Lizzy Borden is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983. Lizzy Borden is also the name of the band's lead vocalist. Lizzy Borden specializes in the shock rock style originated by artists such as Alice Cooper and Kiss. The band is named after the notorious Lizzie Borden, a woman accused and acquitted of murder in the late 19th century. Though the band was considered a part of the Los Angeles "glam metal" scene in the mid-1980s, they were musically influenced by bands such as Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Kiss, Alice Cooper and Judas Priest. Their lyrical themes are more representative of this style, especially on earlier recordings. The band recorded a demo tape in 1983, which landed them a record deal with Metal Blade, who in turn released the bands first EP, entitled 'Give 'em The Axe' in 1984. 'Love You to Pieces', Lizzy Borden's first full album, was released in 1985.

LOVE YOU TO PIECES (1985, 2001) METAL BLADE RECORDS

After releasing a demo in 1983, and an EP in 1985, Lizzy Borden delivers their first full length debut, via Metal Blade Records, in June of 1985. The album bears the name 'Love You To Pieces', and is considered by many as the bands finest.

Lizzy Borden's debut flew under my radar back in the day. In fact, save for the name, the whole band flew under my radar during their heyday. Modeled after the shock rock of Alice Cooper and Kiss, Lizzy Borden looked and sounded much like their contemporaries in Twisted Sister and W.A.S.P.. However, Lizzy Borden sort of remained the little brother in theatrical '80's metal. I don't know how popular they were in the US, but here in Europe I believe their reputation far exceeded their popularity. Not sure why though, they certainly played the part well, and were perhaps even more sincerer with their image than many of the more popular bands! Only Halloween can rival Lizzy Borden in stage antics and shock value.

What I was missing on 'Love You To Pieces' was a slab of American metal (pun intended). The songs are not complicated, but written for the purpose of getting the crowd headbanging from the first riff! Even though this album sports cover art designed to disgust, the music is surprisingly shock-free. Even the lyrics are quite harmless on this album. Given that a couple of them have horror-themes, they are no worse than your average '80's metal band. There's a fair share of anthemic songs here, and it's impossible not to sing along to "Red Rum", "American Metal" and/or "Rod Of Iron" even the very first time you hear them. 'Love You To Pieces' is not a breathtaking album, but I can see how the band gained a cult following from get go.

In 2001 Metal Blade Records reissued 'Love You To Pieces'. The reissue is remastered, and comes with a booklet filled with cool photos and all the lyrics. 4 bonus tracks are also added, all picked from various demos. "Wild One", "Whiplasher" and "Dirty Pictures" were never used on any of the bands album, making their presence here exclusive. I can't even find the demos listed on the Lizzy Borden page at Metal Archives.

Killer tracks: Council For The Caldron, Red Rum, American Metal, Warfare, Rod Of Iron, Wild One, Whiplasher, Dirty Pictures

VISUAL LIES (1987, 2002) METAL BLADE RECORDS

Lizzy Borden's 3rd album, named 'Visual Lies', was released via Metal Blade Records on August 12, 1987. It was produced by renowned producer, Max Norman (Ozzy, Loudness, Megadeth etc.). Joe Holmes replaced Alex Nelson as second guitarist.

'Visual Lies' is, alongside 'Love You To Pieces', the two highest rated Lizzy Borden albums. And listening to the bands well-produced, time typical '80's heavy metal it is not exactly shocking. This band had the sound, the look and the antics. What they didn't have was a major label backing them. Metal Blade pulled no stops with them though, and hiring Max Norman to produce the album must have been a step to try and break the band into the mainstream. Max was already known for producing and/or engineering albums such as Ozzy's first 3 solo efforts, Savatage's 'Power Of The Night' and the 2 Loudness albums that broke the band internationally. Not sure how much it helped, but he sure gave Lizzy Borden a squeaky clean production.

