Review by Daniel for Lizzy Borden - Love You to Pieces (1985)

Five-piece LA heavy metal outfit Lizzy Borden took their moniker from an American woman who was charged with the murders of her father & stepmother in 1892. The story of the trial, & her life after being acquitted of the charges & released from prison, have gone on to become a well-known part of American folklore with a number of theories still tying Lizzy to the murders. So it’s not surprising that a metal band would deem Lizzy’s name to be a suitable moniker given the macabre connotations that seem to be attached to it. In fact, the band’s lead singer has also taken on that moniker which has led to a fair bit of uncertainty as to whether Lizzy Borden is just the band’s polarizing front man or the band themselves.

Lizzy Borden also sported a significantly glam-oriented image &, much like WASP, this has led to them being unfairly lumped in with the LA glam metal movement when their music doesn’t really warrant it. At least not at this early stage in their career. In fact, it wouldn’t be stretching things too far to place Lizzy’s 1985 debut album “Love You To Pieces” under the US power metal banner because it certainly showcases elements of speed metal & power metal at times. I don’t think the sleazy cover art does them any favours though as the cheesy image of a lingerie-clad woman waiting to be attacked by a leather-clad maniac is much more in line with the glam metal model than it is with a metal one & you’ll be left with little doubt about which era was responsible for this record.

But once you manage to look past the glammy exterior there’s actually some decent enough metal on display here. The production job is suitably raw & energetic with enough separation & definition to ensure that each instrumentalist in easily picked out of the mix & the musicianship is excellent. Particularly from the engine room with bass player Mike Davis clearly having spent a lot of time studying the impressive technique of Iron Maiden band leader Steve Harris. There’s a lot of melody in the guitar work with axe-men Gene Allen & Tony Matuzak often flirting with a more neoclassical sound that brings to mind the work of artists like fellow US power metal pioneers Warlord. But more often than not Lizzy Borden’s sound sits somewhere between Bruce Dickinson-era Iron Maiden & early Queensryche with Lizzy’s operatic vocal style sitting right in the sweet spot between Dickinson & Queensryche’s Geoff Tate. He absolutely soars into the stratosphere here on occasions & certainly possesses a gift with those higher register screams but he does tend to be a little more polarizing than his more well-known influences as he’s a little more rough around the edges.

Now as many of you may already know, I’m not the biggest fan of speed metal or the more melodic brand of power metal (especially not the neo-classically inspired variety), so I definitely favour the tracks that follow a more traditional heavy metal direction & it’s no surprise that the songs that I consider to be filler tend to be the more speed & power metal oriented ones. But thankfully, despite a number of examples of blatant Maiden worship, there’s enough quality on offer here to keep me interested & overall I find “Love You To Pieces” to be a more than passable heavy metal record.