By simplifying the group's songwriting, dulling their metallic edge, and pandering to commercial aspirations, 1987's
Warrior of the World became the predictably disappointing sophomore album from Holland's
Angus. An unfortunate decision to conform -- employed by many a heavy metal band before them -- this album proves, as is often the case, to be their undoing by failing to attract as many fans as hoped for by their accessory-to-the-crime record company, and by losing touch with their original die-hard fans in the process. Sure, to casual observers, the difference between these albums may be imperceptible at first, but there's no denying once the whole tale was told, that a lot less of
Warrior of the World's songs "stuck" than had been the case a year earlier. Not only the product of inferior songwriting, tracks like "Moving Fast" and "Money Satisfies" also suffered from a lifeless production job that misguidedly "evened out" the bandmembers' previously standout individual performances, rendering them quite sterile. To wit, excellent lead guitarist Bert Foxx is reduced from a protagonist to a stagehand and, worst of all, singer Edgar Lois is multi-tracked into oblivion, his powerful voice reigned in whereas before it was allowed to soar untethered. In short, except for momentary flashes of inspiration during the title track and "Black Despair," there's little recommending
Warrior of the World to any but extreme fans of '80s Euro-metal. [
Warrior of the World and its 1986 predecessor,
Track of Doom, were combined into a single-disc release by Sentinel Steel Records in 2001].