For their third and final studio album of the decade the band reverted back to their original name, and had enough of a reputation to get it produced by Mickie Most. It would seem the elements were in place for a breakthrough, but instead, third time was not the charm. The album itself wasn't a problem, but compared to the first two HMK releases, there were some changes. There is more of a noticeable pop feel to these tracks, and along with it even more of a "don't-give-a-crap" sentiment from Holton which really contrasts with the professional sheen of the project. The first side most resembles the previous record with the rambling "From Heaven to Hell & Back Again" and emotional ballad "Cry for Me". But the second side is more ambiguous, even though it starts strongly on the pop-rocker "She's No Angel". By the time you finish the murky tour tale of "Squalliday Inn" you begin to wonder what was left for them to stand on. Many later editions include the single "Delirious" and its B-side "Hey Little Girl"; the former is a great aggro-punk style song.

If just one or two things had happened differently we might be talking about the Heavy Metal Kids as one of the most important bands of the 70's. In the very least, when you hear a song of theirs, you begin to understand that the nihilism of punk rock wasn't that far removed from other colorful movements of the decade, like art, prog, and even pop. The oddly-named Heavy Metal Kids (their actual music had little to do with Heavy Metal) were formed from the remnants of two failed prog groups, with the name being much more of a homage to the UK's early 70's twisted gang culture partly inspired by the movie A Clockwork Orange. After a great first album (which fell flat commercially) they rebranded themselves as "The Kids" for their second album, which is just as good, if not better than their debut. Tough, ballsy rockers like "Hard at the Top", "On The Street", and "Blue Eyed Boy" both wear their influences on their sleeve and far surpass them. Slower, more sensitive affairs like "Situations Outta Control" and "The Big Fire" are both desperate and magnetic. Lead vocalist Gary Holton is an obvious star, portraying himself as a tragic, manic figure throughout - yet, like the debut, this album would not find a mass audience, either.

For whatever reason, it took a group from Finland, of all places, to give 80's glam rockers a blue print, from looks to energy to sound. This is gutter-romance street rock following closely on the heels of the New York Dolls and the Heartbreakers (the Johnny Thunders version), straddling the line between punk and metal. The songs are not as distinctive but definitely more subtle and refined than their American counterparts Motley Crue, which makes them more interesting to listen to (at least I think so). Lead singer Michael Monroe's squelchy voice might turn off some ears, but I think it fits in with overall vibe of the record. Definitely worth multiple revisits.

This team probably needed a Netfilx series to properly tell its story....

Probably the most fascinating thing about Dust is that, for a band that released a grand total of two albums, how they continue to generate far more interest some 40 to 50 years than when they actually existed as a functioning act. Hard Attack is the second of two LP’s, and generally, there’s not much difference between the two, although for this more gruffly-titled affair the band decided to stylistically stretch their wings a bit. Yes, there are sensitive things such as ballads, and country-tinged ones at that. But this is a Dust album, which means even when they play a country song, there’s a certain intensity that is missing from your average mom and pop country song. Therefore, the otherwise genteel “I’ve Been Thinkin” comes out like the prelude to a twisted suicide note. And speaking of those….This is the album which contains the mighty track “Suicide”, propelled by Marc Bell’s (later to be Marky Ramone) nasty drum work, running through a laundry list of ways to put down oneself in a desperate attempt to get a jilted lover’s attention. Maybe the sentiment is immature, but metal, punk, and hardcore fans alike can certainly unite over the defiant, middle-finger tone of this one, right? The other cited track is “Learning to Die”, which is on the progressive side of the street, but again, no less defiant in tone than “Suicide”. In fact, defiant and “screw-all” are the general themes of Hard Attack, even for the opening suite “Pull Away/So Many Times”, where the trio replicate their aggression with acoustics and just a lone electric guitar on top of it. The ballads might seem a bit out of place at first (“Thusly Spoken”, “I’ve Been Thinkin”, “How Many Horses”), but upon further listens they fit with the general melancholy of the affair. The guys in Dust seemed like lost kids searching for the next break or opportunity and all of these songs come off like great cries of frustration, in retrospect. In 2004, both the debut and Hard Attack were packaged together as a 2-for-1 CD, so that is probably the best way to experience everything this band had to offer.