Tokyo Blade

Dark Revolution DISSONANCE

NWOBHM cult heroes. Still game.

They could have been the West Country’s answer to Iron Maiden. But Salisbury-based Tokyo Blade missed out on the great New Wave Of British Heavy Metal gold rush. In 1983 their selftitled debut album, for all its head-banging power, was a mere footnote in a year when Piece Of Mind cemented Maiden’s position as the world’s biggest metal band, and Metallica’s Kill ’Em All signposted the future.

Amazingly, after all these years the new Tokyo Blade album has the same line-up that they had in ’84 (as reunited for the 2018 album Unbroken), and what is most impressive throughout the whole of Dark Revolution is the spirit and energy that these guys still have. The title track is reminiscent of vintage Accept, while similarities to Maiden are still evident in the melodic interplay between guitarists Andy Boulton and John Wiggins.

Tokyo Blade remain, loudly and proudly, as old-school as a studded wristband. ■■■■■■■■■■