The sadly departed Dimebag Darrell certainly loved Ace Frehley, and opening track "Ride My Rocket" certainly reveals that love. The song bears more than a passing similarity to Detroit Rock City, and even Frehley's KISS classic "Rocket Ride". Despite this, it's a pretty good song for a bunch of teenagers. Dime reveals his virtuosity coming to fruition here, already playing far beyond his years. The vocal stylings of Terry Glaze sound more like Rob Halford than any member of KISS, and get the job done. However, I can see why Glaze would leave the band, and be replaced by the much more aggressive Phil Anselmo. "I'll Be Alright" reminds me of Paul Di'Anno-era Iron Maiden. This is certainly not a bad thing, and I happen to love the Di-Anno years. The song is basically speed metal. Very raw and fast, Vinnie Paul already sounds great and is certainly no slouch himself, and incredibly talented group of young men.
"Tell Me If You Want It" is a little more dated. A power ballad of sorts, it sound pretty out of character for the band. Apparently this is direction that Glaze would want to take the band during the mid-1980s. I can see why the other members of the band disagreed, pretty bad schlock. The whispering vocals are very amateur, even given the band's age and the budget of the recording. The drums sound like cardboard as well. Cheesy synths are all over the song as well. The only highlight is Dime's fantastic leads, and any chance to hear the man play is worth a listen. "Latest Lover" is horrible, really really bad. A generic rock song, it barely even qualifies as metal, sounding more new wave than anything. Still better than anything I wrote as a teen, it nonetheless sounds like The Cars and Judas Priest playing together. Yes, as bad as it sounds. Dime supplies a few tasty leads, but the song is devoid of almost any value other than as a very strange artifact from the band's past.
"Biggest Part Of Me" is a ballad in the most 80s of ways. Big synthesizer strings accompany Glaze's vocals amid Paul's massively heavy drums. The song sounds like Journey on steroids, which is not necessarily a good thing. Pretty good drumming and an excellent solo slightly save the song, but it is nothing spectacular and I am glad than Pantera would later abandon all vestiges of this sound. The title track "Metal Magic" must certainly be heavy, right? After a few synth washes and helicopter sound, Dime treats us to a pretty crunchy and heavy riff. Very thrash metal, the song is pretty fast and heavy. However, the song is terribly recorded, even worse than the other songs on the album. The vocals have far too much echo on them, and it becomes very distracting. A terrible organ solo occurs in the middle of the song. But alas, Dime unleashes a killer solo near the end of the song. The only highlight of this turd, it is almost worth a listen.
"Widow Maker" is the best track on the album. Despite the quality of the recording, the Judas Priest-like tune stomps its way into your brain. The song shows the early signs of the "groove metal" sound that the band would become synonymous with later in the 1990s. Great leads, solid drumming and bass, and some pretty decent singing from Glaze show the early seeds of greatness from the band. "Nothin' On (But the Radio)" is another fairly generic 80's hair/glam-sounding tune, I would go even so far to say Eddie Money-esque. Not really any worse than a lot of 80s crap, but certainly not what one would expect from Pantera, and far below the standard set by some of the better songs on the album.
"Sad Lover" is a little heavier. Van Halen were likely an influence on the track, as you can hear the influence of Eddie Van Halen in Dime's playing, as well as the rhythm section. Great playing from Dime, but not a great track, fairly average. "Rock Out" closes out the album. The song starts as a fairly generic sounding hair/glam tune, but gets much faster will some insane solos from Dime, including some of his first "dive-bombs" on record. A great guitar showcase, but not a great song. The lyrics are especially basic.
"Metal Magic" has some cool moments. Fans of the band should definitely listen to the album to hear the band's evolution. However, I would not recommend the album as an essential listen for those only casually interested in Pantera. Terrible recording quality, numerous 80s ballads, and even some hair/glam tracks are a far cry from the song unleashed on "Cowboys From Hell" and "Vulgar Display of Power". The level of playing from Vinnie and Dime and to a certain extent Rex Brown is quite good, but Terry Glaze lacked the star power of Anselmo, that powder keg combination of his time with the band. Good for a bunch of teens, but far below what you would expect from Pantera later in their career.
Rating-5/10
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