If you're in the market for some absolutely fantastic, catchy, melodic, sort of rock, sort of metal, but not quite one or the other alone; look no further than truly unique Minneapolis, MN quartet The Coup de Grace. I used to see ads and/or reviews for this album in old metal zines over the years, but only recently finally took the time to seek out the CD.
Among my personal favorites, "Daylight Dawning" is the lead track from their debut album, and comes across like a slightly heavier Bullet Lavolta covering a Kansas/Blue Öyster Cult hybrid or some shit. I haven't picked up their second record yet (rumored to sound more Thin Lizzy-esque, it was released five years later, and only in Japan), but certainly plan to at some point.
Vocalist/guitarist James Mecherle (a.k.a. Jimmy Coup) later played with Andrew WK for a few years, and was actually talking about doing more of a full-on metal-leaning Coup de Grace album at one point afterward; but co-founding Coup de Grace guitarist Steve Wresh passed away in 2010, which likely put an unfortunate end to that possibility.
That being said, The Coup de Grace gets two enthusiastic thumbs up from me, so seek it out if you're curious...
