By the time of Sonic Attack, Hawkwind, after losing virtually all of its original members save singer-guitarist Dave Brock, had made a complete transition from a psychedelic proto-punk outfit to a sleek, polished heavy metal band.
Sonic Attack sounds like it could have been recorded by early-'80s contemporaries like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest.
True, neither of those bands would have written a song like "Psychosonia," in which the lyrics "They are trying to rob us of our right to communicate" are turned into a cheerleading spell-a-thon.
Nonetheless, that (and the title track, which originally appeared on 1973's Space Ritual) are the only concessions to the original, quirky Hawkwind style.
Most of the lyrics are typical sci-fi and Dungeons & Dragons-style tales, which are not all that dissimilar from lyrics of other bands of the era, but not particularly notable either.
The musicianship is clean, probably even more so than on Hawkwind's earlier, more classic albums.
What results, however, is intricate hard rock that is only intermittently riveting.
Sonic Attack has some impressive moments, but never really gels as a whole.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sonic AttackHawkwind, Michael Moorcock | Hawkwind | Play | 04:45 | 10 MB | 30 MB |
| 2 | Rocky PathsHuw Lloyd-Langton, Marion Lloyd-Langton | Hawkwind | Play | 03:58 | 9 MB | 27 MB |
| 3 | PsychosoniaHawkwind, Michael Moorcock | Hawkwind | Play | 02:30 | 5 MB | 16 MB |
| 4 | Angels of DeathDave Brock | Hawkwind | Play | 05:41 | 13 MB | 40 MB |
| 5 | Living On a Knife EdgeDave Brock | Hawkwind | Play | 04:45 | 10 MB | 31 MB |
| 6 | Coded LanguagesHarvey Bainbridge, Michael Moorcock | Hawkwind | Play | 01:43 | 3 MB | 9 MB |
| 7 | DisintegrationDave Brock | Hawkwind | Play | 03:03 | 7 MB | 21 MB |
| 8 | Streets of FearDave Brock | Hawkwind | Play | 05:17 | 12 MB | 34 MB |
| 9 | Lost ChancesDave Brock, Michael Moorcock | Hawkwind | Play | 05:42 | 13 MB | 37 MB |
| 10 | Angels of DeathDave Brock | Hawkwind | Play | 05:41 | 13 MB | 40 MB |
| 11 | Virgin Of The World (From The Church Of Hawkwind) | Hawkwind | Play | 04:30 | 10 MB | 23 MB |
| 12 | Trans-Dimensional Man | Hawkwind | Play | 05:04 | 11 MB | 29 MB |
| 52 mins | 120 MB | |||||
| 52 mins | 343 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harvey Bainbridge | Composer, Group Member, Guitar (Bass), Keyboards, Quotation Author, Vocals |
| 2 | Dave Brock | Composer, Group Member, Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals |
| 3 | Andrew Christian | Art Direction |
| 4 | Paul Cobbold | Engineer |
| 5 | Martin Griffin | Drums, Group Member |
| 6 | Hawkwind | Composer, Primary Artist, Producer |
| 7 | Ashley Howe | Engineer, Producer |
| 8 | Huw Lloyd-Langton | Composer, Group Member, Guitar, Vocals |
| 9 | Marion Lloyd-Langton | Composer |
| 10 | Michael Moorcock | Composer, Quotation Author, Vocals |
| 11 | Pat Moran | Engineer |
| 12 | Jim Mountjoy | Cover Illustration |
| 13 | Mark Powell | Coordination, Liner Notes, Mixing, Research |
| 14 | Phil Smee | Package Design |
| 15 | Ben Wiseman | Digital Remastering, Mixing |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |