TT QUICK "Metal Of Honor" (1986)
By Dana Brittingham

Cover: 5 Black Eyes out of 10.
It's a military-style badge set on a satin display, with "Metal of Honor" emblazoned on the top part of the badge, and TT Quick's logo (a clenched fist with a lightning bolt through it) hanging on the bottom part. It's metal enough and gets the point across.

Booklet: 2 Broken Noses out of 10.
It's not much. Track listing, thank you list and credits inside. Very basic and no lyrics. There's photos of the band members on the back though, and these guys look like they could kick my ass up and down the street. I'll give them a few points just in case I ever run into them on the subway.

Songs: 8 Cracked Ribs out of 20.
Now this is a good, old-school East Coast kick ass metal album. The singer, Mark Tornillo, has one of those harsh yet powerful metal voices and even though he's a bit raspy at times, he still never manages to get on my nerves. The guitarist (David DiPietro) is wicked!!! His flashy leads, fills and playing are superior and make me wonder why he wasn't more well-known outside of NYC. Highlight tracks include "Queen Of The Scene", the title song, and "Hell To Pay" (which even received a decent amout of airplay on stations like Z-Rock). The one thing I don't get is their cover of the Dave Clark Five's "Glad All Over." Maybe they needed a sing-along song for the girls.

Comments: TT Quick formed in the early 80s and put out a self-titled EP in 1984. Word on the street is that Zakk Wylde, when he was called Zack Adams, used to hang with these guys in their New Jersey haunts. This full-length CD was their follow-up and gained the band alot of attention, but they fell apart after their '89 release "Sloppy Seconds". David DiPietro went on to join Nuclear Assault for a few years, then went back to a reformed TT Quick in the late 90s. They gave it another go and put out an album called "Ink". But nothing has quite measured up to Metal Of Honor. Old school metalheads will dig this album in a big way, but not many others would. This is the kind of CD you put on at a party if you want all the chicks to leave.