Review Summary: Formulaic, but enjoyable pop-metal from a promising young Canadian vocalist.
METAL QUEEN isn’t as iconic album as its title might have you believe, but it is an enjoyable one. Canadian vocalist Lee Aaron was just 22 years old when her second album was released by Canada’s Attic records. The album cover featured the fetchingly attractive front woman holding a sword while dressed in a period costume that would suitable for a Manowar album. Raging hormones alone would have convinced many teen aged headbangers to take a chance on buying the record. Inevitably, these young metal fans would need to decide whether this young woman deserved to have the bold title that she’d claimed on the album cover.
After hearing Lee sing for the first time, it was obvious to me that she could deliver the goods vocally. She possessed a very strong voice and a rugged tone that reminded me a bit of Ronnie James Dio. Her band, which included guitarist John Albini, sounded tight and professional. On the surface, it would seem that Lee had deservedly earned this boastful title.
The title track is by far the strongest song on the album, as well as the heaviest sounding. The rest of the album is chock full of slickly produced and competently executed pop-metal fare. “Lady Of The Darkness Night” and the catchy “Shake It Up” are minor highlights, but neither song has the staying power of “Metal Queen”. My main issue with the album as a whole is that most of the material seems just a little too contrived and formulaic to be memorable.
Regardless, Lee Aaron was obviously a promising metal vocalist at the time and I was willing to accept this album despite its obvious shortcomings. Since 1984, Lee Aaron had dabbled with other styles including alternative rock & jazz, while maturing as a singer and musician. Still, I’ll always a certain fondness for her bold and calculated foray into heavy metal.
