Daniel's Reviews

After being totally underwhelmed by Dimmu Borgir's "For All Tid" debut, I decided to give their second album "Stormblast" the benefit of the doubt & therefore went in with an open mind. Although I find it to be a big improvement on "For All Tid", I am still a long way from really enjoying it. The production is still pretty poor even though it's undoubtedly better than their debut. The drum sound is particularly average & the guitars need much more depth (& probably more overdubs). Also, I'm afraid that there is just not much of a dark atmosphere or any form of aggression. It all just seems to float along in a very unintimidating fashion with the keyboards taking most of the focus. What they need are some riffs with real excitement in them. "Stormblast" doesn't appeal to my tastes so I pretty quickly find myself bored.

I remember hearing this album when it was originally released in 1994 & I didn't like it much. For some reason, I thought I'd give it another listen & have found that I like it even less if anything. There is simply nothing good about it. The production is woeful. The thin, fuzzy guitars are unacceptably far back in the mix & the vocals too far forward. There is no high end in the mix much at all really. The performances are terrible (especially the drumming which is constantly out of time) & the song-writing is very amateurish indeed. The clean vocal sections must be a joke of some sort. The attempts at atmosphere are laughable. It's amazing that Dimmu Borgir managed to go on to bigger & better things after this abortion of a debut.

Could Abigor be thumbing their noses at their label with this release? Otherwise I have absolutely no idea what they thought they were doing. You know those hilarious occasions when some unfortunate soul leaves themselves logged on to a chatroom or forum, gets drunk & passes out & then wakes to find that his mates have posted something hilarious under their alias? Well this sounds like Abigor got drunk, passed out & woke to find that their pissed mates had recorded some absolute rubbish in their studio & released it under their name. That can be the only explanation really. I gonna go with that. Complete nonsense!

I am a very long way from understanding the attraction to this style of music. It sounds like a bad joke to me. I would hate to think that people thought this was what I'm into when I tell them I like death metal.

I wasn't much of a fan of the 1978 debut album from Chicago heavy metallers Sorcery to be honest. "Sinister Soldiers" is often referred to as an early example of the US proto-doom movement however I feel that it would be much more accurate to say that it was essentially a 70's hard rock record that's been diluted with various different influences in a noticeably haphazard fashion. So I wasn't too disheartened to read that Sorcery had gone into the recording of their 1980 sophomore album with a fresh new lineup.

New vocalist Jim Kelly is a welcome addition to the band & his vocals are the clear highlight of the album for mine. He sounds a lot like Rob Tyner from MC5 or John Garcia from Kyuss here as he has this cool American drawl thing going on, but unfortunately his performance often loses some of its impact due to the poor production work around him. 

"Till Death Do Us Part" doesn't see Sorcery flirting with doom, punk or psychedelic influences in the same way that they did on the debut. This time around we get a sound that sits somewhere between the heavy metal of Black Sabbath & the hard rock of Alice Cooper with some quite abstract & progressive instrumentation & arrangements being employed across the tracklisting. Sorcery were being a little too ambitious for their own good here in my opinion as there are far more misses than hits, leaving us with a fairly unfocused record that sounds like the result of a union between a band & producer that didn’t really know what they were trying to achieve as a creative unit. Just check out the bizarre piano parts for example as they're particularly strange.

Overall, I probably had a little more time for "Sinister Soldiers" than I do for "Till Death Do Us Part" which isn't very encouraging. It's once again filled with some interesting ideas that required much more skill than the band possessed in order to be molded into a final product that makes sense as an album. I guess Sorcery just never really hit the spot for me. 

Baron Rojo’s second album “Volumen brutal” was not only the first noteworthy metal release to come from the Spaniards but it would go on to become the most celebrated & important Spanish metal record in history. Unfortunately though, that particular release & I have never seen eye to eye really. The production & musicianship are excellent however I struggle with the Spanish language vocals & the song-writing in general. Also, despite its reputation & image, I find it to sit much more comfortably under the hard rock banner than I do the heavy metal one. So the question is… will their follow-up album see me changing my tune or will it be more of the same?

Well the answer isn’t all that straight forward. The first thing you’ll notice about 1983’s amusingly titled “Metalmorfosis” album is the production. It’s decidedly average compared to that of its predecessor with a generally muffled feel to it. It’s blaringly obvious if you listen to the record back to back with other music & it takes some getting used to. Thankfully it’s not a deal-breaker for me & I’m able to cope with it even though it’s a little bit disappointing.

