SECRET TREATIES

I'm surprised at how much this band has matured on this their third release. A big part of that may have been them spending the winter months (1973/74) together in a cottage on Long Island rehearsing and composing these songs.

"Career Of Evil" was co-written with "punker" Patti Smith. Organ and drums lead the way with vocals. This is a good catchy mid paced opener. "Subhuman" is even better. The bass, drums and reserved vocals create a place I like to be in. Tasteful guitar 2 minutes in with vocal melodies. Love the guitar 3 minutes in as well. Great track. "Dominate And Submission" seems to be influenced by Patti Smith because the guitars have that "Punk" sound and aggression at times. It rocks out pretty good 4 minutes in with both organ and guitar ripping it up. "ME 262" reminds me of both Alice Cooper and David Bowie at times. Another aggressive, uptempo tune. "Cagey Cretins" is the third rocker in a row and my favourite of the three. I like the vocals and organ on this one. The drumming is relentless. "Harvester Of Eyes" gets better as it plays out. I like the guitar before 2 minutes as he starts to let loose. After 3 1/2 minutes it slows down and the guitar grinds away. Nice.

"Flaming Telepaths" opens with some good piano and drums before the vocals arrive and they're great. Piano comes and goes. An outburst of synths 2 1/2 minutes in and the guitar is a highlight both 3 minutes in and especially to end it. "Astronomy" has got to be in the top three of their all time best songs. This one just stands out from the rest of the songs on this record. It's too bad they all weren't this good. Piano to start as vocals come in and they're amazing. A full sound 2 minutes in. This is such an incredible passage as the vocals get more passionate. It calms back down with organ melodies. This contrast continues. Guitar lights it up 5 1/2 minutes in to the end.

For most this is their best album, and I have to agree with the majority but I still feel these guys are second rate when compared to the Metal heavyweights from this era.