Review Summary: Not a hit for Budgie fans... But it has a lot to offer to fans of catchy 80's rock.
It's understandable why this album has a low rating. Budgie is a pretty cult metal band and one of the founders of the genre. For that reason, most people who listen to Budgie are big into that 70's metal scene and reject the softer pop aspects the band finally added in this, their (kind of) swansong.
For me, this is Budgie's best album. The synthesizers and catchy choruses make every song stand out, and to be honest, this is the only Budgie album I can actually recall more than two songs from after many listens. Fans of Budgie are no doubt thrilled they stayed very consistent in the 70's, but that consistency of playing - in my opinion - generic 70's metal, meant there was nothing making Budgie special, apart from their weird bird theme. This album is eclectic, dense, and very catchy. Despite that, it has some really good riffs! Not as heavy as before, but much more fun.
Budgie has never had a very serious mood to their music, which is fine, but it left no impression on me. This album is the first one I could call passionate. The feeling of each song seemed to be important, rather than simply throwing together some riffs and solos.
This is the only full album from the band I'd ever revisit, as almost all of the songs are great. Shame it gets pegged as a sellout failure - which it may have been. But it sounds good, and that's all that matters to me.