The vocals on “Metalmorfosis” take a very similar approach to those on “Volumen brutal” & I find front man Carlos de Castro’s delivery to be no more easily palatable than I did previously but the big difference here is in the quality of the song-writing. It’s clearly stronger than before in my opinion & this provides me with so much more to dig my teeth into than I found on “Volumen brutal”. Don’t get me wrong. I’m still not suggesting that this is a genuine metal release. Although it’s generally regarded as such I don’t hear much metal here in a good two thirds of the tracklisting. It’s probably a little heavier than “Volumen brutal” overall which appeals to me but there’s much more Deep Purple, AC/DC & Scorpions on display here than there is Iron Maiden, Judas Priest or Black Sabbath. That’s not necessarily a bad thing though as I find plenty to like about these songs with a good two thirds of the tracklisting managing to dig their teeth right in. Even the few weaker numbers here aren’t all that bad with the musicianship once again being very strong & the de Castro brothers doing a great job at filling out the sound.

I have to say that I find it very strange that “Volumen brutal” is regarded as Baron Rojo’s piece-de-resistance instead of this one as it seems to take a comfortable step up from that release in my opinion. Perhaps it’s the weaker production & the fact that “Volumen brutal” was the first major metal related release to come out of Spain that’s enabled it to become so celebrated? Or it could also be the fact that they did an English version of that album with the assistance of Bruce Dickinson from Samson & Iron Maiden that’s made all the difference as I’ve never heard that “Metalmofosis” got the same treatment. But one thing I AM sure about is that you should check this record out because, despite the dodgy Spanish vocals, it’s got a lot to offer fans of heavy rock music.

With the European metal scene starting to heat up in the early 1980's, it was only a matter of time until we’d start to see metal bands popping up from countries like Spain with this particular release representing not only the first metal-related release to come out of the country but also the most celebrated one still to this day.

Baron Rojo (which is Spanish for Red Baron) started as a four-piece hard rock outfit formed around the twin guitar attack of Armando & Carlos de Castro in Madrid in 1980. They released their debut album “Larga vida al Rock and Roll” the following year with reasonable success however it was Baron Rojo’s follow-up album “Volumen brutal” that saw the band toughening their sound up a little & also reaching a greater level of commercial & critical success. In fact, I’ve even read that Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich once placed “Volumen brutal” in his all-time top ten metal albums so they were really going great guns at this stage & as soon as the album first graces your ear drums it’s pretty clear that Baron Rojo were a class act. It’s also notable that on the original release of “Volumen brutal” all of vocalist Armando de Castro’’s lyrics were sung in Spanish which is clearly a career limiter however the band made the intelligent decision to release an English version ten months later in December 1982 & that was just the ticket to further enhance their sales figures with over two million copies of the album sold worldwide. Interestingly enough, the band engaged former Samson & new Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson to assist them with the translations but the Spanish version is probably the more prominent of the two releases & the one that I’m most familiar with so that’s the version I’ve chosen to review here.

The production job on “Volumen brutal” is excellent & it presents a band that clearly know what they’re doing in the studio. The same can be said for the instrumentation & performances as all band members are right on top of their game. The twin guitar attack & the use of guitar harmonies is excellent throughout the album which is no surprise given that the two guitarists are brothers.

Now this might all sound pretty positive so far however I’m about to turn that around as I have a fairly big problem with “Volumen brutal” i.e. the vocals of Armando de Castro really annoy me. I don’t think that the Spanish language translates well with the band’s sound & it makes the vocal delivery sound a bit more cheesy & light-weight than it might otherwise have done. Plus, I don’t think that Armando was an amazing vocal talent anyway so when you throw in some fairly flat vocal hooks on some of these tracks you get an album that shows great instrumental promise but falls flat due to the lack of a quality vocal delivery. To be honest, Baron Rojo’s sound on "Volumen brutal" doesn’t seem particularly metal to me either. They seem to be more of a quality hard rock outfit with heavy metal elements to my ears. There’s really only one genuine metal song with another couple sitting somewhere between metal & hard rock in my opinion. I’d suggest that they were influenced by bands like AC/DC, Scorpions & Deep Purple with some NWOBHM influence thrown in there as well so they have a solid enough pedigree if not a particularly metal one.

The high praise that I see floating around on the internet would indicate that I might be on my own in not rating the album too highly but if you've read a reasonable number of my other reviews I’m sure that you’re already aware that I call ‘em like I see ‘em. I simply don't feel the urge to return to "Volumen brutal" & as a result it would hypocritical of me to recommend it.

I quite liked the self-financed & self-titled debut album from Jersey-based NWOBHM band Legend. It’s unique blend of Black Sabbath influenced heavy metal, hard rock & progressive rock earnt the band a fair few spins on my car stereo recently. But Legend weren’t quite done yet as they quickly went about recording & releasing their sophomore album entitled “Death In The Nursery” the following year.

