''Guilty as Charged!'' is the only studio album released by the American heavy metal band Culprit through

Shrapnel Records Shrapnel Records is an American record label group founded by record producer Mike Varney. The group principally uses the ''Shrapnel Records'' record label, a guitar-oriented label which features shred guitar, hard rock, metal and progressive ...

in 1983.

Critical reception

Eduardo Rivadavia of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

gave the album a glowing review, writing "one has to wonder if the then still

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) originally created and designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical ...

-toting

Queensrÿche Queensrÿche () is an American progressive metal band. It formed in 1982 in Bellevue, Washington, out of the local band the Mob. The band has released 16 studio albums, one Extended play, EP, and several DVDs, and continues to tour and record ...

didn't take note of Culprit's more lucid approach further down the road, since ''Guilty as Charged'' feels in many ways like a rough draft of '' Operation: Mindcrime''. All conjecture aside, and even more unusual as compared to their average labelmates' guitar-first philosophy, Culprit songs like 'Steel to Blood,' 'Ambush,' and 'Same to You' boasted extremely memorable, singalong choruses to go with their disciplined instrumental foundations. As it stands, ''Guilty as Charged'' remains a lost gem of American metal from the 1980s, and well worth seeking out for fans of other bands from the period." Canadian journalist

Martin Popoff Martin Popoff (born April 28, 1963) is a Canadian music journalist, critic and author. He is mainly known for writing about heavy metal music. The senior editor and co-founder of '' Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles'', he has written over twenty books ...

was less enthusiastic and found the execution "too loose, raw and undisciplined to impress", conceding that the band "showed promise and caused a lot of hype never to be fulfilled". In 2005, ''Guilty as Charged!'' was ranked number 476 in ''

Rock Hard Rock Hard may refer to: * "Rock Hard" (song), a 1984 song by the Beastie Boys * ''Rock Hard'', a 1980 album by Suzi Quatro * ''Rock Hard'' (magazine), a German music magazine ** Rock Hard Festival, a heavy metal festival sponsored by the above maga ...

'' magazine's book ''The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time''.

Track listing

Personnel

;Culprit *Jeff L'Heureux – vocals *John DeVol – guitar *Kjartan Kristoffersen – guitar *Scott Earl – bass *Bud Burrill – drums, lead vocals on track 11 ;Production *

Mike Varney Michael Varney (born 1958) is an American record producer and music publisher. He is the founder of the Shrapnel Label Group, which includes Shrapnel Records, Tone Center Records, and Blues Bureau International. He also owns 50% of Magna Car ...

– producer *Allen Sudduth –

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*Paul Stubblebine – mastering at

The Automatt The Automatt was a sound recording studio in San Francisco, California, promoted for its early mix automation system. During its eight active years, 1976 to 1984, it was one of the top recording studios in the region. The Automatt was founded by p ...

, San Francisco, California *Candy Folwer –

artwork A work of art, artwork, art piece, piece of art or art object is an artistic creation of aesthetic value. Except for "work of art", which may be used of any work regarded as art in its widest sense, including works from literature ...

*Rex Rystedt – photography

References

{{Authority control 1983 debut albums Culprit (band) albums Shrapnel Records albums Albums produced by Mike Varney