Holocaust - The Nightcomers (1981)Release ID: 5266
I quite liked the 1980 debut single from the first Scottish metal band of any note in Holocaust’s “Heavy Metal Mania”. It was a promising start to the band’s career so I’m pleased that Holocaust didn‘t just fade away into obscurity in the same way that many lesser known NWOBHM bands of the time did. In fact, they followed up the single with the release of their debut album entitled “The Nightcomers” in April 1981 & it’s another record that may interest fans of the New Wave & classic heavy metal in general.
The sound that Holocaust champion here is fairly similar to the one found on the single however the AC/DC influence that was so evident there isn’t quite as extreme with Black Sabbath & Motorhead influences becoming equally important contributors in that regard. “The Nightcomers” is probably a little more metal than “Heavy Metal Mania” too although I’d suggest that four of the nine songs sit closer to hard rock than they do to legitimate heavy metal which isn’t an uncommon characteristic for a New Wave release. The production is very good for the time & is highlighted by a really thick & up-front guitar sound that makes for a much heavier listening experience than it might otherwise have been. I’m pleased to say that the dodgy drum sound that marred the single has been improved upon here too & it's no longer such an issue.
The musicianship on display isn’t amazing however the band does a pretty good job of working with what they have as far as skill set limitations go. Vocalist Gary Lettice sounds very similar to how he did on the single with a punky & quite unique delivery that still reminds me very much of Jess Cox’s performance on Tygers Of Pan Tang’s debut album “Wild Cat” from the previous year. He doesn’t have a lot of options really as his range is quite limited & he’s not really helping to enhance the weaker material here but Í have to admit that he seems to do just fine on the stronger stuff. Holocaust is all about the riffs though to be honest & we have some really big ones on “The Nightcomers” with a much stronger Black Sabbath influence coming to the fore than we’ve heard from them before. I’m afraid I find the tracklisting to be heavily lopsided though which effected my opinion of the album when I initially heard it back in the day. The first four tracks don’t do much for me so it was easy to lose interest before the remaining five tracks which I’ve later learnt that I enjoy quite a bit. It seems a strange decision to arrange it in the way that they have although I have to admit that their more hardcore fans seem to rate a couple of the earlier songs on the album much more highly than I do.
The record features a re-recorded version of “Heavy Metal Mania” which comes complete with a slightly different arrangement to the single version. This time we have quite an ambitious & elaborate guitar harmony section at the start that I don’t have much time for to be honest. To my ears it highlights the bands technical deficiencies as much as anything else & I would have preferred a more faithful rendition of the single version.
At the end of the day, “The Nightcomers” is basically the only Holocaust record you need in your collection (although guitarist John Mortimer has continued to flog a dead horse ever since & was still flying the flag when I last checked) but having said that, this is hardly the undiscovered gem it's often made out to be & without the link to Metallica (they covered "The Small Hours" from 1983's "Live (Hot Curry & Wine)" live album on their classic 1987 covers E.P. "The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re-Revisited") I doubt that Holocaust would have made much of a blip on the metal radar.