There are some noticeable differences between the two releases with the band’s sound offering more variety & showing a new-found maturity that wasn’t as evident on the debut. The strong Black Sabbath influence that played such a big part on Legend’s debut has been toned down substantially here with “Death In The Nursery” sporting a more melodic sound that sits somewhere between the heavy metal of Judas Priest & the progressive hard rock of Rush on this occasion. There’s still plenty of ambition shown in the arrangements & the musicianship showcases the class of the individual band members well here too.

Vocalist Mike Lezala’s clean vocal approach sounds better suited to this material as it’s not as dark & doomy & there are more up-tempo numbers. Mike’s also helped substantially by the increased emphasis on song-writing & accessibility in these arrangements which make his unintimidating delivery sound more fit for purpose than it appeared to be on “Legend”. I recently read that one of Legend’s original guitarists Marco Morosino had left in the time between the two records however I can’t say that I miss him because remaining guitarist Peter Haworth does a brilliant job without him. His solos are thoroughly engaging & he shows that he has some chops to burn at various stages across the tracklisting.

While the production is still quite raw due to the self-produced nature of the product, it’s by no means a sore point & is acceptable at worst. Legend have certainly learnt a few things since the debut in that regard but it’s still pretty easily to tell that this a self-produced effort.

Overall, I think “Death In The Nursery” is a bit of a step up from the debut & a bit of that comes with an increased maturity in the sound & song-writing. It’s a shame that Legend didn’t go on to bigger & better things because they were certainly capable of it. A record label budget & an experienced producer may have made all the difference & propelled Legend on to a much more fruitful career than they’ve had to date. As it stands, I believe that they are still floating around having released uneventful albums in 2003 & 2013 but it’s probably unlikely that we’ll see a late career resurgence from them at this point.

If you’re a regular “Metal Academy” podcast listener then you might remember us discussing the 1979 debut album from a US progressive metal outfit by the name of Legend on episode four. Well if so then prepare to be confused because that band wasn’t the only Legend to take part in the late 70’s/early 80’s metal scene with not one but two British bands adopting the same moniker for their respective debut releases. By far the more significant of the two was a five-piece that formed in August 1980 on the island of Jersey which is not too far from the coast of France. The significance of the band’s location is noteworthy as Legend never really got the credit that they deserved amongst their NWOBHM peers & it’s hard to deny that Jersey probably wasn’t the best place in the world to build a successful musical career.

As a result we saw Legend self-finance their self-titled debut album & it showcases a band that was already very mature from a musical point of view. The production on “Legend” is very raw which is hardly surprising when you consider this was the band’s first foray into the studio & they’ve had to manage the whole production process themselves. This record is certainly not your average NWOBHM release. To my ears Legend offer a particularly 70’s influenced sound which blends the heavy metal of early Black Sabbath & Judas Priest with the progressive rock of bands like Rush & a little psychedelia in the vein of Sir Lord Baltimore. There’s a noticeably doomy element to their sound which I feel isn’t mentioned often enough when talking about the proto-doom movement of the time. Some of these riffs are very dark & as heavy as hell with Black Sabbath being channeled quite blatantly at times.

Vocalist Mike Lezala has a fairly unintimidating delivery which often reminds me of Geddy Lee from Rush in its politeness. I think Legend could possibly have been served better by a more aggressive vocal attack however Mike is pretty good at what he does. The guitar solos have a definite psychedelic flavor to them which I find appealing while the rhythm section is always doing something interesting. Drummer Dave Whitley is particularly impressive here. This is some pretty complex heavy metal for the time & it’s hard to fault Legend’s ambition.

There are a couple of flat tracks included in the seven songs on offer here although it’s predominantly a very interesting listen with a fair few risks being taken & some impressive complexity to the expansive & at times fairly lengthy song structures. I find it pretty hard to fathom the lack of attention that Legend have achieved over their career & recommend that all fans of 70’s rock & metal music should give it a spin.

More were an unfortunately titled five-piece NWOBHM act that formed in London, England in 1980 & went on to release two records during 1981 & ‘82 with their debut album “Warhead” being the more well-known of the two. Why anyone would think that “More” was a good name for a heavy rock band is anyone’s guess but their main claim to fame was that vocalist Paul Mario Day sang for Iron Maiden in one of their earlier incarnations. They were a pretty decent band in their own right in my opinion though & “Warhead” showcases plenty of hard rock energy & electricity. In fact, the word on the street is that More were quite an amazing live act & that their recorded output doesn’t quite do them justice. Strangely, they were picked up very early by major record label Atlantic Records which I can only think was the labels attempt to cash in on the blossoming NWOBHM scene of the time. It’s not really surprising when you hear More’s sound though because they’re all about the sort of catchy melodies & vocal hooks that tend to be a stable part of the major label playbook.

