Kane Roberts
Kane Roberts
MCA Records
Released in 1987
During Alice Cooper’s resurgence in the 80’s as a heavy metal act, his guitarist Kane Roberts flexed some muscle of his own; recording a solo album in between Constrictor and Raise Your Fist and Yell. Kane proved his mettle; boldly showing off his Rambo-like physique on the album cover and laying down eleven tracks of molten metal with the help of some friends along the way. He enlisted popular metal producer Michael Wagener and teamed up with fellow musicians Steve Steele and Victor Ruzzo to bring his first solo venture to life in late 1987. Kane even brought in Alice Cooper and Kip Winger to co-write a few songs, but the majority of the music is solely credited to the man himself.
As for the music; the riffs are beefy, layered with that patented sound we have come accustomed to hearing on Cooper’s 80’s releases. Kane even proves his vocals is up to snuff, capable of delivering an extreme high range on a batch of songs that would prove the man could compete with the best metal bands of the 80’s. Roberts had a unique look and amazing sound for the time, but sadly his solo career never really took off in the way it should have.
Some critics cited the album as being over the top and clichéd, but there is no denying that Roberts set out to accomplish a musical platform to showcase his song writing abilities and his penchant as fret master on the guitar. He would go on to continue his solo career with a couple albums later on and even finding time to cross over into a second career as a graphic artist and video game programmer.
My favorite tracks on this release are: “Rock Doll”, “Triple X”, “Outlaw”, “If This is Heaven”, “Out For Blood” and “Full Pull”. I am giving this album a solid 8.5 out of 10.
Horror Metal Sounds 