The difference between
hard rock and
heavy metal is a lot like the difference between
soca and
calypso -- they aren't identical, but in some cases, there can be a fine line between the two.
Black Sabbath,
Iron Maiden, and
Metallica are straight-up
metal bands, whereas
Moetley Cruee,
Led Zeppelin,
Deep Purple, and
Kiss are examples of bands that are relevant to both
heavy metal and
hard rock. So where does
Little Angels' 1989 debut,
Don't Prey for Me, fit in? Essentially, it is an album of
hard rock. It would be a stretch to describe tracks like
"Promises" and
"Kick Hard" as
heavy metal; they certainly aren't heavy in the way that
Candlemass and
King Diamond are heavy. But if
hard rock and
pop-metal standards are applied --
hard rock/
pop-metal as in
Bon Jovi,
April Wine,
Whitesnake, or
Sammy Hagar -- one has to say that this is a pleasant, if derivative, debut. No one will accuse these British rockers of providing the most distinctive album of 1989; none of the material is terribly original. Nonetheless, the tunes are generally likable --
Little Angels were never forward-thinking, but they were good (although not great) at what they did. For whatever reason, this CD fared much better in England than it did in the United States. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that
Little Angels were British; it's easier to catch a band's live show if they're in your back yard instead of thousands of miles away. And perhaps
Little Angels were promoted more aggressively in England than they were in North America. Although not a masterpiece,
Don't Prey for Me is a decent effort that's worth hearing if you're a die-hard fan of '80s
hard rock and
pop-metal. ~ Alex Henderson
