Black Jack - Five Pieces of Eight (1985)^{Release ID: 53853}

Melbourne's Black Jack were one of the earlier Australian metal bands which has afforded them a reasonable amount of mystique in the local scene over the years but it wasn't enough to see me going to the effort of exploring any of their music until only the last half-decade or so. This week's revisit to their one & only proper studio release was my first return to "Five Pieces of Eight" since that initial discovery session, this time paying a lot more attention to finer details & nuances of a record that's largely been lost to time, despite holding the questionable honour of being the very first metal record to explore pirate themes.

Black Jack were a four-piece outfit that formed around the brothers John & Rick Giles way back in 1979. There are reports floating around that the two brothers were direct descendants of historical figure Thomas Giles who was reportedly hanged for piracy back in the day so one would guess that this was where they came up with the concept for a pirate-themed heavy metal band. Black Jack's sole E.P. "Five Pieces of Eight" wouldn't be released until 1985 & followed two demo tapes, the first being recorded in their initial year of existence & the second coming four years later in 1983. "Five Pieces of Eight" would be released on legendary Melbourne metal label Metal For Melbourne but wouldn't exactly see Black Jack going on to become global megastars. In fact, they allegedly recorded two full-length albums at some point but neither would ever see the light of day for one reason or another. So, unfortunately, we only have this short E.P. with which to judge the world's very first pirate metal act. (If I'm being completely honest, the front cover is the only obvious pirate reference here anyway as far as I can tell without reading the lyrics.)

"Five Pieces of Eight" was recorded at Saturn Studio with producer George Simak who also worked on Taramis' 1987 "Queen of Thieves" album. The result is a noticeably rough & ready record with a production job that leaves a lot to be desired though. The main concern is that the rhythm guitars are wwwaaaayyyy back in the mix & are dwarfed by the drums & vocals which is a real shame because guitarist John Giles (who also spent some time with the pre-Taipan band Storm) is obviously a very talented shredder. Thankfully, his lead solos are much louder but I don't think it will surprise you to discover that the riffs are significantly impaired by the fact that the guitars sound more like background music than they do the focal point they deserve to be. Rick Giles' soaring vocals have a lot of attitude & charisma about them & they have to be too as he's no technical superstar, occasionally crossing over the borderline into pitchy territory which completely ruins the silly "Hot Rocket".

Apart from the previously mentioned "Hot Rocket", the tracklisting isn't too bad actually. The short introduction piece adds no value whatsoever but opening track "Highwayman's Inn" (my personal favourite) is actually a really solid heavy metal tune that borders on power metal, largely thanks to Rick's operatic (yet mildly chaotic) vocal performance. The drumming of Ion Drive skinsman Mick Burns shows some class & creativity on that track too so a really dig it. "Hot Rocket" is more or less party metal while "Prelude #5" would appear to be an attempt to showcase John Giles' lead guitar prowess in a similar way to Van Halen's "Eruption" & it succeeds in many respects too. "Man of Arms" is a doomy power metal anthem that reminds me a lot of Manowar while closer "The Wiazrd" opts for a NWOBHM heavy metal gallop that was no doubt inspired by the likes of Iron Maiden. The wins clearly outweigh the losses however the production issues certainly limit the heights that "Five Pieces of Eight" has the ability to scale. I can see the potential in it though & subsequently find it hard not to enjoy the naive energy & enthusiasm of it all. 

Look, "Five Pieces of Eight" isn't gonna rock your world & you'll do very well to find yourself a copy anyway. But it is an important landmark in the Australian heavy metal story & Black Jack deserve to be mentioned when local metalheads refer to the important players that built their beloved scene. I can't imagine how those two full-length albums never saw the light of day though. I mean, if you'd put that much time & money into your passion project then surely you'd at least want people to hear it. Perhaps the production was even worse than we hear on this one? I dunno but, for now at least, "Five Pieces of Eight" will have to suffice as Black Jack's sole legacy.

For fans of Taipan, Iron Maiden & early Taramis.