Reviews list for H-Bomb - Attaque (1984)

French five-piece heavy metallers H-Bomb were a band that enjoyed a short but fairly well-acclaimed career spanning just 4 or 5 years. Their story began in November 1981 with the band doing very well to be snapped up by the thriving Rave-On Records label who were on a bit of a hot streak at the time following the release of several high quality EPs (Mercyful Fate, Evil, Sortilege, etc.) along with the infamous “Metal Clogs” compilation. The Rave-On deal ended up resulting in H-Bomb following the label’s trend of the time & kicking off their recorded music career with a 6-track EP going by the name of “Coup de metal” & these days it’s regarded as one of the few French heavy metal releases to give a gentle nudge to Sortilege’s undisputed reign as the Gods of the local scene. And this brings us to H-Bomb’s follow-up release; their first & only full-length studio album entitled “Attaque”.

The “Coup de metal” EP is known for its faster & more fierce brand of metal & perhaps that’s why it’s slightly more popular with critics, but “Attaque” sees the band taking a more controlled & accessible approach that saw the album reaching an increased level of commercial appeal. The production job is excellent for the time which gives the songs their best chance of fully realising their potential. There’s lots of space in the mix with a real organic warmth & plenty of mid-range in the guitars while the driving kick drums offer good depth & are a real highlight. This is simply constructed but well executed NWOBHM-inspired heavy metal that’s not overly complex or dense but maintains a strong sense of melody throughout. The uncomplicated arrangements have a hard rock edge to them that keeps things easily accessible with an open feel that might not sound all that intimidating or heavy but is catchy as hell nonetheless. If you’re particularly picky then you could say that it all sounds a little safe but I think the hooks are easily strong enough to compensate & it’s certainly heavy enough to capture the metal audience while also offering some significant crossover appeal for the wider music market. In fact, I can definitely discern a bit of a Van Halen influence during some of the singalong moments & it’s a credit to the band that I even reference singalong moments when the lyrics are all sung in French. I don’t find this an obstacle like I do with other bands & I think that’s in no small part due to the skill sets of front man Didier Izard whose performance is a real highlight & I actually think that he carries some of the weaker material on the tracklisting & gives it the energy & charisma to offer a reasonable amount of appeal. He’s got a particularly European sounding style to my ears; similar to some of the German metal front men with a gnarly snarl balanced out with equal amounts of melody. Plus he has a King Diamond level ultra-high pitched scream on him when he wants to let it rip.

The rhythm section puts in a great performance here & the use of double kick is outstanding for the time. Gerard Michel has a lot more fluency & control than most of his peers & the result gives the impression of speed metal even if the riffs don’t quite match them for intensity. In fact, you can find a lot of the speed metal tools employed readily across the tracklisting but it’s rare that the tempo manages to cross the line over into genuine speed metal territory for long even though the energy levels are generally quite high. Don’t get me wrong. These guys really know how to rock & they mostly remind me of bands like Saxon & Accept with the more commercially driven moments more in line with Judas Priest’s more accessible moments.  Bass player Philty Garcia ties in with the drums beautifully to add some extra professionalism & class while the guitar solos are all quite simple but very effective nonetheless. You even get some of those trademark NWOBHM style guitar harmonies to add interest here & there & it all adds up to a very enjoyable listen that I favour very comfortably over the much more highly regarded Sortilege "Metamorphose" album from the same year. Sadly H-Bomb disintegrated shortly afterwards in 1986 but at least they've left us on positive note as I think most fans of classic heavy metal should find something to enjoy here.