STRESS

Yeah, I'm as stunned as you are to even get so see this Eastern want list topper. If you thought those POKOLGEP singles were a bitch to find, prepare yourself for a task of humungous proportions, coz this debut 7" by STRESS is so fudgeing rare it's very existence was an issue of debate up until a few years ago, when one of it's precious few owners agreed to take a lie-detector test at gunpoint. Or something.

"Acélkerék" is a rather unremarkable, straightforward heavy rocker reminding me of a hundred other unremarkable, straightforward heavy rockers and I'll be damned if I can remember a single song title for comparison. This particular strain of Metal isn't what usually sticks in my HM-mainframe for very long and the high-pitch screaming vox kinda bugs me after a few minutes. It would be a shame to call it a bad song, but it's a really pedestrian piece and would barely have made it as a filler on their excellent "Kisértet Kastély" LP from 5 years later. "Séta Éjfélkor" is slightly more interesting. A heavier, more pounding track with less effeminate singing, perhaps a bit too simple to be labeled 'epic' but definitely the pic of the pair as far as catchyness and mood goes.

In case the message hasn't gotten through: No, this is not the most exciting piece of Steel ever forged beyond the iron curtain. It clearly lacks the originality and eerie X-factor of most other contemporary Eastern Metal. Fans of sturdy NWOBHM-style Heavy and/or manic Magyar Rock-completists should definitely keep their eyes open, but if you want a more inspiring introduction to early Hungarian HM I'd like to take this opportunity to recommend the great and pretty common "Robbanásveszély!" comp. LP from 87.