amson were a part of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, but never gained success like many other bands (Saxon, Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, to name a few). On this album Bruce Dickinson (later to join Iron Maiden) is the singer, and that alone would certainly be of interest to some people. "Shock tactics" is a good heavy metal album although it's not great. You get what you expect in songs like "Riding with the angels" and "Bright lights" since they follow the blue print for heavy metal at the time (1981). But Samson are clearly showing us that they are talented above average in cuts like "Earth mother", "Nice girl" and "Go the hell". They even include a blues inspired number: "Blood lust", but whether or not Dickinson can sing the blues is up to you to decide. I give this album 3 strong stars, but some days when I play "Go to hell" real loud I tend to think it's worth at least 4 stars! If you're a dedicated fan of New Wave Of British Heavy Metal you shouldn't hesitate to buy this one.