Hard Attack

Released

Everybody’s favorite Cimmerian faces two mythical dwarves on a snowy wasteland on the cover. Dust not only cemented early metal’s fascination with swords and sorcery but beat Molly Hatchet to the Frank Frazetta game by close to a decade. The art’s more appropriate for this slab of surprisingly mature proto-metal. The credits on the back list pedal steel, slide, and acoustic guitars in addition to the usual electric, and while Dust might not’ve been the first ones to figure out the power of pitting traditional and charged six-strings against each other, they sure used it effectively on songs like “Walk in the Soft Rain.” When they plug everything in on album highlight “Learning to Die,” they teach its lesson well. The bassist and drummer went on to play for bands you’ve actually heard of.

Jeff Treppel

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