Hawaii - The Natives Are Restless

What's "Hawaii" you might ask? Well besides being part of the US afloat in the middle of the ocean, it was also one of the first places Marty Friedman of ex-Megadeth fame cropped up even before his stint with Jason Becker in Cocophony. But beware 'Deth fans, Hawaii is anything but thrash, and in fact has more in common with Quiet Riot and their poofy haired brethen than anything. "The Natives Are Restless" is a showcase of just how generic heavy metal can become. They pack all the cliches into nine songs that are whipped out faster than you can blink but seem to drag on much longer due to the fact they are drowning in repetitiveness and choking on their own reused riffs and lyrical themes.

However... despite all it's flaws, there's something about "The Natives Are Restless" that makes it worth listening to once or twice. The songwriting is pathetic, the production is lightyears behind many other discs made even during the same time period, and the musicianship is not exactly top notch, but still there's that feeling of 80s goodness that shines all around it. In a handful of these tracks, you get a peek at a piece of time long gone and forgotten that we will never get back, and within the music that nostalgic feeling of a lost era is captured.

1.] "Call of the Wild" - Some old song plays on a record player, complete with an array of pops and snaps the format is known for, then it screeches to a halt as full force metallicness kicks in.... YEAAAAH!!! Hard and full throttle a'la early Leatherwolf and Malice. Eddie Day's vocals are weak in places, but ring out high pitched with screams and a solid mid-range. Not terribly wonderful, but oddly satisfying, mostly because of the opening.

2.] "Turn it Louder" - Generic metal strikes!! Swap the cool sound of the first track for a ditty that is reminiscent of a mixture of bands, like Battlezone meets Motley Crue with a dash of Kix and Autograph thrown in for good measure. This one holds a handful of nostalgia in it's madly waving fist in the air, so even those repulsed by overly repetitive lyrics might endure this one just for that trip down memory lane when hair was bigger, jeans were tighter and men wore makeup without anyone even thinking twice about their manliness. "Turn it louder, make it louder than hell..." repeat, repeat, repeat!

3.] "V.P.H.B." - This un' treads the Ratt ground, (with a smattering of the swaggering swing of Vince Neil on the vocal front) and would have fit comfortably on "Invasion of Your Privacy". And what does V.P.H.B. stand for anyway? Vicious Power Hungry Bitch of course! Intricate yet typical guitar hero fretboard antics from a young Friedman are more than welcome at it's core.

4.] "Beg For Mercy" - Upfront riffing, Day's vocals that seem a little torn away from the rest of the mix, yet pleasant enough not to just totally rip into it. There's nothing particular original or noteable about the song. It's metal done 80s style...a little bit of Crue, perhaps a bit of early Maiden lurking in the shadows there somewhere.

5.] "Unfinished Business" - Back to the Autograph/Helix connection, but strangely what standsout the most is a strange Twisted Sister/early pre-Pyromania Def Leppard feel that shimmers in the background. The voice samples are hilarious.

6.] "Proud To Be Loud" - So repetitive that you will be singing along without stumbling over a word, in under 30 seconds or your money back! Yes my friends, this one was made with the intentions of hitting the bargain bins!

7.] "Lies" - While not even coming close to the bands they are attempting to imitate, Hawaii scores a repetitive little gold nugget in this quirky track by mining that vast cavern of nostaglic cravings for rough sounding glammy tracks from a time long past before glam went mainstream. It's pure no frills rock n' roll.

8.] "Omichan No Uta" - A guitar instrumental that sounds like it was recorded in the neighbor's garage or out on the patio somewhere. With a "I'm playing in a tin-can" hollow sound, this one drones on with carefully pricked notes and then zips out into arpeggio land with thick Malmsteen influences, but then again, almost every guitarist wanted to be (or wanted to sound LIKE) the Yng-miester at this particular time. A showcase of Friedman's talents? Nope... it's too restrained, conjuring images of whales dying... slowly...painfully... with the poorest sound quality heard on this album thus far. Who would have thought this guitarist would one day take the crown as the reigning thrashmaster?

9.] "Dynamite" - Does this album ever give up? Apparently not... the singer, Eddie Day is exactly what would happen if the already mentioned Neil was crossed with Stephen Pearcy. The swagger is there, the hook that grabs the listener is sadly missing. It takes more than similiarities in vocal qualities to other recognizable singers to make a song good however...

If only they had stuck with the fire and Malice that opened the disc... but alas..."The Natives Are Restless" quickly bogs down into one of those albums that you may never give a second thought about, unless you are a glam-addict. It's an unremarkable album, filled to the brim with the kind of cliches and over-reptitiveness that nearly sunk the genre. Hawaii won't win any awards on it's musical merits, but as a conversation piece, it's a worthy addition to any collection or those that must have every bit of music released during the 80s. Armed with a little background info, this (thankfully) forgotten piece of metal history can make you appear to be a metal guru, and for that it's worth it's weight in plastic. Throw it into a volcano as a sacrifical offering to your favorite demi-god today!

Ratings and Wrap Up:
4.4
Songs - 3.5, Performance - 4.5, Production - 4.0, Lyrics - 3.5
Hot Spots: "Call of the Wild", "V.P.H.B.", "Lies"
Bottom Line: all cliches of early 80s glamtype music wrapped up into one little package.

Review by Alanna Evans -
who thinks the cover art really sucks

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