Krokus]

Hardware is the fifth album by the Swiss hard rock band Krokus. It did not match the success of their previous album, Metal Rendez-vous, going only Gold in Switzerland. However, the album entered the charts in the US, UK and other European countries…

Swiss rockers Krokus had already been around the bend a number of times by the time they scored their first (and only) American platinum success with 1983's Headhunter. Shameless bandwagon hoppers that they were (their origins lay in cheesy, late-'70s progressive rock), the band at least deserve credit for mixing their musical stew just right on this occasion. The results include the frenetic title track, a highly competent power ballad in "Screaming in the Night," and their biggest hit – a reworking of Bachman Turner Overdrive's "Stayed Awake All Night."

Triple Disc Box Set That Packages the Three Albums Metal Rendez-Vouse, Hardware and Once Vice at a Time…

Alive and Screamin' is the first live album by the Swiss hard rock band Krokus, recorded on their tour of the United States and Canada in 1986.

Krokus' generic, by-the-numbers approach to '80s hard rock isn't particularly well represented here (the band would reach its apex on 1983's Headhunter), although there are a few good songs – the album's opening and closing tracks, "Burning Bones" and "Celebration," respectively, are its best, and the steely ballad "Winning Man" (later virtually rewritten as "Screaming in the Night") is worthwhile. But stinkers like "Smelly Nelly" are just inexcusable.

Reissue label drops ball. Thanks to some significant differences in track selection, Castle's Long Stick Goes Boom: The Anthology isn't quite the equal of Arista's Definitive Collection, released three years prior. During the first half of the '80s, Krokus were semiregular occupants of the lower reaches of the U.S. mainstream rock chart. Since this compilation was released in the U.K., it doesn't emphasize the group's stateside successes, since roughly half of the group's chart entries – including the early singles "Burning Bones" and "Winning Man" – are not included. Another unfortunate thing is that three of the songs – "Long Stick Goes Boom," "Lay Me Down," and "Eat the Rich" – are live performances, which defeats the purpose of having the best representation/introduction possible.

After working for two years in the legendary Abbey Road Studio with bassist and producer Chris Von Rohr, Swiss rockers Krokus are back! Their last release, the excellent 2010 Hoodoo, went platinum in their home country and this album is just as impressive. It’s a no-nonsense, straight-ahead rocker featuring 12 explosive tracks, all clocking in at a succinct three to four minutes in length. The band also welcomes back guitarist Mandy Meyer to the fold after a mere 30 year absence! Dirty Dynamite is the band’s 17th studio album, and after nearly four decades of rocking, they show no signs of slowing down now.