Quartz - Stand Up and Fight (1980)^{Release ID: 3110}

I quite liked the self-titled debut album from early NWOBHM exponents Quartz. It was a fairly unfocused mixture of hard rock, heavy metal & progressive rock & even had a track that I’d label as folk but I liked almost all of the songs individually & it was well executed even though Tony Iommi’s production was poor. The band’s 1980 follow-up album “Stand Up & Fight” is a completely different prospect though. It sees Quartz going with a stripped down four-piece lineup following the departure of second guitarist/keyboardist Geoff Nichols who left to join a small-time underground band that no one’s ever heard of called Black Sabbath in 1979.

You won’t hear any expansive progressive sounds on “Stand Up & Fight”. This is a much more focused release which is directed entirely at the exciting new sound of the NWOBHM. There is still a definite 70’s hard rock influence (check out “Can’t Say No To You” which sounds very much like US hard rockers Boston to my ears) but I have no hesitation in claiming this as a genuine metal record & it’s hard to deny the commonly held opinion that the band had jumped on the New Wave bandwagon in an attempt to give their dwindling career prospects a bit of a boost. 

I’ve mentioned it before but I honestly can’t understand why a band like Quartz is included in the NWOBHM but a band like Motorhead are not. They both released their debut albums in 1977. Quartz were certainly older than the majority of bands that were around at the time (in their mid 30’s) & had paid more dues than most. You can hear that in the performances which are all very solid & the band clearly knew how to put together a tight & professional package by this stage. The production is a big step up from the debut & it gives some of the patchier song-writing a chance to drift by without incident. The bass sound is particularly strong & it really does drive this record. 

Unfortunately there are still a few tracks that come across as a bit flat but I generally like “Stand Up & Fight”. It’s Quartz’ most celebrated release however I have to admit that I rate the debut slightly ahead of it as I think the song-writing has a little more consistency. They’re both worth checking out though & “Stand Up & Fight” makes a fine example of the NWOBHM sound. Fans of Saxon, early Def Leppard or even US hard rockers Riot should find a bit of enjoyment here.