One last go-round with The Hunt, Canada’s rocking combo that couldn’t hold with the proggy classic stylings of their self-titled debut, fumbled with the slick processed AOR of their sophomore release, and in their third incarnation settled on a slight if enjoyable amalgam of hack rock and proto-hair metal with The Thrill Of The Kill. The music is further streamlined into simple rock arrangements but there’s a consistency in identity that makes this a step up from Back On The Hunt. I honestly don’t know how often I’d turn to this record as opposed to dozens (if not hundreds) of bands that did it better, but as an alternative to the big hitters I’ve worn the grooves and tape out on, it’s certainly not the worst alternative, and overall is pretty fun, especially when they stick to their guns…and their own songs.

It’s certainly not for lack of instrumental prowess: with Brian Gagnon now gone, Paul Dickinson takes over lead vocals in addition to all guitars. Bass duties are handled by Carl Calvert, who takes on with Dickinson the majority of the songwriting, and Paul Kersey remains as the sole “founding” member if you discount their previous incarnation as Dillinger on drums. Opening track “Show The World” and second track “You In The Night” show a band sounding in top form, the music is definitely heavier, and Kersey sounds fantastic behind the kit. Dickinson is a good frontman -if anything, he sounds a lot like Gagnon did on the band’s debut, and his guitar work is much further up in the mix with a hefty tone that cuts through nicely.

Kim Mitchell from Max Webster, another up and coming Canadian rock act with ties to Rush has a guest spot on “Time Goes On” and it might be the strongest track on the album. The goodwill of those three tracks gets a little burned (sorry not sorry) with the band taking on yet again another cover with Arthur Brown’s “Fire”. Not only is it another needless cover that pales next to their original material, but there’s some terrible keyboards on it, making me miss Jacques Harrison even more. Eddie Leonetti, the producer of Angel, a band treading similar ground (to better results) wrote the radio-ready “Give It Up” but again, the original material from the band works a lot better, even if it wasn’t quite going to make mainstream radio.

Who knows what would have happened if The Hunt stuck to their guns and continued? Songs like “Seeing It Through” and “The Great Divide” show that they had the stuff to probably craft a hard rock hit once the gears shifted in the mid 80s. In some ways I’m reminded of Helix, another terrific Canadian band who had the one hit that kept them moving forward, even if they never really had it being again. “The Hills” is a terrific rocker, Calvert’s bass taking the lead for the verses and Kersey’s cymbal work accenting right before the whole kicks into a gallop. The Thrill Of The Kill really has everything it needed to be a launching pad into a new phase of the band’s career. All they needed was to lay off the covers and keep plugging away.

Oh, well. I guess we can imagine.

(no band pic – I couldn’t find anything online from this period of their existence )