More: Blood & Thunder (1982)

When I reviewed More’s debut album, Warhead, right here on VinylSpinning, I came right out and admitted that it would only interest hopeless, “unashamed chumps for all things New Wave of British Heavy Metal.”

Like me.

And that’s why, today, I’m probably the only person on planet Earth who is marking the June 1982 release of the group’s even more forgettable-- and justifiably forgotten --  40-year-old sophomore LP, Blood & Thunder.

In the short year that separated these two recordings, More’s driving force, guitarist Kenny Cox (that’s him with Gibson Flying V in hand and mullet on head) was forced to replace his entire line-up, except for bassist Brian Day, by recruiting drummer Andy John Burton and singer Mick Stratton.

Flip the album over and you’ll likely flinch at Stratton’s sinister mug, looking every bit like that shady, short-notice replacement player who ends up stealing the band’s transit van at tour’s end and sells all their gear for smack or crack cocaine.

(This exact scenario, only involving a shady bass player, actually happened to a band I was working with about twenty years ago called Speedealer ... remember them?)

Of even greater concern (but at least based on verifiable facts) Stratton’s voice was equally suspect, and Blood & Thunder saw Cox and co. doing nothing but recycling all of the same hard rock and heavy metal clichés found on its predecessor, only with deteriorating imagination and production standards.

That’s why it’s so hard to find anything interesting -- let alone positive -- to write about uninspired N.W.O.B.H.M. knock-offs like “Killer on the Prowl,” “Traitor’s Gate” and -- seriously? -- “Rock and Roll.”

The only song I even bothered to rate, years ago, with three-out-of-five stars in my iTunes library, was the tolerable “I Wanna Take You,” though today I might add a Stratton-free instrumental called “The Eye,” because at least it showcases Kenny’s considerable six-string chops.

In short, Blood & Thunder saw More regressing in every way, and by 1983, the good folks at Atlantic had come to their senses and dropped this turd of a band in order to focus on more promising and profitable artists like AC/DC, Foreigner, Genesis, and Yes ... perhaps you’ve heard of them?

As for the burly Mr. Cox, he briefly tried to resurrect More in ‘85, but his latest roster of third division henchmen failed to entice any record company interest, so he ultimately turned to other projects, including the well-fed Mammoth ... no relation to Van Halen, of course.

p.s. -- Update: R.I.P. Kenny Cox who passed away on June 21, 2022, just a few days after I posted this blog. Hope he didn’t read it!