VICTORY – Victory [Yesterrock remaster]

Alongside the featured here remastered second album by hard rockers VICTORY, it was requested as well the band’s self-titled album, remastered by YesterRock Records.
Not easy to find, but finally we got it.

Victory was formed in Germany in 1984 from the remnants of the band Fargo. Bassist Peter Knorn, guitarists Tommy Newton & John Lockton, and drummer Bernie Van der Graaf had all previously worked together in that band.
After originally working with vocalist Pedro Schemm, former Gary Moore and Ted Nugent terrific American singer Charlie Huhn became the group’s front man.

For years a hard to find LP, it’s great to see “Victory” available again and for the first time on CD, with a pristine remastered sound.
Released in 1985, this debut finds the band playing straight classic hard rock, no power ballads or metal hymns, just melodious rockers driven by sharp guitar riffs and powerful vocals.

Having an experienced vocalist like Charlie Huhn benefited Victory in many ways, not only for his contribution in songwriting and arrangements, but also for his perfect English language. Some of the troubles with German bands at that period were the vocalist’s accent, which decreased the musical impact in the international markets.
So with Huhn this issue was solved, and add the plus that “Victory” was mixed in the US by the great Michael Wagener (Dokken, White Lion, etc).

The album cover artwork generated some controversy, but the music packed inside dispel any doubt: Victory rocks.
Songs like ‘Chicks On Display’ and ‘On The Run’ are catchy, there’s great hooks on ‘The Hunter’, ‘Wreck Man’, and ‘Red Alert’, while ‘I’m Down’ is a cover of The Beatles song in a fine rockin’ outfit. Victory keep the charm of the original and present it in their own way.
‘Can’t Stop Missing You’ is a very good ‘hard rock ballad’ (not in the power ballad fashion) without all the ‘bombast’ showed a few years later by the band.

While delivering easy, simple riff-driven material, “Victory” is a really strong and solid debut by these Germans, that kind of mid-Eighties hard rock albums mixing the European bite with the American accessibility.
I really like this YesterRock remaster respecting the vinyl LP ‘dry sound’; straight hard rock, hooky n’ punchy. A timeless album, a little gem of German traditional ’80s hard rock.
HIGHLY Recommended

You’ve seen it first here, at 0dayrox

01 – The Hunter
02 – On The Run
03 – Chicks On Display
04 – Gonna Be In Trouble
05 – I’m Down
06 – Wreck Man
07 – Don’t Count On Me
08 – Can’t Stop Missing You
09 – Red Alert

Charlie Huhn – lead vocals, guitar, piano
Tommy Newton – guitars, backing vocals
John Lockton – guitars, backing vocals
Peter Knorn – bass
Bernie Van Der Graaf – drums

BUY IT !
www.amazon.de/Victory/dp/B004Y7L2KC
.