The Blitz

If working with producer Tom Allon had transformed 1983’s Headhunter into a work of unadulterated metal, then 1984’s The Blitz was Krokus’ attempt to sweeten its hard rock sound for the pop charts. The group hired Bruce Fairbairn, a Canadian producer who'd struck gold with Loverboy and would later work with Bon Jovi and Aerosmith. The result was an LP of sweet pop-metal tunes like “Midnite Maniac,” “Boys Nite Out,” and “Ready to Rock.” That’s not to say these songs are akin to what glam-metal bands like Poison would soon churn out. Rather, Fairbairn gave a pleasant pop glaze to Krokus’ resolutely hardheaded riffs. “Rock the Nation” was everything you’d want in a pop-metal song from 1984: a taut but driving riff builds toward a sing-along chorus about the glory of being a metal listener. (“Rock 'n' roll hanging on your bedroom wall/Turn the lights out, dream about the show/Rock the nation!”) For anyone who thought the band was edging too close to the mainstream, Krokus included “Out of Control”: a high-speed assault that echoes both AC/DC’s “Let There Be Rock” and Iron Maiden’s “Run to the Hills.”