Great Metal Albums of 1987: Battlezone- Children of Madness

After his departure from Iron Maiden, lead singer Paul Di’Anno, tried to make a go of things by forming his own band but that was short-lived. In 1985, he formed Battlezone (also known as Paul Di’Anno’s Battlezone) and after their debut album, “Fighting Back,” came and went without much notice, at least from me or anyone I knew, they released their second album in 1987, “Children of Madness.”

For the most part, this is a good straightforward heavy metal album, with several good tracks. There is some good riffing on many of the intros by guitarists John Wiggins and Graham Bath and I’m going to put my head on the chopping block here but except for the track, “Nuclear Breakdown,” I think that Paul’s vocals are better than when he was in Iron Maiden. This is not a knock against the mighty Maiden, it’s more a case that Paul’s vocal abilities matured.

With “Children of Madness,” the second half of the album is better than the first. Sure, “Rip It Up” is a good opener and there is a great lead guitar solo on “Torch of Hate,” which is the fastest song on the album but there is better on the second half of the album. The two songs which really shine for me are “I Don’t Wanna Know” which is about a dying relationship and “Metal Tears” which is the closest to a ballad they come with it’s soft intro. The amusing fact about “Metal Tears” is that it’s about a man who falls for a female robot. Both of these tracks have some great guitar work and Paul’s vocals are the smoothest on the album.

If I was to pick a candidate for hidden gem, it would have to be the closer, “Whispered Rage.” The band bring it all together here with some cool guitar solos and more good vocals from Paul and don’t forget the rhythm section. On the other hand, most of the tracks start promising and carry on maybe for the first or second verses but seem to tail off before the guitar solo. The original oomph which attracts you to the song at the beginning is lacking as the song ends. Maybe that’s just me. The title track is one good example. But for the most part, it’s still a good album.

Track Listing:

1. Rip It Up
2. Overloaded
3. Nuclear Breakdown
4. Torch of Hate
5. Children of Madness
6. I Don’t Wanna Know
7. The Promise
8. It’s Love
9. Metal Tears
10. Whispered Rage

Battlezone

Paul Di’Anno- lead vocals

John Wiggins- guitar

Graham Bell- guitar

Pete West- bass

Steve Hopgood- drums

Like what caused Paul’s exit from Iron Maiden, Battlezone would release one more studio album and then a compilation album before drink, drugs and infighting would cause the band to break up. When I listen to “Children of Madness,” I hear a band with potential. It’s too bad that potential was never recognized.

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