I’ve read quite a few people stating that the production on “Warhead” is below par however I don’t prescribe to that opinion. Actually, the production sounds very good when compared with other similar releases of the time. The band are very tight & there’s an overall professionalism to the song-writing & performances that reeks of major label backing. Like most of their NWOBHM counterparts, More’s sound sits somewhere between hard rock & heavy metal with AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple & even the Southern rock of Lynard Skynard being as much of an influence as Black Sabbath was. The closest points of reference that spring to mind when listening to ”Warhead” are NWOBHM contemparies Saxon & Samson although there’s also a little bit of the USA’s Riot to their sound. There’s even a cover version of a track from the classic 1968 self-titled debut album from English psychedelic rockers The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown which is certainly interesting if not particularly strong.

Vocalist Paul Mario Day is a talented & powerful front man & I wasn’t surprised to read about the Iron Maiden link because I really enjoy his performance here. There’s quite a bit of Jimmy Page to the bluesy lead guitar work which can’t be a bad thing either. Even taking More’s obvious hard rock credentials into account though it’s still the more metal numbers that I find to be the clear highlights here & the album is really carried by the three best tracks; all of which I consider to be very strong examples of the NWOBHM sound. The rest of the tracklisting can fall a little flat with the song-writing not quite strong enough to demand repeat listens although there’s nothing particularly poor on offer & thankfully the album’s highlights are strong enough to carry the weaker tracks. 

Osaka-based four-piece heavy metal outfit Loudness haven’t been a band that I’ve connected with much over the years to be honest & none of their first three studio albums left me craving more. 1981’s “The Birthday Eve” & 1982’s “Devil Soldier” albums saw the band trying to find their sound by experimenting in a number of different territories with 70’s hard rock & progressive rock being the main influences. But 1983’s “The Law Of Devil’s Land” album would see Loudness sporting a substantially more modern & well-defined sound presented in a noticeably more polished & commercially accessible package. Sadly, I can’t say that either version of the band offered much for me in the way of lasting appeal but that brings us up to date with album number four “Disillusion” which arrived in January 1984.

This time the band have opted to record the album in London with well-known sound engineer Julian Mendelsohn who had previously worked with popular artists such as Yes, Elton John, Jimmy Page & Bob Marley & I’d have to say that the result sounds pretty decent without ever touching on a glossy high-budget major label-style production. Interestingly enough though, the record prompted a bit of major label interest & given that Loudness had struggled to break out of their home country thus far the decision was made to re-release “Disillusion” with English vocals for the first time. The English release saw the light of day six months after the Japanese language release in July 1984 & it certainly had the desired effect with the album going on to become arguably the most acclaimed Loudness release still to this day. It’s notable that this might actually be the most METAL Loudness record to date too which isn’t what you’d expect from a band who were supposedly trying to break out of the underground into mainstream accessibility. Perhaps heavy metal was making such a big impact at the time that this was less of a risk & more of a positive move? I dunno... but the progressive rock influences we heard on previous releases are still very clear. In fact, there’s a case for “Disillusion” being the most ambitious & complex Loudness record to date from a compositional point of view with that long-standing Rush influence coming right out into the open on a couple of these tracks. There are several moments when Loudness touch upon a more aggressive speed metal sound too & I find those sections to be amongst the most enjoyable. Not so positive though are the couple of sections that hint at a cheesier European power metal sound while second track “Esper” seems to come from a different realm entirely; drawing most of its influence from hardcore punk which isn’t a genre that I generally associate with the band. 

The rhythm section had held back a bit in the name of accessibility on the previous album “The Law Of Devil’s Land” but they put in a much more expansive display here & I find it to make for a more captivating listen. Guitar virtuoso Akira Takasaki is in fine form as usual with his solos once again representing the highlight of the album. He even has a two minute unaccompanied shred piece entitled “Exploder” which is an exciting listen even though it borrows far too much from Eddie Van Halen’s classic “Eruption”. It’s almost as if he’s taken every lick in that piece & reworked it for his own similar version. Front man Minoru Niihara’s vocals have always been a prime feature of the Loudness sound & while he undoubtedly has some talent I do find him a bit grating at various stages of the album. He’s not always bang on the money as far as pitch goes & the English lyrics are absolutely atrocious. Just check out this beautiful poetry from the awful closing ballad “Ares Lament”: 

"You make me smile when I think of you

Although you’re many miles away, far away 

But my heart’s lonely, I love you still 

This clown can’t laugh today 

My arms are open for you 

I need to hold you closer 

Can’t you see, you leave me so breathless 

Why do you do this to me 

I can’t go on without you 

I’ll never leave you any more 

I am so lonely, so what can I do? 

