Budgie - In For the Kill. 1974 Wales

4th album from pioneering heavy rock band, and it doesn't disappoint. Almost all the tracks are excellent, and 'Zoom Club' is one for the ages - a track that encapsulates all that is great about Budgie: Heavy riffs, jamming solos, creative breaks, high pitched vocals, and grooving rhythms. Also has a slight proggy component that shows up in disparate places. If you have any interest at all in the origins of heavy metal - or thought provoking hard rock - then early Budgie is a must.

Ownership: LP: 197? MCA (UK). Single sleeve. Acquired from JL (2023).

CD: 2016 MCA (Europe). Super box set that has 3 gatefold mini-LP sleeves as well as full liner notes. The CD compiles their 3rd through 5th albums: Never Turn Your Back on a Friend, In For the Kill, and Bandolier. Arguably these are the 3 best albums in the Budgie canon, and demonstrate why they were an influence on the original NWOBHM movement. I was very pleased by the sound - better than the Repertoire CDs I had. No bonus tracks. I'm not sure why they didn't press on with The MCA Albums 1971-1975 and cover the first 5. That would have been even better.

7/9/20 (new entry); 7/8/23 (LP add)