Tarantula – Tarantula – 1987

Tarantula is the self-titled debut album from this Portuguese band. I’ve never heard or heard about them before but decided to give it a go. The Cover art got me hooked. It’s ugly as hell but it has some of that 8+s charm to it after all. Music-wise it sure sounds like to 80s. I would have guessed even earlier than 1987 actually. It’s a pretty awful-sounding album. Some of the songs are good though, but it would have needed a better production.

Tarantula sounds kind of like a cross between medieval court music and Hardrock. I’ve seen them listed as playing Power Metal as some sources but that must be later. As far as I know, they’re still active today. But as I said, the album’s main enemy is its sound. The instruments are pretty clear in the mix, you can clearly hear the bass and so on. But it sounds murky and bad, to be frank. If you’re into everything Hardrock during the 80s perhaps you should check it out. But don’t expect too much…