Oh baby, oh baby 

I am so lonely, so lonely for you 

Oh baby, oh baby 

I have nowhere to go, no one to hold 

Nothing to keep me here, I’ve thrown it all away 

My heart is lonely, but still I’ll try 

This clown won’t cry today" 

Wow! That’s some dark & nasty underground metal s**t right there, isn’t it? Satan would be throwing in the towel after hearing that. I’m genuinely hopeful that it’s all lost in the translation but given how terrible the song is I won’t get my hopes up. And ultimately, this is a big part of the problem I have with Loudness. They can undoubtedly play their instruments. In fact, they’re all very strong musicians when you look at them individually. Bassist Masayoshi Yamashita puts in a fabulous display here & Akira is right up there with the absolute elite metal shredders of the time. But sadly, Loudness still have this habit of ruining their good work with cheesy & decidedly unintimidating rubbish like “Ares Lament” & also some tracks that are clearly leftover filler. I mean I like more than half of the songs on the tracklisting here but I simply can’t recover from the obvious duds. If only they’d stick to their guns & focus all their attention on making the classic progressive metal record they’ve always hinted at on songs like “Butterfly” then we’d all be sitting here singing their praises but as long as they continue to focus some of their attention on satisfying the Japanese pop market I’ll find very little sustained enjoyment in their records.

The first couple of albums from Japanese four-piece heavy metal band Loudness (their 1981 debut album “The Birthday Eve” & 1982’s sophomore effort “Devil Soldier”) didn't impress me terribly much. Both records showcased some excellent musicianship & a good pedigree in 70’s hard rock however they also suffered from production problems & lacked consistency in the song-writing department. Loudness’ strength could clearly be found in the impressive skills of lead guitar shredder Akira Takasaki & the band’s diverse array of influences however it was rare that Loudness would offer us up something genuinely original rather than simply putting together their own take on the material of their idols. Their sound sat somewhere in the grey area between heavy metal & 70’s hard rock at the time however Loudness’ third album (1983’s “The Law Of Devil’s Land”) would see the same lineup returning with a fresh & more defined direction.

The production problems that had plagued the band’s first two albums would be greatly improved upon with "The Law Of Devil's Land" with a much more professional package being presented on this occasion. The record would see Loudness dropping the hard rock side of their sound altogether in favour of a more focused, modern & accessible 80’s heavy metal sound with more in common with the likes of Iron Maiden, Judas Priest & Ozzy Osbourne. The progressive rock elements that were scattered across the first two records are still evident here but are presented inside more of a metal framework than before. Rush has undoubtedly been a huge influence on the band with several sections sounding like tributes at best & plagiarism at worst.

Despite the more metal direction of this material, you’ll find a couple of tracks here that see Loudness taking a more commercially-focused & radio-friendly approach similar to Judas Priest’s early 80’s material. But that’s not such a bad thing as one of those songs happens to be amongst my favourite on the album due to its catchy hooks & its overall simplicity. The rhythm section seems to take a more minimal & spacious approach during these moments. Their performance is less showy in general on this album actually which is another hint that the band were hoping for a higher level of commercial success. The same cannot be said of guitarist Akira Takasaki though. He’s stepped up to another level of technical proficiency & melody once again with a stunning display of modern metal lead guitar work. Randy Rhoads’ influence is undeniable from a melodic perspective & I find myself really looking forward to his solos in each song.

The lyrical approach is the same as that of the first two albums with the choruses sung in English & the rest of the songs sung in Japanese but to be honest I’m not sure that vocalist Minoru Niihara sounds as comfortable over the band’s new sound here. It could have something to do with the quality of the song-writing too to be honest. In fact, even though “The Law Of Devil’s Land” is generally regarded as the first in a trio of Loudness albums that represent the pinnacle of their career, I just don’t quite get it. To me the song-writing still lacks quality & many of the heavier songs fall short in the riff department so I don’t hold it in any higher regard than Loudness’ earlier material. If I’m honest I actually have a slight preference for “Devil Soldier” over this one & that’s not saying all that much. Perhaps these guys just aren’t my thing.

The 1981 debut album from Japan’s Loudness entitled “The Birthday Eve” showed a fair amount of promise but wouldn't see its potential fully realized which was partially due to the band's failure to create a unique sound. "The Birthday Eve" was quite successful in Japan nonetheless though so Loudness didn’t waste any time in following it up  with their sophomore outing “Devil Soldier” which sees them return with the same lineup.

Unsurprisingly given the short time period between releases, “Devil Soldier” isn’t a huge departure from what we heard on “The Birthday Eve” but it does showcase some noticeable improvements. Firstly, the production is a little better with the band sounding a bit more professional even if there is still some room for improvement. The excellent musicianship Loudness displayed on the debut is still a major drawcard & I love bass player Masayoshi Yamashita’s style in particular. He’s always doing something interesting while lead guitar virtuoso Akira Takasaki is the clear highlight of the album. He'd hinted at what he was capable of on “The Birthday Eve” but here we see him  stepping up to another level altogether with his Eddie Van Halen-influenced shredding now taking more expansive & exotic directions. He was comfortably one of the most impressive lead guitarists in the entire metal movement up to that time. Singer Minoru Niihara puts in another solid display of higher register vocal prowess with his lyrics again being delivered in Japanese with the exception of the song-titles. This is still a bit of an annoyance for me personally it has to be said.

