RIFF RAFF - Robot Stud - [FULL ALBUM 1982]

🔘 Raw, powerful, uptempo, melodic, released back in 1982 what can it be but NWOBHM? If Riff Raff were from Birmingham or Barnsley, they couldn’t prevent rise to stardom, but unfortunately this band failed to attract the attention of larger labels, never becoming well-known outside of their hometown Oulu Yes, Riff Raff were not inventive, they used the same formulae as bigger metal acts, but their music is easily comparable to the best albums of that era. Don’t forget, it was the time of “Screaming For Vengeance“, “Number Of The Beast“ and “Restless And Wild“. This records combines the elements of all of them along with partying feel of Saxon and unique sound of “Creatures Of The Night“ (I can’t imagine that “Breaking Out“ is NOT written by Gene Simmons or Vinnie Vincent). And there is no filler there (leave alone short instrumental “Snow Lake“), only the songs that could become successful singles if were released by an English, at least German band. The quality of record is impressive. The sound is clean, guitars are sharp, all is precise without being too technical. Vocalist sometimes reminds me Paul Di’Anno, but Maiden’s frontman never reached such diversity. He almost copies Halford on “Don’t You Think It’s Disgusting“, at some points he could be easily mistaken for Udo Dirkshneider. Can’t say anything special about musicians, they just do their part of work with skill and emotion. Seems like these guys from Finland can’t play bad even if they really want to do it. But the record is not only technically well-done, the songwriting is great too. No repetitiveness, no similar songs. I have no desire to describe the album track-by-track, because I will soon run out of superlatives. Just know that is the true masterpiece of raw melodic metal. Not that modern disco-influenced “melodic power“ with silly keyboards, but the real melodic stuff with catchy tunes that are not going to get out of your head (*Enciclopedia Metallum) _________________________ 🔘Riff Raff were among the earliest of Finland’s Metal bands, starting some time in 1979 before calling it quits in 1984. There were a couple of reissues of their material back in 2018, but the band never got a whole lot of attention outside of their hometown. This is a shame, because while they weren’t doing anything new on Robot Stud, they were doing it pretty damn well. This album is unsurprisingly an old-fashioned slice of dirty, rocking NWOBHM in the vein of early Accept and Saxon. The songs are simple and direct, with much of it being pretty close to Hard Rock, but it rocks so hard that’s not really an issue. The guitar work is simple but infectious, and the vocals are an Udo-styled gargle that have enough swagger and energy to get past their clear limitations most of the time. There are some lost classics on here like the killer opening title track and “Fooling with a .44“, but tracks like “(Don’t You Think) It’s Disgusting“ and the cover of The Valentinos’ “It’s All Over Now“ leans more on the rock than I prefer. I can’t quite call this a lost classic, but it is a solid little gem that serves as a great time capsule of a time when Metal was meant to be played in bars filled with dudes in denim jackets. Worth tracking down. (*The Metal Cry) _TRACKLIST_ 1 - Robot Stud 00:00 2 - Riff Raff 04:08 3 - Dead On My Feet 07:39 4- Break Out 11:22 5 - Fooling With A .44 14:10 6- (Don’t You Think) It’s Disgusting 16:53 7- Back Of The Blue Dove 21:39 8- It’s All Over Now 25:07 9- Snow Lake 28:40 10- Attack’d By Surprise (Run For Your Life) _LINEUP_ Kari “Immu“ Ilmarinen - Vocals, Bass Riku “Korsberg“ Kukkonen - Guitars Jouko “Mookeri“ Salonkari - Guitars Esa “El Pasaderia“ Palosaari - Drums Video made non-profit and solely for recreational purposes. Copyright belong to their respective owners. #80sheavymetal #oldschoolheavymetal #classicheavymetal