Refugee

Yes, them again. Samson can't be blamed for beating their dead horse of a career long after it was termed "vital" in any way; the market for enduring New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands springs ever richly in remote countries, plus a man's gotta eat, after all. And, in all fairness, 1990's unassuming Refugee did represent as solid an effort as any latter-day album from the beleaguered former mates of Iron Maiden. Guitarist Paul Samson remains as reliable a performer as ever, and new singer Peter Scallan acquits himself as well over the course of quite decent, if hardly spectacular, new offerings like "Can't Live Without Your Love," "Turn on the Light," and "State of Emergency," which fit right in with Samson's blue-collar hard rock tradition. Two instrumentals, "Room 109" and "Samurai Sunset," contribute what instrumentals usually contribute (not much), but a number of re-recorded cuts from 1988's deplorable And There It Is mini-album (opener "Good to See You," the upbeat "Too Late," the grandiose "The Silver Screen") sound vastly superior here to their original versions. All of which amounted to a rather enjoyable LP, which left many a nostalgic metal head quietly cheering for Samson's return to prominence, no matter how unlikely — and ultimately unrealistic — such a concept would prove.