Loudness’ sound still sits somewhere between heavy metal & hard rock with the occasional progressive tendency. They haven’t dropped the rock influence altogether yet but that’s not an issue. What IS an issue however is the inconsistent nature of the song-writing. It was a problem on “The Birthday Eve” & it’s still a problem here. In fact, if I examine the tracklisting on a track by track basis I find that I only really enjoy half of the eight songs here & that’s not enough to make me want to come back for repeat listens. The result of that is that I can only rate “Devil Soldier” slightly ahead of “The Birthday Eve” overall. Loudness still had a bit of work to do if they wanted to appeal to the global market rather than settling for a purely local fanbase but all of the ingredients were there & I get the feeling that they just needed an experienced international producer to focus them in the right direction.

Japanese four-piece heavy metal outfit Loudness formed in Osaka in May 1981 & surprisingly their debut album “The Birthday Eve” was released just six months later in November of '81. It’s generally regarded as the first major Japanese metal release of any note & it's worth noting that Loudness actually formed out of the ashes of record label creation & pop rock boy band Lazy. I’ve unfortunately experienced Lazy’s 1980 album “Uchusen Chikyugo”. It sits in a horrible place somewhere between heavy metal & commercial pop rock & I certainly wouldn’t recommend that any of you attempt to listen to it. Anyway... I’d imagine that at least some of the material on the Loudness debut would actually have been reworkings of newer & unrecorded Lazy material given the short time frame between forming & releasing their debut although the three members of Lazy that formed Loudness have since made it known that the reason for the disbanding of Lazy was a general dislike for their musical direction.

Loudness were immediately picked up by major record label Nippon Columbia & this would likely be the major reason for the album being pretty successful in Japan despite a general lack of media attention or a clear hit single. Musically, it’s pretty obvious that the time spent learning their craft in the limelight from a young age had paid off as all of the instrumentation here is of a very high level.  Gifted guitarist Akira Takasaki was the clear centre-piece of the band & his shredding Ritchie Blackmore & Eddie Van Halen influenced guitar solos are pretty impressive for the time (particularly for a band from such a new part of the metal landscape) but the rhythm section were also very capable.

The greats of 70’s hard rock & heavy metal were clearly an influence with Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Rainbow & Black Sabbath all popping up at times although Loudness present these influences in a noticeably 80’s package. It’s just that little bit flashier & more clinical. Vocalist Minoru Niihara is quite talented too. He presents an emotive higher range vocal delivery that often reminds me of the direction that some of the bigger name progressive metal bands like Queensryche & Fates Warning would take later on in the 80’s. The lyrics are mostly in Japanese which might turn a few people off & I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t feel a little bit of that myself. Strangely, either the band or the record label decided to give the songs English titles & to sing many of the title lines in English on these songs. It’s like they’ve taken an each way bet.

Overall though, I really want to like “The Birthday Eve” but I’m not sure that Loudness had given themselves enough time to allow their sound to fully mature at this early stage. They just seem to be repackaging elements of their favourite bands & hoping it will work. It does to an extent but I still find that there’s not enough songs that I genuinely get enjoyment from & it results in a release that falls a little short of the mark. There’s nothing disgraceful here but Loudness’ mixture of heavy metal & hard rock rarely treads new ground or reaches anywhere near the heights of their idols. 

1983's "All For One" was the third album to come from Newcastle-based NWOBHM trio Raven who were well renowned for their unique brand of over-the-top & athletic heavy metal. But despite those attributes, I’ve been quite up-front about the fact that Raven’s first two albums didn’t do much for me in the past. The band’s technical skills & raw energy were beyond question however I’ve never enjoyed front man John Gallagher’s shrieking vocal delivery & have also found that the song-writing wasn’t quite strong enough to keep my interest.

Raven’s debut album “Rock Until You Drop” mixed ferocious speed with more traditional & accessible hard rocking numbers while the follow-up “Wiped Out” did away with all accessibility in favour of a full-on speed metal assault. Unfortunately both records suffered a little in the production department but for album number three Raven recruited Accept front man Udo Dirkschneider & former Accept guitarist Michael Wagener to man the mixing desk & the result is decidedly more positive.

It’s worth noting that Raven have lost none of their potency in the process as the raw electricity of their performances have been well captured. The guitar sound in particular is searing, incisive & unapologetically metallic. I mean Raven have always sounded like they just completely went for it on every song & that hasn’t changed here however they do sound like they’ve toned down the speed a bit in favour of a stronger focus on song-writing & it’s that element that makes “All For One” Raven’s best release to date for mine. But that’s not saying a lot really as I still only enjoy about 40% of this material. The rest simply doesn’t have a lot of appeal for me.

