Hawaii Albums (3)
'Natives Are Restless'
Release Date 8/28/2001
Tracks 9
Label Axe Killer
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Like clock-work, Hawaii's line-up expanded with each album to match the last digit of the year of release, but, unfortunately, this little bit of useless trivia constitutes about the only sort of positive evolution during the band's short-lived career. Released in 1985 (and recorded by, you guessed it -- a newly installed five-piece formation) their last effort The Natives are Restless was, if anything, a step backwards from their four-song E.P. from a year earlier, and it clearly showed the band starting to try and mimic popular trends, rather than set them. To wit, first track "Call of the Wild" takes a page from Accept's legendary "Fast as a Shark" by rudely interrupting a cheesy snippet of Hawaiian balladry with the sound of needle scratching record, then launching into full-fledged thrashing mania. Not to be outdone, ensuing singles-candidates "Turn it Louder" and "Unfinished Business" peddle the kind of faceless, radio-ready pop metal that Motley Crue, Ratt or Twisted Sister easily pulled off with half the clich�s and twice the danger. "V.P.H.B" is at least creative with its real title: �Vicious Power Hungry Bitch," but the fact it had to be abbreviated also speaks volumes about Hawaii's pathetic fear of offending someone; and what material's left to be heard after that is similarly ho-hum and undercooked, leaving no questions as to why Hawaii cashed in their chips right after this album. ~ Ed Rivadavia, All Music Guide
'One Nation Underground'
Release Date 1/1/1983
Tracks 9
Label Shrapnel
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Hawaii's 1983 debut, One Nation Underground, is one of those rush-recorded, lousy-sounding, guitar-dominated heavy metal albums that could only have come from Shrapnel Records' early-'80s assembly line. Really just a series of guitar heroics stitched together into nine, mostly indistinctive songs, the record has scant few great moments to advertise (maybe the functional rocker "Silent Nightmare," the promising "Escape the Night"), and instead serves as a damning indictment for high-pitched metal vocalists everywhere. In fact, so shrill is frontman Gary St. Pierre's delivery that one can't help but think of '70s era Rush when listening to hysterical offerings like "You're Gonna Burn" and "Nitro Power" -- even if the challenging, semi-progressive song arrangements here in no way compare to the Canadian trio's lofty accomplishments. Instead, Hawaii's well-intentioned but undercooked near-songs often recall similarly flawed efforts by Japan's Loudness (perhaps a geographical proximity issue?) or, at best, Texan techno-thrashers Watchtower. In any case, Marty Friedman's guitar work is already amazingly fluid and highly inventive, and should give guitar-shredding enthusiasts something to look forward to regardless of this album's shortcomings. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, All Music Guide