'Visual Lies' delivers catchy heavy metal with anthemic choruses. Every song is arranged to get the best out of all the instrumentalists, without having to show off. Mostly they remind me of the latter-day Twisted Sister, or mid-80's Alice Cooper. There are no surprises here, and frankly, the slick production makes the overall sound appear a tad toothless. However, that is not to say that 'Visual Lies' is in any shape or form un-listenable. Lizzy Borden had a knack for writing memorable songs, and that is just what this CD is filled with. "Me Against The World", "Shock", "Visual Lies", "Lord Of The Flies" and "Voyeur (I'm Watching You)" are all heavy metal romps of high caliber. Everything is crowned with Lizzy's crystal clear, soothing voice. Add the theatrics when it came to the bands live shows, and it is actually a mystery why they never made it into the big league.

My version of 'Visual Lies' is a reissue from 2002. It comes with 4 bonus tracks, 3 demos and a remix. The remix is of course ridiculously redundant, but the 3 demo tracks are actually quite cool to hear once or twice. They sound so much more raw in their original format, and comparing them to the final album versions enables us to hear how Max changed them in the studio.

Trivia: The demonic band in the 1988 horror film "Black Roses" sings the song "Me Against the World" from the album 'Visual Lies'.

Killer tracks: Me Against The World, Shock, Visual Lies, Lord Of The Flies, Voyeur (I'm Watching You)

MASTER OF DISGUISE (1989, 1994) METAL BLADE RECORDS

By the time of the release of Lizzy Borden's 4th full studio album, entitled 'Master Of Disguise', both the bands guitarists had been replaced.

'Master Of Disguise' is perhaps a strange place to get to know Lizzy Borden, as their sound was, from what I have read, drastically changed for this release. Still, this was my first full album exposure from this legendary shock metal band. I knew that Lizzy Borden were both visually and musically in the same boat as the early stuff from Twisted Sister and W.A.S.P.. But that was the extent of my knowledge concerning this band. When I put on this CD for the very first time, the title track quickly won me over. This particular song opens the album, and it is a super catchy tune, with a hook that will stick to your brain like super glue! So far, so good. The second track is a slow and somber number, that relies as much musically on the orchestra in the back, as it does on the guitars and bass. It's actually quite theatrical, and could hardly even be labeled as metal. The third song opens with a dramatization of someone calling a sex line. The song itself is arranged with more orchestration, horn section and all. By now I understood why this was a different album altogether. The music is heavily orchestrated all the way through, and sounds as much as a Broadway musical show as it does a metal album! But, guess what? It totally works!

'Master Of Disguise' is a brilliant album, showing a different side of Lizzy Borden. The stellar production compliments the delicately written music perfectly. The album makes me think of giants, such as Savatage's 'Streets: A Rock Opera' and 'Gutter Ballet', or Queensrÿche's 'Operation: Mindcrime'. Not that any of these bands have much in common sound wise. But there is a certain aura surrounding all those albums, the aura of a thorough product that delivers as promised on all accounts. Lizzy Borden found a way to keep his crazy antics in the music, especially lyrically, but at the same time deliver a more mature album. The music is straight up '80's metal, with a slight power metal sheen. Lizzy's voice is awesome, sounding like a cross between Midnight (Crimson Glory) and Vince Neil (Mötley Crüe). There is nothing virtuous about the playing here, but everything is very well done, and the arrangements are great. Not every tack here are top notch, but the highlights are really awesome.

I was very pleasantly surprised by 'Master Of Disguise', and it made me go on a hunt for more CD's from Lizzy Borden. As of writing these words, I have not yet heard any of the bands other efforts, but I am curious to hear how they compare to this minor masterpiece.

Killer tracks: Master Of Disguise, One False Move, Love Is A Crime, Never Too Young, Be One Of Us, We Got The Power

Lizzy Borden members also play/have played with:

Ozzy Osbourne, Icon, Heathen, Chris Caffery, Vicious Rumors, Warrior