I still don’t have a lot of time for John’s vocal approach & the highly accomplished musicianship isn’t enough to make up for the lack of quality vocal hooks on the album. It’s not hard to recognize the influence that Raven had on the early speed & thrash metal scenes however I have to be honest with myself & say that Raven will probably never be a band that appeals to me personally. I find their music to be garish, unsightly & lacking in polish for the most part.

The debut album from Newcastle-based three-piece NWOBHM outfit Raven entitled “Rock Until You Drop” wasn’t really for me. Raven’s raw & frenetic brand of heavy metal showed a fair bit of promise but was let down by a distinct lack of polish. The song-writing wasn’t amazing either & to be honest I’ve always struggled to see why that album is so highly regarded by fans of the New Wave movement.

Well 1982 saw Raven release their follow-up album “Wiped Out” which saw the band taking their Judas Priest influenced sound further down the path they had started with the debut. “Rock Until You Drop” had hinted at genuine thrash & speed metal at times & generally sat amongst the faster metal releases on the market but “Wiped Out” takes that velocity to another level altogether. In fact, I think it may well be the fastest metal album the world had heard at the time. Every song is flat out & the hard rock & glam metal leanings of the debut are no longer a factor with a straight-up metal attack being the order of the day. There is definitely some genuine speed metal on offer here with opening track “Faster Than The Speed Of Light” being a fine example of that sound.

The production is unfortunately very poor & it really does sound like the band did this all in one take to my ears as there has been no attempt to iron out the kinks. This certainly gives Raven's music an energetic feel & that was probably the point of that approach but it once again lacks that bit of polish that would have made it a more accessible listen.

I have to admit that I still can’t get into bass-playing front man John Gallagher’s over-the-top vocal delivery. It sounds completely out of control for the most part with his high pitched screams often leaving me cringing. I’d suggest that he’s very much a love-em or hate-em proposition & unfortunately I fall on the wrong side of that equation. There is some pretty decent musicianship on display here at times though with an occasional progressive leaning to some of the song structures & arrangements but these elements aren’t really all that important on a record like this. It’s all about reckless speed, unbridled energy & wild abandon but I have to ask where the songs are amongst all this chaos.

Where “Rock Until You Drop” offered a few genuinely catchy tunes, “Wiped Out” simply blitzes the listener with speed & aggression without ever really hinting at a memorable hook. I wasn’t a fan of the debut but unfortunately “Wiped Out” does even less for me & I have to admit that Raven seems to be one of those bands that just aren’t for me. They sound like they’d be right up my alley on paper & I really want to like them but in practice Raven leave me feeling unimpressed & bored. I can certainly understand the appeal for those that do love their sound though & the influence on European thrash metal is unquestionable as I can comfortably hear where bands like Kreator & Destruction picked up elements of their sound here.

Raven are a three-piece NWOBHM act formed by the Gallagher brothers John & Mark in 1974 in Newcastle, England but it wasn’t until 7 years later in 1981 that we finally heard the first recorded output from the band. Given that information it’s not too surprising that “Rock Until You Drop” presents a band that knows a thing or two about playing heavy music. It was in fact the very first full-length album release from legendary NWOBHM record label Neat Records who continued championing the sound for the next 15 years.

At the time Raven described their time as “athletic rock” & their gimmick of choice was to present themselves in athletic protective equipment (like ice hockey masks) which they often removed & smashed against the drum kit during live sets. Musically though, the first thing you’ll notice about “Rock Until You Drop” is the sheer velocity & the general rawness of Raven’s sound. They really don’t hold much back here & it’s hard to argue with the common opinion that this record was a major influence on thrash & speed metal. I can comfortably hear the influence on some of the rawer thrash metal bands like Kreator & Exodus. Raven were certainly going for a sound that was a long way from the more polished & accessible material that most classic heavy metal bands (like Judas Priest for example) were releasing at the time. In fact, "Rock Until You Drop" is almost the polar opposite as far as metal releases go.

The high-pitched shrieks of bassist John Gallagher were fairly over-the-top & to my ears they often fall slightly on the wrong side of being tasteful. This really is a very noisy three-piece though. They make a heck of a racket for only three dudes. It’s very easy to pick up the Judas Priest influence in their sound as well as the early Iron Maiden one however they were more extreme than either of those bands. In fact, you’ll do well to find a faster or thrashier band at the time. There’s definitely a fair whack of AC/DC style hard rock in their sound though as well with some touches of 70’s progressive rock & some unfortunate hints of more commercial US rock like Van Halen or even early glam metal.

