No Way Out

Paul Gaskin decided that some lineup changes were in order for his band's second album, No Way Out, and delegated lead vocal duties to new frontman Bren Spencer in order to concentrate on his guitar playing. Not that this made much difference, as the guitarist and his new vocalist sounded almost exactly alike, and the album found the band only barely tweaking their sound by employing a slightly more melodic approach than was heard on their debut. But aside from a few rather ordinary numbers, No Way Out is also a more cohesive effort from start to finish than their debut, mixing memorable hard rockers like "Dirty Money," "Ready for Love," and "Come Back to Me" with storming metallic anthems like "High Crime Zone" and the title track. "Say Your Last Word" is the album's only surprise, but it's a doozy, as the band steps completely out of character to deliver a shockingly straightforward ballad which is also remarkably good. [Gaskin's two albums, End of the World and No Way Out, were released on a single compact disc by British Steel Records in 1998.]