Shock Tactics

Shock Tactics is the third studio album by British heavy metal band Samson, released in 1981. It was vocalist Bruce Dickinson's final album with the band before joining Iron Maiden (who were coincidentally recording Killers, their last album with Paul Di'Anno, in the same studio at the same time as Samson).^[4]

Shock Tactics
Studio album by Samson
Released	8 May 1981[1]
Recorded	2–31 January 1981
Studio	Battery Studios, London
Genre	Heavy metal
Length	39:46
Label	RCA
Producer	Tony Platt
Samson chronology
Head on (1980) Shock Tactics (1981) Before the Storm (1982)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal	10/10[3]

Track listing

All tracks by Bruce Dickinson, Paul Samson, Chris Aylmer and Thunderstick, except "Riding with the Angels" by Russ Ballard.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Riding with the Angels" (Russ Ballard cover)	3:42
2.	"Earth Mother"	4:40
3.	"Nice Girl"	3:19
4.	"Blood Lust"	6:00
5.	"Go to Hell"	3:18
6.	"Bright Lights"	3:07
7.	"Once Bitten"	4:36
8.	"Grime Crime"	4:32
9.	"Communion"	6:32

2001 re-issue bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
10.	"Little Big Man"	3:23
11.	"Pyramid to the Stars"	5:19
12.	"Losing My Grip"	4:00

Personnel

Samson

• "Bruce Bruce" Dickinson – vocals
• Paul Samson – guitar
• Chris Aylmer – bass guitar
• Thunderstick – drums

Production

• Tony Platt – producer, engineer
• Graham Carmichael – assistant engineer

Re-issues

Shock Tactics has seen several CD re-issues over the years. The first came in 1989 courtesy of German company Repertoire, in 1991 via Grand Slamm in the U.S. and in 1992 through Jimco in Japan, followed by Bruce Dickinson's short-lived Air Raid label in 2000. The most recent CD re-issues on Castle/Sanctuary (2001), Dissonance Productions (2017), Japan's Wasabi Records (2018), and Brazil's Hellion Records (2020) all contain 3 bonus tracks, "Little Big Man", "Pyramid to the Stars" and "Losing My Grip", not included on the earlier editions. The original 9-song album has also seen vinyl re-issues in the UK and Europe through Back on Black and in the U.S. via Real Gone Music, both in 2017.