TKO • Below The Belt LP

Roadrunner Records 1986
I was super stoked to find this, the last missing piece for my TKO collection, last weekend. Now, it seems to me that TKO was a band that never had it's stars align, because they released some top-notch records, but were largely ignored by the record buying public. 1979's Let It Roll was chock fulla slick, fantastically written and executed 70s Rock and 1984's In Your Face is hands down my favourite "commercial" Metal record ever. Having loved those records so much, I was worried that Below The Belt wouldn't live up, and in some ways that concern was justified. Album opener "Beware The Hunter" is overly commercial and sounds painfully dated (Simmons drums do not belong on Metal record folks), but thankfully things take an upturn thereafter. That big 80s production unfortunately remains, but the songs improve greatly, and all the hallmarks of a great TKO record are present: Brad Sinsel's gritty streetweary vocals and memorable, catchy, well written tunes. For the most part Below The Belt sounds like an overproduced version In Your Face, which does dull the immediacy of the music, but hey, I'll take what I can get. The only other slight drawback is that Adam Bomb's ultra-flash guitar playing is conspicuously absent, but again, beggars can't be choosers.
DOWNLOAD: TKO-BelowTheBelt.rar (77.34 MB)