HEAVY PETTIN - ROCK AIN'T DEAD (1985, POLYDOR)
Steve Hayman - vocals
Punky Mendoza - guitars
Gordon Bonnar - guitars
Brian Waugh - bass
Gary Moat - drums

Background
A much admired act in their day were this Scottish five piece, who delivered an excellent melodic hard rock debut in 1983, 'Lettin' Loose'. Initially signed by legendary metal label Neat Records, Heavy Pettin made a name for themselves in the Glasgow metal scene originally known as Weeper, but changed their name, inspired by the UFO album 'No Heavy Petting'. Major label Polydor saw money signs and snapped HP up, and in a grand move supplied Queen's Brian May to help produce the debut. Apparently some of the band weren't happy with the production, but there's no doubting the inescapable melody and hard rock attack, which was taken even further here, to tremendous effect.

The Songs
This album rarely misses among its quota of pure hard rock. The title track is a predictable anthem, but the quality of the hook and the riffs leaves Def Leppard in the dust, a band HP were accused of being similar to. Finding a flaw with 'Sole Survivor' is nigh on impossible, the backing vocals are impossibly smooth, and the chorus is taken straight from AOR heaven. Keyboards aren't out of the question and they bounce away swiftly during 'China Boy', which I do concede has a similar rhythm to Leppard's 'Rock Of Ages.' Elsewhere 'Heart Attack' is an absolute classic, non stop melodic stabs in the verses and chorus, the flair for the dramatic in the highest AOR traditions, although this is still heavy. You'll be asking yourself how these guys weren't superstars after hearing this. 'Northwinds' broods like Leppards 'Billy's Got A Gun', but no worries, 'Angel' cops a few AC/DC riffs to keep things varied. The watered down ballad 'Dream Time' is too soft for my liking, but the band fires back with a pair of melodic gems, 'Crazy' and 'Walkin' With Angels'.

In Summary
The end for Heavy Pettin' came when they were entered in the 1987 Eurovision Song Contest and performed dismally, which you really can't blame the band for. A third album appeared in 1988 but the momentum was lost as was the quality of the earlier albums. The band then split, never fulfilling the potential which is evident so clearly on 'Rock 'Aint Dead', which comes as close to melodic hard rock perfection as humanly possible.

Track Listing:
01 Rock Ain't Dead
02 Sole Survivor
03 China Boy
04 Lost In Love
05 Northwinds
06 Angel
07 Heart Attack
08 Dream Time
09 Walkin' With Angels
10 Throw A Party

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