Samson - Before the Storm (1982)^{Release ID: 3969}

London-based four-piece NWOBHM band Samson had been having a pretty decent time of things with both 1980’s “Head On” & 1981’s “Shock Tactics” leaving a positive impression on me. However life was about to get more complicated for Samson with legendary front man Bruce Dickinson moving on to an amazingly successful career with Iron Maiden & iconic drummer Barry “Thunderstick” Purkis also leaving due to apparent artistic differences with band leader Paul Samson. So Samson was certainly facing an up-hill battle to maintain the loyal fan base they’d worked so hard for. But 1982’s “Before The Storm” album would prove that there was still life in the old dog yet. It sees guitarist Samson & original bassist Chris Aylmer being joined by blues rock singer Nicky Moore & drummer Pete Jupp for a record that sounds as professional as any they’d released to date.

The production’s directed towards more of a hard rock sound than a metal one & it reminds me heavily of classic AC/DC with a very similar guitar crunch. Dickinson & Thunderstick had been the main focal points of the previous two albums but surprisingly the two newcomers here prove themselves to be quite capable of filling their boots. Nicky Moore has a decidedly more bluesy style than Dickinson & I’d hazard to guess that this has had an impact on the musical direction that Samson have taken here because it’s certainly more bluesy than the last couple of records. Although perhaps that might have been the reason for Thunderstick’s departure too I guess. He may not have been too keen on this more commercially viable sound. I’m not sure. Anyway.. Nicky reminds me quite a bit of David Coverdale from Whitesnake with his powerful lower register delivery & he proves himself to be a front man to be reckoned with in my opinion. Pete Jupp’s drumming is really very interesting & enjoyable too although it has to be said that his occasional use of double-kick is poor. Paul Samson has never really stood out as a metal guitarist to my ears. He’s always seemed much more comfortable within the context of a hard rock framework & you can definitely hear that on “Before The Storm”. In fact, Samson seem really quite at home with a more traditional hard rock sound & there’s really only two legitimate metal songs of the nine on offer here. That’s not a problem though as a good two-thirds of the album are pretty solid examples of that sound.

"Before The Storm" may not be quite as consistent as “Shock Tactics” & it doesn’t have the same number of highlights either but it is a pretty good effort under the circumstances. It’s by no means the underwhelming experience that many fans might have been expecting following the departure of two such talented & charismatic band members & fans of Deep Purple, Whitesnake & particularly AC/DC will definitely find some enjoyment here. Sadly though “Before The Storm” would prove to be Samson’s last noteworthy release with a string of four subsequent albums failing to make much of an impression.