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It is hard to believe that Switzerland's first internationally popular hard rock/heavy metal band Krokus had been banging out albums for eight years prior to the release of their breakthrough album Headhunter in 1983m or that it was their SEVENTH full-length album. Prior to Headhunter, Krokus was little more than an AC/DC clone, but the stars aligned in 1983 and suddenly they were everywhere. There may be a lot of hard rock on this album, like "Eat the Rich" and "Stand and Be Counted," which still kick ass, and the ballad "Screaming in the Night," the band's biggest hit did reach #21 on the Billboard Rock chart, but that's hardly the full picture. Queue up "Headhunter," "Night Wolf," or "Russian Winter" for some pure, US-style traditional metal fire that stands the test of time. The quirky "Stayed Awake All Night," a cover of a Bachman-Turner Overdrive song that Krokus completely owned, with its chant-inducing chorus and sound effects, is a great example of a band not afraid to try something different and my even have inspired Motörhead to break out of their comfort zone with tracks like "Orgasmatron" and "Nightmare - The Dreamtime." All metal fans back in the day had a copy of Headhunter and with good reasons ranging from Marc Storace's air raid wails to Fernando von Arb's memorable leads. If you don't own it and you love '80s metal, rectify that situation as soon as possible because this album rules.