The polar opposite of the "lo-fi" movement in rock music of the 1980s and 1990s, Nitro is no holds barred rock. Opener "Freight Train" contains dizzying solos, operatic vocals, and pounding drumming. Honestly, it doesn't work for me. It sounds like a huge chaotic mess of sounds, everyone trying to be louder and meaner than each other. Vocalist Jim Gillette is a decent vocalist, but he puts on a falsetto that annoys. Guitar virtuoso Michael Angelo Batio is of course a very technically skilled guitarist as well, but likes to go off and solo like a madman in the middle of a song, it takes away from the structure of the song for me, no lead-up to the solo, just balls-out all the time. Not a good song, despite good playing. "Double Trouble" is horrible, one of the worst metal songs I've ever heard. The vocals are just insane, like King Diamond on speed. I have never really liked falsettos(other than King Diamond) , and if you don't either, stay far away from Nitro. Also, drummer Bobby Rock has trouble keeping up time at slower speeds, a decent rock drummer at high tempos, but limited at slower speeds. Batio's guitars are very good and he can certainly shred, but it can't save it, a terrible song.
"Machine Gun" comes next. I like Batio's riff, and at this point we realize that he is really the only saving grace of this awful band. Basically a speed metal song, it basically sounds like King Diamond/Mercyful Fate, but without the charisma and macabre panache of the King. A very odd fit with the rest of the album so far, it confuses and shows that the album is a stylistic hodgepodge of different metal styles. Guitars aren't bad at all, but the verse vocals are barely audible. One of the better songs recorded by the band, but basically a rip-off of Mercyful Fate. "Long Way from Home" takes us back to America, after the European sojourn of Machine Gun. Sounding like "Home Sweet Home", Gillette adopts a Vince Neil-like twang. The vocals are covered in reverb and delay effects, rendering much of the lyrics unintelligible. Not a bad song structural speaking, the bad production, terrible falsetto vocals, and necessary guitar solos kill any chance it could have had. Bad, and far too long at over 5 minutes. "Bring It Down" brings us back into speed metal territory. Crushingly fast, it is almost impossible to follow the song, and the drumming begins to fall apart. Dave Lombardo, Bobby Rock is not. Batio's guitar work is of course very technically and occasionally elegant, but not enough to again save this very ridiculous song.
"Nasty Reputation" is the most traditional metal song on the album. The backing vocals sound very "chipmunk" like, probably just speed up and digitally manipulated, awful. At least this song has some potential, and I like the break-down. A Vinnie Vincent-like solo comes seemingly out of nowhere and does kick ass, but it's not enough to keep my interest. Ugh. "Fighting Mad" is somewhat thrash metal, very heavy. The vocals are again impossible to hear, I can't make out a single word that Gillette is saying. The chorus has moments of inspiration, but they are held down by terrible production. Very bad. "Shot Heard Round' the World" is very 1980s hair metal, a song about rocking the world and staying free. It is easily the worst song on the album. The vocals are just horrible, I beg for this album to be over. Even Batio seems to be losing steam on this track. The grunting throughout the song made me laugh out loud, it sounds sooooo lame, and the lyrics are just totally cliche and vapid. "OFR" is the band's anthem. Another speed-like song, just try to understand any of the verse lyrics. Seas of terrible backing vocals make you wonder how this album was produced, it is like piles and piles of tracks were stacked on top of each other, a terrible racket. The chorus chant is so unbelievably stupid, I can't believe that this song was recorded, or that this band was signed at all. Awful...
O.F.R. is not only the worst metal album I have ever heard, it may be the worst album by any musical artist I have ever heard. It needs to be heard to believe.
Rating-0/10
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