1990 was a year replete with changes for the music industry. Hair Metal was at its commercial height and just ready to nose-dive into decline while Grunge-Rock acts were lining up to fill the void. Before the change-up all the major labels went into a signing fury in an attempt to milk what they could out of Metal while there was time. In all this action several well financed new labels entered the mix with the Disney owned Hollywood Records opening its back accounts to everyone from acts as established as Queen to complete unknowns such as WWIII. WWIII released their self-titled debut, toured and disappeared from sight all in the matter of a few short months. The album was one of the most brutal discs to ever be released and featured an impressive lineup of Metal stars beyond parallel, Vinny Appice (Black Sabbath – Dio), Jimmy Bain (Rainbow – Dio), Tracy G (Dio) and the incomparable voice of Mandy Lion. WWIII shook the foundations of Metal but it was all too much too late.
Fast forward thirteen years and Mandy Lion has resurrected the name and reinstated his original vision for a second and equally as blistering follow up, “When God Turned Away.” This time out Lion has teamed with guitarist/producer Joe Floyd (Warrior) to excise his pound of sonic flesh from the world. Though the timing is equally as ill-fit for something so extreme as it was in 1990 the sizable number of taste conscious Metal heads that keep the long out of print first disc in high demand will eat this one up with similar savage relish.
Tracks as thunderously heavy as “Rise,” “Let the flesh rule the Mind,” and “The hard Way” would be impossible to find anywhere else. The remake of Warrior’s “Fighting for the Earth” goes far beyond the drive of the original and the title track is likely to scare off any who thought that this record could be lifted from as much as the first one was by acts like Rob Zombie.
Standing front of stage dripping in leather while purring into a microphone as only he can is what Mandy Lion should do as a follow up to this stunning release so until the announcement of a tour here I will sit joyously replaying this second classic by WWIII.
written by David Lee Wilson
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Tracklist
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| 1. Rise |
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2. Walk With me |
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3. The Last Days Of The Empire Of Ignorance |
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4. Let The Flesh Rule The Mind |
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5. Fighting For The Earth |
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6. Garden Of Stone |
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7. The Hard Way |
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8. Reason |
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9. Kill The Lord Of This World |
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10. When God Turned Away |
Playing time: 46.29
