Heart Attack is the tenth studio album by the Swiss hard rock band Krokus, and is described by the band as "the last attempt to keep the band together in a deep crisis". As well as being the band's first album on MCA Records, it saw the return of original Krokus founding member Chris von Rohr.
Heart Attack is the only Krokus album to feature drummer Dani Crivelli who played drums on von Rohr's 1987 solo album, Hammer & Tongue, and previously recorded and toured with Solothurn rivals Killer. In the early 1980s, Crivelli was a member of Detroit, a hard rock band that featured Krokus guitarist Fernando von Arb's then wife, Birthe von Arb, on lead vocals.
The track "Rock 'n' Roll Tonight" was a live hit and is still played by the band in concerts.
Contemporary reviews In the June 1988 issue of Circus magazine, music critic Paul Gallotta noted that the debut release for their new label signaled a gradual shift into a more commercially oriented territory. The reviewer observed that the vocal performance of frontman Marc Storace appeared more subdued and melodic than on prior efforts, with a few notable exceptions such as "Everybody Rock" and the Judas Priest-influenced track "Axx Attack." While Gallotta emphasized that the Swiss formation still retained their ability to deliver heavy, high-energy rock when required, the publication ultimately described the overall sonic character of the record as a stylistic cross between the melodic approach of Bon Jovi and the aggressive vocal delivery reminiscent of AC/DC's Brian Johnson.
Track listing All songs written by Krokus, except where indicated
Side one "Everybody Rocks" - 3:50 "Wild Love" - 4:01 "Let It Go" - 4:31 "Winning Man" (Fernando von Arb, Chris von Rohr) - 5:15 (originally on Hardware) "Axx Attack" - 4:24
Side two "Rock 'n' Roll Tonight" - 3:58 "Flyin' High" (Krokus, Jürg Naegeli) - 4:14 "Shoot Down the Night" - 4:37 "Bad, Bad Girl" - 5:58 "Speed Up" - 6:24
Personnel Krokus Marc Storace – Vocals Fernando von Arb – Lead and rhythm guitar, bass, piano Mark Kohler – Rhythm and lead guitar, bass Chris von Rohr – Bass, piano, percussion, drums Dani Crivelli – Drums, percussion
Production Jürg Naegeli – Engineer, mixing assistant Michael Wagener – Mixing at The Enterprise, Los Angeles, California Scott Blockland – Mixing assistant Stephen Marcussen – Mastering Chris Achilleos – Cover illustration Richard Evans – Art direction and design
Charts Chart (1988) Peakposition Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts) 36US Billboard 20087
References