Reviews list for Warlock - Triumph and Agony (1987)

Hail to the Queen! Her Majesty Doro Pesch! If anybody else was singing for this album it would be another mediocre throwaway, but Ms. Pesch puts the team on her back and drags them kicking and screaming to the top of the mountain. The music isn't terrible by any means, it's straight forward classic metal like what you would find on a Dio or Scorpions album, it's just that Doro's voice carries so much power and charisma that's it the clear star of the show. Good timing, fist pumping, classic heavy metal with an absolute dyno on the mic. Doro is just a pure joy to listen to and by all accounts a fantastic human being off the stage as well. 

Warlock in 1987 where a different concept to the band that came together some three to four years earlier.  Having already lost Rudy Graf ahead of True as Steel the subsequent departure of Peter Szigeti in the intervening year between their third and fourth record meant that neither of the founding guitarists where now present in the band.  Remaining founding member Eurich was the only original member left standing after the departure also of Frank Rittel.  With longstanding vocalist Doro still around it kind of sounds to me that she carries the band through much of Triumph and Agony.

That's not to say that Arvanitis and Bolan aren't capable guitarists.  Indeed, I find the guitar performances on here really good.  They are energetic and full of flair when in full-flow with the leads holding my interest levels well.  It is clear though that they are sat back in the mix a little too much and would definitely benefit from a little more volume in places.  Doro's vocals sit upfront and it is her gruff and sensual voice that is the consistent take away from the album each time I listen to it.  Eurich's drums feel a little stifled too in all honesty but you can hear all parts of the instrumentation without having to search too hard and there is cohesion to the band performance and each track is also able to standout in its own right.

Even the dreadful Metal Tango has identity at least (if not a disparaging lack of quality also).  Taken as a whole, the album is entertaining, catchy and memorable.  They are working with an established formula here with hi-octane riffs and smattering of NWOBHM plod still present, balancing the mix with a couple of more slower tracks like Make Time for Love.  I don't find the album as fantasy-themed as the artwork suggests (top marks for that Geoffrey Gillespie) and there's an undercurrent of political unrest here in some songs.

So, the last incarnation of Warlock went out with a bang at least ahead of the legal disputes that saw Doro go it alone for the rest of her career.