The album opens with the very NWOBHM-like title-track. "Headhunter" sounds like a mix of the Scorpions and Accept, which could also be used to describe the sound of much of the band's early 1980s output. The song is a little cliche and tacky, but is more than enjoyable. A nice gallop thunders the song along, with Fernando von Arb providing some very nice and over-the-top lead guitar. The rhythm guitars sound a little cheap and thin, but the leads beef out the song. A pretty good track, but somewhat cliche. "Eat the Rich" is less 80s-sounding, a much more classic-rock sounding song. The band's AC/DC influence shows here, and the song bears more than a passing similarities to the Aussie rock gods. Nevertheless, the song is pretty damn catchy, with especially solid drumming from Steve Pace, as well as a cool little bass solo from Chris von Rohr. Totally a rip on AC/DC, but Krokus pulls it off more like a homage, rather than outright pilferage.
"Screaming in the Night" was a huge hit for the band, especially in America. A power-ballad of sorts, the song combines a cheesy horror-lite theme with equally sappy lyrics about longing and lusting for a woman. I feel like the Scorpions do this kind of thing much better, and I prefer Krokus' heavy and fast rockers.Not a terrible song, but far too long for me, and dated with digital sounding drums that kick in at times. The solos and leads are nice, and Marc Storace's vocals are more than adequate, but never got into this song. "Ready to Burn" brings us back into the land of the living. Another AC/DC-like song, Marc Storace summons his best Bon Scott impression again. I like the swagger of the song, but the lyrics are very repetitive (even for 1980s metal) and the song feels trapped in a state of purgatory between NWOBHM metal and the classic sounds of 1970s rock. That's the problem really with Krokus, they had one foot always in the 1970s, and unlike Judas Priest, were somewhat unable to fully adapt to the musical landscape of the 1980s.
"Night Wolf" is obviously the song with the coolest title on the album. Much more 1980s in terms of sound and composition, the song is quite fast and reminds of Judas Priest and Accept. The chorus is laughable in terms of lyrics, but the song contains all of the features one must look for in vintage metal. My favorite track on the album, I love the speed of the track, the screeching vocals, and the solid drumming. I just wish the guitars were a little heavier, but Krokus always held back their guitar sound a little in my opinion. "Stayed Awake All Night" feels a bit too "jammy" for me, very 1970s-sounding. The simplistic riff doesn't really work for me, and the song features an annoying section with just a sparse drum-beat, synth washes, and spoken dialogue/screaming. The section seems to go on forever before the riff comes back in, ughhh. Not a fan of this track.
"Stand and Be Counted" is another song that sounds like a 1970s transplant. With layers of 1980s-production applied by knob-wizard Tom Allom, the song sounds very dated given the time of its release. The song reminds me of Free/Bad Company, but lacks all of the blues-swagger that made those bands so great. The lyrics are so corny they would make even Twisted Sister cringe. The song is somewhat decent, but even the solos feel tacky and fail to impress. "White Din" is a strange and short instrumental, just some guitar arpeggios with some leads over them. Kind of cool sounding, but nothing more than a short curiosity. "Russian Winter" closes the album. I can hear the influence of Accept all over this track, but Accept themselves were obviously influenced by Krokus, so it's really a case of who made who. The lyrics are so laughable they could be off a Survivor record, but it's not a band track, it has a great solo, a solid drum beat, and it fills enough of the nostalgia voice given the cheese factor it produces. One of the better tracks.
Headhunter is not a great album in my opinion. I prefer the band's late 1970s output personally. However, if you can find a copy for cheap (I'm sure you can), there are a few tracks to make it worth a purchase.
Rating: 6/10
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