Britny Fox is yet another hair metal band from the 80's that has managed to survive this long and still put out records. "Springhead Motorshark" is their first studio album in almost 12 years. Just why it has taken them this long to release something new I'm not sure.

Where as the last studio album "Bite Down Hard" was a gutsy, in your face hard rock record, "Springhead Motorshark" is a record that shows that the band's music has matured since then.

"Springhead Motorshark" continues with trademark styled Britny Fox riffs, but they sound heavier and thicker on some songs and less layered in others. Where as the last three studio albums were a mix of Cinderella meets Kiss meets Aerosmith meets AC/DC,, this one can even border on hard rock Journey or Chicago harmonies at times. They switch off alot between heavy and more melodic parts.

One of the biggest changes in the music is the expanded use of keyboards. Britny Fox incorporates piano and synthesizer sounds on many of the songs, which are much more predominant on this album than any other. Another big change seems to be the vocal style of Tommy Paris. On a song like "Pain", which is by far the heaviest track on the album, they sound just like that; rough and gruff. But on the more melodic pieces like the ballads "LA" and "Lonely Ones", his voice is very harmonious, layered and almost whiny. I can't help but feel he under-used the capability of the power he has to really belt out tunes like he did on "Bite Down Hard".

The title track "Springhead Motorshark" is an instrumental with some audio clips in the background. "Is It Real" is a relaxed acoustical jam with shakers. "Coup D'etat" is another instrumental with some fiery guitar soloing that leads right into "Far Enough", another heavy rocker.

It took more than a few spins for these songs to sink in and for me to accept them. The album continues to grow on me and so far I like it. I give Britny Fox credit for taking a chance at doing something a little bit different, but I personally feel that alot of the songs did not need the keyboards, like the synth parts. As for the piano, it does sound better in the ballads.

This album is worth checking out.