• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

Yeah, I know, the "B" in NWOBHM stands for "British," but man, did Germany's Brainfever hit the nail on the head with their 1984 release, Capture the Night. (And let's look past the goofy cover art, shall we?) These guys were clearly big fans of their contemporaries like Iron Maiden, Saxon, Tygers of Pan Tang, etc. But they managed to not sound exactly like any of their heroes. What you get are 10 blazing tracks of pure metallic goodness. It's all there: the thin, 1984 production (perfect for the music), the Maiden-esque riffs and awesome soloing and cheese-laden song titles like "Dirty Streets" and "Thunder and Lightning."

Capture the Night starts off with a burner, "Into the Night," which, like faster songs of this era relies more on the guitar than the drums to set the tempo. Guitarist Marco Bottcher lets the solos rip right from the start. The album settles into a mid-paced groove until the title track picks up the pace again. Track 9, "Tool for the Show," is a real gem. Featuring some great songwriting (verse/chorus/solo/repeat), it has the catchiest chorus on the album. Singer Horst Neumann has a typical 80s metal voice, mid-range with a few high pitched screams thrown in. There is absolutely no filler here, just 10 songs that range from very good to great. Any fan of traditional or NWOBHM should seek this one out. Recommended.