''One Vice at a Time'' is the sixth studio album by the Swiss

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

band Krokus, released in 1982 by

Arista Records Arista Records ( ) is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously a division of Bertelsmann Music G ...

. It is notable for the strong influence of Australian hard rock band

AC/DC AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formativ ...

on the songs and production, and was the first album to feature Mark Kohler on rhythm guitar. It includes a cover of

the Guess Who The Guess Who was a Canadian rock band formed in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1965. The band found their greatest success in the late 1960s and early 1970s, under the leadership of singer/keyboardist Burton Cummings and guitarist Randy Bachman, wit ...

's song "

American Woman "American Woman" is a song by Canadian rock band the Guess Who, released January 1970, from the album of the same name. It was later released in March 1970 as a single backed with " No Sugar Tonight", and it reached number one for three weeks ...

". The song "Long Stick Goes Boom" is used in the video game '' Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories'' on the fictional in-game radio station "V-Rock".KROKUS ONLINE - official homepage - Discography - ONE VICE AT A TIME
/ref>

Bruce Dickinson Paul Bruce Dickinson (born 7 August 1958) is an English singer who is best known as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden. Dickinson has performed in the band across two stints, from 1981 to 1993 and from 1999 to the present d ...

, who at the time had just been hired as

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris (musician), Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most ...

's new lead vocalist, provides backing vocals on the track "I'm on the Run".KROKUS’ Metal Rendez-vous, Hardware, One Vice At A Time To Be Reissued in Deluxe Format
/ref> Producer

Tony Platt Tony Platt is an English sound engineer and record producer, best known for his work with a diverse mix of artists, including, AC/DC, Cheap Trick, Bob Marley, Shy, Buddy Guy, Foreigner, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Sparks, Jazz Jamaica All ...

was best known for his prior work as engineer with

. UK-based company Rock Candy Records reissued the album on CD in 2014. The band's

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th centur ...

'' Long Stick Goes Boom: Live From Da House of Rust'' took its title from the lead-off song on this release.

Critical reception

At the time of release British press has negatively commented on the musical content of the album, condemning the musicians as copycats of

. Reviewer Dante Bonutto from ''

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British music webzine and quarterly magazine that primarily covers rock, punk and heavy metal music. Since 2017, the magazine has been published by Wasted Talent Ltd (the same company that owns electronic music publication ...

'' magazine wrote in March of 1982: "Krokus's infatuation with AC/DC seems to rule out even a hint of progress. On the evidence ''One Vice at a Time'' (and it's true of previous albums, also) the band are less concerned with creating something new than aping a tried, tested and successful formula. With the help of producer

, who engineered on ''

Highway to Hell ''Highway to Hell'' is the sixth studio album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC, released on 27 July 1979, by Albert Productions and Atlantic Records. It is the first of three albums produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange, and is the last albu ...

'' and ''

Back in Black ''Back in Black'' is the seventh studio album by Australian rock band AC/DC, released on 25 July 1980, by Albert Productions and Atlantic Records. It was the band's first album to feature Brian Johnson as lead singer, following the death of the ...

'', Krokus create passable facsimile of

Angus Angus may refer to: *Angus, Scotland, a council area of Scotland, and formerly a province, sheriffdom, county and district of Scotland * Angus, Canada, a community in Essa, Ontario Animals * Angus cattle, various breeds of beef cattle Media * ...

and Co's distinctively-layered sound. The motivations behind the music and that all-important AC/DC swagger, however, can't be reproduced, a fact that leaves the album sounding two-dimensional and soulless. Music by numbers (largely) predictable and uninspired".

Track listing

;Side one # "Long Stick Goes Boom" ''(

Chris von Rohr Christoph von Rohr (born 24 October 1951 in Solothurn) is a Swiss rock musician, record producer, author, columnist, radio and television presenter. He is best known for being a member and founder of the hard rock band, Krokus. History Child ...

Fernando von Arb Fernando von Arb or simply FVA (born 17 January 1953) is a Swiss guitarist, songwriter and producer. He is best known for being a guitarist of the Swiss hard rock band Krokus. Career In the early 1970s, Von Arb was playing in the band Monte ...

Marc Storace Marc Storace (; born 7 October 1951) is a Maltese-born Swiss musician. His career in music started in the 1960s. He is most noted for his position as the lead singer and songwriter of the Swiss hard rock band Krokus from 1980. Before joining Kro ...

)'' - 5:12 # "Bad Boys, Rag Dolls" ''(von Rohr, von Arb, Storace)'' - 3:48 # "Playin' the Outlaw" ''(von Rohr, von Arb, Freddy Steady, Storace)'' - 4:00 # "To the Top" ''(von Rohr, von Arb, Storace)'' - 4:21 ;Side two #

"Down the Drain" ''(von Rohr, von Arb)'' - 3:12 # "

" ''(

Burton Cummings Burton Lorne Cummings (born December 31, 1947) is a Canadian musician and songwriter. He is best known for leading the Guess Who during that band's most successful period from 1965 to 1975, and for a lengthy solo career. Cummings has been induc ...

, Gary Peterson, Michael James Kale,

Randy Bachman Randolph Charles Bachman ( ; born September 27, 1943) is a Canadian guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He was a founding member of the bands The Guess Who and Bachman–Turner Overdrive. He was the writer and singer of several hit rock songs, ...

)'' - 3:37 (

The Guess Who The Guess Who was a Canadian rock band formed in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1965. The band found their greatest success in the late 1960s and early 1970s, under the leadership of singer/keyboardist Burton Cummings and guitarist Randy Bachman, wit ...

cover) # "I'm on the Run" ''(von Rohr, von Arb, Storace)'' - 3:43 # "Save Me" ''(von Rohr, von Arb, Steady, Storace)'' - 4:27 # "Rock 'n' Roll" ''(von Rohr, von Arb)'' - 4:07

Personnel

;Krokus *

– vocals *

– lead guitar * Mark Kohler – rhythm guitar *

– bass, percussion * Freddy Steady – drums ;Additional musicians *

– backing vocals on "I'm on the Run" ;Production * Co-produced by

and Krokus * Engineered by Tony Platt *

Barry Sage Barry Sage is a British sound engineer and producer, currently living in Santiago, Chile. Sage has worked with a variety of British and Latin American acts, including the Rolling Stones, Boy George, Pet Shop Boys, Nicole and Charly García. Car ...

– assistant engineer * Chris von Rohr, Fernando von Arb – arrangements

Charts

Album

Singles

Sales and certifications

References

{{Authority control Krokus (band) albums 1982 albums Albums produced by Tony Platt Arista Records albums