By 1989 and the release of its fifth long-playing album,
No Remorse,
Tokyo Blade was essentially the
Andy Boulton show. After all, the guitarist was the last remaining founding member still standing, having surrounded himself with three new bandmates -- vocalist Michael Pozz, bassist Martin Machwitz, and a drummer named simply Astor (?) -- since the release of 1987's ill-fated
Ain't Misbehavin' LP, which had once again failed to make
Tokyo Blade into a commercially viable glam metal band. So it was a matter of great relief actually, when
No Remorse, in direct contradiction to its title, took a little pity on
Tokyo Blade's long suffering fans, and set off in a different musical direction -- even if only barely. Indeed, although the bulk of its material still comprised sleek hard rock infused with synthesizers, often bordering on AOR (see "Chains of Love," "Moonlight in Martini," etc.), plus a few soppy ballads ("Dark Night Over Paradise," "Call Me Angel"),
No Remorse wasn't as intentionally dumbed down as its immediate predecessors, only sinking to such lows on the stripper theme "5-Inch Catwalk." Among the more interesting numbers, "Eye of the Storm" and "Shadows of Insanity" were both riff-driven Euro-metal anthems reminiscent of period
Whitesnake; "Crystal Gold"'s organ power chords emulated the progressive metal pomp of
Savatage; and the downright wacky (and somewhat ridiculous) "Angel" flirted with new wave à la
the Cars, which was at least different. So, at the end of the day, the album's biggest liability is probably the irritating voice of new singer Pozz, who, one guesses, was hired specifically because his nasal whine resembled
Axl Rose's...with a quarter as much personality, unfortunately. Like the rest of
No Remorse, his flawed contribution is welcome mostly because what came before was so indefensibly horrid, yet taking this as a sign of marked improvement hardly represents a ringing endorsement for an album. Only
Tokyo Blade's most masochistic fans will have to seek out.