They say rock and metal is dead… If so no-one told the 10-legged monster of rock and metal from Northern Ireland that is Maverick who, in a true 80s cliché, are coming your way. The band’s début release on Massacre, Quid Pro Quo is a heady, high octane take on ‘retro’ rock.

Already familiar thanks to a video release ‘Paint By Numbers’ is a fist in the face of hipsters, scenesters, and fashionistas, but ‘Got It Bad’ is where listener has to make up their mind, and where some may shy away from Maverick. It is a great song, and had it been released in the mid-80s it would have been on constant rotation on AM radio in the US – itt’s as catchy as Ebola in Sierra Leone, while vocalist David Balfour showcases his range on ‘Snakeskin Sinner’ and ‘Electric’, and Ryan Sebastian Balfour’s tasteful, melodic soloing complements the sound throughout

But do we need another band who re-tread the sound of Ratt, Crue, MTV-era Whitesnake, Y&T etc? The love of music is at the heart of the Maverick matter and is dealt with on ‘In Our Blood’ as David declares when younger he would “put all my CDs on and have a concert in my room”. On the other hand the track ‘One More Day (Quid Pro Quo)’ deals with serious matters in a narration of the real personal toll the conflict in Northern Ireland took.

Whether it be the lusting or the longing; whether it is ranting or the wrongdoing of paramilitaries; or whether it is just heads down hard rockin’ Maverick know that telling the tale within each song is about composition and depth. Sure you can write off this release too easily as looking back at a lost time, this simply about declaring their love of the era that spawned so much modern rock and metal.Maverick have produced a chest thumping, raucous, powerful, pounding, melodic release oozing with passion as the Maverick monster pounds all into submission on Quid Pro Quo, as if the 80s never went away

9.0/10

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JONATHAN TRAYNOR