End of the World

Gaskin's first album, End of the World, opens with a flawless example of chart-conscious New Wave of British Heavy Metal in "Sweet Dream Maker" -- a track which compares to early Def Leppard in terms of songwriting or performance, and clearly proves the importance of major label muscle to a band's success. Except for another highly melodic moment on "Lonely Man," however, the remaining material reverts to a noticeably rougher punk-metal style. First single "I'm No Fool," the title track, and the ambitious "Handful of Reasons" are perfect examples of this less hit-orientated but still remarkably solid sound. But "Victim of the City" tends to waffle on a bit, and "Despiser" is mostly let down by its cheesy metal lyrics and singer Paul Gaskin's positively eerie similarity to ELP's Greg Lake(!?). And then there are the blunders. Sounding like some weird corruption of "God Save the Queen," the instrumental "The Day Thou Gavest Lord Hath Ended" is as useless as its title is pointless, and "On My Way" is quite simply Spinal Tap come to life; its similarities to such Tap classics as "Sex Farm" and "Hell Hole" having to be heard to be believed. Overall, End of the World establishes Gaskin as a very good but not quite great N.W.O.B.H.M. band -- a perfect find for serious fans of the genre, but largely pointless for anyone else. [Gaskin's two albums, End of the World and No Way Out, were released on a single compact disc by British Steel Records in 1998]. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia|