Girlschool
Guilty As Sin
Release Date: 13 November 2015
UDR GmbH
Review by Cameron Cooper
So far, this year has seen new records from British legends Motorhead and Saxon. But the unholy trinity of old school metal wouldn’t be complete without Lemmy’s former house (and current tour) mates Girlschool also dropping a huge slab of crunchy riffs and punky, grit-gargling vocals. On Guilty As Sin, the original ladies of metal deliver on all fronts.
Album stand-outs Take It Like A Band, Awkward Position and the Def Leppard-esque Painful are rumbling, bass-boosted rockers demonstrating the band still sound like they did in the 70s and 80s: passionate, fresh and mean. Naturally, the band have a few wild cards up their sleeves, including a scorching cover of The Bee Gees Staying Alive. The band’s rendition of folk standard Everybody Loves (Saturday Night), however, doesn’t go down quite so well.
The album isn’t likely to appeal to a wide fan base, but for New Wave of British Heavy Metal die-hards? It is all there: punk rock drumming, bright AC/DC-inspired open chords and raucous hooks. A triumphant release that rivals the band’s early work.
