’ Dickinson ~ Vocals
- Paul Samson ~ Guitar
- Chris Aylmer ~ Bass Guitar
- Barry ‘Thunderstick’ Graham ~ Drums
