We arrived just as the main support act was finishing her set and so only got to see the headline act at this show.
Well, RECKLESS LOVE are out on tour to promote the new album Spirit (www.spinefarmrecords.com ) and this is the last night of the UK leg of the tour. The Islington academy is packed and more than a little up for it and a bit excited before the band come on - as they usually do - to the sounds of Thin Lizzy's The Boys Are Back In Town. Yet unlike the boys in that song they haven't just been released from prison; instead they are here to bring us the good times Glam Pop Metal they do so well.
Olli Herman assumes his pose stage centre and the rest of the band are ready and posing as Thin Lizzy cuts out and they launch into I Love Heavy Metal off the new album Spirit in which they give us a list of the bands that inspire them. Yes, it's the cheesiest selection of metal bands you could think of - Warrant, Poison Def Leppard and Kiss all get name checked - and of course it has a great sing along chorus that most of the audience already know. Am I the only person here who hasn't learnt all the words to the new album I wonder?
They then go straight into Bad Lovin', a paean to our need to have some bad sex every once in a while. It's played with the band's normal brio and good grace as they are as ever all smiles. Ollie throws in a good couple of high kicks as Pepe wields his guitar as they ramp things up and get everyone singing along to the chorus but the place really takes off on the first old song of the set: band's big Scandinavian and European hit, On The Radio which is about as radio friendly a pop metal tune as you could wish to find. It soon has everyone dancing and singing along.
Born To Break Hearts is next and is played to maximum effect especially seeing as the band's main object of lust Olli Hermann is now a married man which leaves all the women present fighting over Jalle and Hessu and wondering how much blow drying Pepe's hair takes and if his wife does the blow drying for him, while the lyrics have that knowing wink built into them. Yup, they are breaking hearts all right. Oh how many of the audience want to be the Beautiful Bomb Olli is singing about? Well pretty much all the women and judging by the blokes next to us a fair few of the blokes too.
This is unashamedly good time happy metal and even on a song called Dying To Live the upbeat nature of the lyrics never changes as Jalle's bass is played for all he's worth. His bass lines really seem to pull the best out of Pepe's guitar soloing which is always nice and concise. Ollie tells everyone they should chase their dreams and never give up on those dreams before they play Edge Of Our Dreams. This just keeps to the band's formula of great big sing along choruses and just keeps everyone singing and happy.
Wild Touch is next and they start it at the normal frenetic pace and then halfway through the first verse Olli suddenly tells them to stop playing. It is odd as it sounds fine and Jalle and Pepe stop almost straight away but Hessu takes a little while longer before Olli walks to the front of the stage with the only scowl we see from him all night to shout at two idiots who have managed to start a fight. They get told in no uncertain terms to stop fighting and leave as Reckless love will not tolerate fighting at their gigs!! His speech gets a good cheer and once the idiots have been dealt with they start Wild Touch again and play it like they never had to stop in the first place.
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They then go back to the new album for Runaway Love and I'm sure there are a few people who would love to run away with the band let alone with the love of their lives. I then felt a bit old when Olli started to tell us he was taking us all the way back to the band's first album in 2010 - yes that long ago for Back To Paradise. Wow, have they been around that long already!!?
They have finally written themselves a theme song that sets out the band's philosophy perfectly. Yes they are all about Sex, Drugs & Reckless Love and they'll add in good choruses and great playing but yes that's what they are all about and no one in the Islington Academy is about to argue. They close the set with So Happy I could Die: apparently about how they feel about the fact they are in a band that can tour and pack out decent size venues all across Europe. Not a bad complaint.
They left the stage to decent cheers but considering how the audience reacted to them onstage it feels a bit muted. Still they come back for the encore soon enough and launch into the title song of the last album, Animal Attraction, which promptly gets everyone going again. It is followed by the almost Spinal Tap-ish Metal Ass that has some rather funny lyrics as let's face it we all think about people with butt cheeks made of brass!!???
Still that leads into the big singalong finale of Hot with it's "hot, hot, hotter than hell" refrain. The song they could almost have written with the end of a show in mind, One More Time, duly closes the show and then stay on stage and take a few bows as the house lights go up and everyone starts to leave.
If you want a fun evening of happy, poppy metal you could do far worse than going to see Reckless Love.
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