“Judge Not” is the latest album from NWOBHM legends Blitzkrieg and their first with the Mighty Music label. It was released on 27th April. The band formed in 1980 with singer Brian Ross being the only original member remaining. Ironically, whilst considered an iconic band of the NWOBHM era and revered by bands such as Metallica; Blitzkrieg have been much more productive musically over the past 16 years than they were in the 80’s or 90’s. The track “Forever Is A Long Time” was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 11th May and “Falling Into Darkness” is on the Show on 18th May.


 

Blitzkrieg formed in 1980, released the “Blitzkrieg”/”Buried Alive” single and then split in 1981 before releasing an album. Ross went on to front Avenger and Satan. It wasn’t until after Blitzkrieg reformed in 1984 that the album “A Time of Changes” appeared in 1985. That was followed by an EP in 1991 called “Ten Years of Blitzkrieg” which was later extended to become the album “Ten” (1996). That album was part of a three album deal with Neat Records that included “Unholy Trinity” in 1995 and “The Mists of Avalon” in 1998. Four more studio albums, a live album and a compilation followed between 2002 and 2013 as the band toured worldwide.


As the debut album “A Time of Changes” couldn’t be re-released it was completely re-corded by the band and released with bonus tracks to celebrate 30 years since its release in 2015. The EP “Reign of Fire” was released by in 2017 when the band signed with Mighty Music. The track “Reign of Fire”, which is also included on the new album, was featured on the NI Rocks A-Z Show in January.


The current Blitzkrieg line-up features Brian Ross on vocals, Ken Johnson on guitar and keyboards, Alan Ross on guitar, Huw Holding on bass and Matt Graham on drums.

 

There are 11 tracks on the digital release, with the CD including “School’s Out” as a bonus track. My favourite tracks would include “Forever Is A Long Time”, “Reign of Fire”, “Without Out” (with Alan Ross on vocals) and “Falling Into Darkness”.

 

Check out the band’s website at http://www.blitzkriegmusic.com/

About “NI Rocks Recommends”

The simple idea behind “NI Rocks Recommends” is to acknowledge and promote some of the great music being submitted to Rock Radio NI. The albums that I’ll be recommending are those that you’ll hear me playing tracks from on my shows. I'll not be giving marks or ratings or analyzing the tracks in great detail; just telling you something about the artist and the album. It’s a personal recommendation to go check something out, not a traditional “review”!