This was Gary Numan's last album of the 80's and relative to the gradually declining quality of his recent output, was rather good.
The album benefits from crisp, shiny production and a wide range of new synth sounds that give the material a lush texture. And maybe it was because this was the first delivery of a new record deal, the songwriting was sharp and the mood was `up', with a melodic sense that had been missing for a while.
`Metal Rythmn' has a number of highlights, which include the rocky `New Anger', the lively funk of `Young Heart', the breathy pop of `America' and fan-favourites `Voix' and `Respect' amongst others. The new songs worked really well live too and the shows that year were excellent.
If you're new to Numan, you might be better off starting somewhere earlier in his catalogue, or with any releases from 1994 onwards. But otherwise it was certainly one of the best in a relatively weak period and a worthy addition to the Numan canon.