This the first release for NWOBHM outfit 'Samson', sees a slightly different approach to the more memorable 'Bruce Dickinson' fronted albums 'Heads Up' and 'Shock Tactics', 'Paul Samson's' Bluesy with a Punk edge vocals gives this a very different sound. 'Bruce Dickinson' (referred to as 'Bruce Bruce') is credited to play on 'Survivors' (backing vocals / rhythm guitar) but how much he contributed is undetermined, in fact who did play on this album is a bit of mystery, bass was either courtesy of 'Chris Aylmer' or 'John McCoy' of Gillan fame. The majority of the writing is by both 'Paul Samson' and 'John McCoy' and at times there is a slight 'Gillan' feel to a couple of tracks. Overall though this debut is very early NWOBHM and while its raw, there's not the strength of song writing, memorable vocals or even tempo to compete with fellow contemporaries like 'Iron Maiden'.

The album gets underway courtesy of 'It's Not as Easy as it Seems', a rugged plodder that's very stereotypical of the genre, the rhythm work is brisk and steadfast while 'Paul Samson's' vocals are steady and fitting but hardly memorable- all told a solid opener. Less impressive is 'I Wish I Was' (the Saddle of a Schoolgirls Bike) crappy title for a mediocre song, a dull insipid crawler of a track, with a downright awful chorus. More appealing is the grooving rocker 'Big Brother' a catchy plodder, that's graced with solid rhythm work throughout and a decent chorus. Further refinements are found on the 'Gillanesque' 'Tomorrow or Yesterday', the subtle downhearted introduction gives way to a rockier more progressive instrumental, this portion is nicely done but the track closes as it begun, very sluggishly and complete with boring keyboard work. The strangely titled 'Koz' ensues and as with the previous track there's shades of 'Gillan' here, ultimately though a fairly throwaway instrumental and not up to the quality of the aforementioned group. Improvements are made with 'Six Feet Under' and after a long instrumental introduction the song kicks off as mid tempo rocker, lyrically hardly dazzling, but one of the more likeable tracks present. Next up is the light-hearted plodder 'Inside Out', that's driven by some excellent head-swaying rhythm, regrettably the lyrics are pretty feeble and repetitive. The album bows out with 'Wrong Side of Time', a subtle slightly Bluesy number that's better penned than the last few tracks, 'Paul Samson's' vocals suit the song pretty well and while nothing special, one of the better tracks present.

The re-released version of 'Survivors' contains no less than nine bonus tracks, the first two don't feature on 'Survivors' and are sung by 'Paul Samson' but the last seven include 'Bruce Dickinson' on vocals, as he sings all of the above. First up is 'Mr. Rock 'n' Roll' an early single release, that could have easily made album status, but with 'Survivors' that's a backhanded compliment, joking apart a decent rocker that while very typical of the genre, pretty enjoyable. 'The Shuffle' follows in mediocre fashion and what the song lacks lyrically, is made up for by some solid fret and rhythm work. As for the 'Dickinson' sung tracks, musically they are extremely similar to the album counterparts, the biggest difference is 'Bruce' who immediately impresses, his style, range and delivery is much superior to 'Paul Samson's' and all told lifts all the songs. Particular improvements are made with 'It's Not as Easy as it Seems' which is really given a lift and 'Wrong Side of Time' which 'Bruce' sing with real conviction.

In all honesty there's very little to get excited about here and while some rate 'Survivors' as an important NWOBHM release, there's many better albums of the genre, including the next two from 'Samson'.