Art Ball Point

The Secret Policeman's Third Ball took place at The London Palladium over four consecutive nights 26–29 March 1987. The show's format was retooled in an effort to take advantage of the growing number of rock musicians supporting Amnesty. Instead of it being primarily a comedy show with a few musical cameos, the event made a point of giving equal emphasis to comedy and music. The show's four nights were divided up into two nights of comedy and two nights of music.

There is a certain charm to an album like this from a historical standpoint, particularly for anybody who still wanted a more flashy and fun style of metal/rock that cut against the "Alternative" ideal of dumbed down songwriting and morose or mundane lyrics about how much the world sucks, because this is about as clear of a rejection of the decade it was born from that one could find. It embodies the same sort of fantastical escapism that would occupy the early days of lighter, fantasy-oriented bands like Freedom Call and Edguy while also being a bit more retro in character, perhaps most closely dovetailing with the somewhat later reformation and restyled incarnation of Domain…

After a couple of blatant throwback offerings to the days when heavy metal was joined at the hip with AOR, right down to the campy Sci-Fi oriented album art work that was all the rage circa 1985, former Swiss cover band turned melodic power metal outfit Crystal Ball found themselves in the unique club of Nuclear Blast signed acts…

After a couple of blatant throwback offerings to the days when heavy metal was joined at the hip with AOR, right down to the campy Sci-Fi oriented album art work that was all the rage circa 1985, former Swiss cover band turned melodic power metal outfit Crystal Ball found themselves in the unique club of Nuclear Blast signed acts…

To state that the mid-2000s were a time of transition for the European power metal scene would be stating the obvious, but it was a particularly turbulent point for one of its most prolific and conservative affiliates Crystal Ball…