The real let-down for me though is the inconsistent song-writing. There are a few decent songs on offer however none of them really captures me to the extent that they seem to for other metal fans. I think the overly raw production contributes to that a little bit however I find it hard to shake the feeling that the hooks & execution just aren’t quite good enough to keep me interested. “Rock Until You Drop” isn’t horrible. It’s just not really for me.

I wasn't very impressed with the 1981 debut album from Canadian heavy metallers Anvil entitled “Hard ‘n’ Heavy”. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that it was probably the weakest metal-related release of 1981. But let’s not let that discourage us as the band was about to take some positive steps with their follow-up album “Metal On Metal” which was released a year later in April 1982.

The debut album was a self-financed & produced effort however “Metal On Metal” sees the band teaming up with producer Chris Tsangarides who would later go on to a great career working on heavy albums like Judas Priest’s “Painkiller”, Thin Lizzy’s “Thunder & Lightning” & Bruce Dickinson’s “Tattooed Millionaire” as well as a host of other more commercial ventures. And the result is a much more powerful & punchy production job. The drum sound in particular is a much better platform to showcase Robb Reiner’s skills. But that’s not the only obvious difference from Anvil’s debut as it’s amazing just how far the band have come musically in only a single year.

The cheesy commercial hard rock croonings of the debut are nowhere to be found here & we now have a genuine heavy metal sound & one that’s up there with the most intense ever released to that time. Now many people may scoff at the idea that Anvil paved the way for the thrash metal movement & never received the rewards they were due however those people should really give “Metal On Metal” a listen before making those statements because, love it or hate it, it’s hard to deny the obvious hints towards a thrashier sound here. The Judas Priest influence has increased ten fold from the last album & we often see some not so subtle tributes to the mighty Priest. Especially so in Steve “Lips” Kudlow’s vocal performance on a couple of tracks where he’s clearly trying to channel the vocal prowess of Rob Halford. And with fairly minimal success it has to be said.

The musicianship on display is top notch throughout though with Rob Reiner’s drumming being the clear highlight. I’d be surprised if he wasn’t a major influence on the early thrash metal drummers & I’ve read that this was the case for people like Metallica’s Lars Ulrich & Gene Hoglan who would go on to play for virtually every great metal band ever. The twin guitar attack is very effective with Steve contributing some great lead solo work throughout. My major concern though is still his vocals. I just don’t think that Lips is up to the task of fronting a tier one metal band. It’s not that he can’t hold a tune because he certainly can but he still sounds like a complete amateur to my ears & it’s my firm opinion that this is the thing that has held Anvil back from the sort of success that other bands could achieve with an equally strong instrumental approach. The cheesy lyrics about girls are still in full effect here too which doesn’t help. It wouldn’t be a show stopper though if the song-writing were top notch. Unfortunately though, while there are plenty of great riffs here, I can’t say that many of the songs meet the mark as a complete package. It’s proof that you can make a pretty darn heavy metal record but if the song-writing is flat then the album won’t be engaging over the long-term.

Regardless, “Metal On Metal” is still Anvil’s most popular release & the title track is the band’s undisputed anthem. Personally, I’ve never liked it. It’s not horrible but just sounds kinda dumb to my ears. There are three standout tracks on the album that I really enjoy while the rest does very little for me. The Dave Allison fronted commercial rock ballad “Stop Me” is probably the low point but there are a couple of other tracks on the B side that I genuinely hate like “Scenery” which blatantly steals one of the main riffs from Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train”. I don’t think it’s any surprise that my album highlight track  is also an instrumental though with the short two & a half minute “March Of The Crabs” being quite a thrashy & impressive musical excursion with some exciting lead guitar work. “Metal On Metal” also finishes with two pretty strong numbers in “Tease Me, Please Me” (yeah metal as fuck song title I know) & the particularly intense “666”. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that “666” is a genuine thrash metal outing. Perhaps the earliest ever recorded.

So I can see why “Metal On Metal” was an important release for the maturity of thrash metal but it still doesn’t make for an enjoyable listen for me. Perhaps Anvil are just one of those bands that I’ll never understand.

Perennially overlooked heavy metallers Anvil technically formed in Toronto, Canada in 1981 however their roots really go way back to 1973 when core members vocalist & lead guitarist Steve “Lips” Kudlow & drummer Robb Reiner met through a high school friend. It took a full five years before they got too serious though & 1978 saw them forming a four-piece band by the name of “Lips”. Three years later in 1981, Lips self-financed the recording of their debut album “Hard ‘n’ Heavy” which would go on to become the first metal release of any note to come out of Canada. Shortly after the recording of the album, Lips were picked up by Attic Records & they thankfully decided to change their name to Anvil for the Attic release of the record.

“Hard ‘n’ Heavy” clearly showcases a band that was still finding it’s sound which is a little strange when you consider just how long they had been floating around for by that stage. It’s also pretty hard to believe that these songs were the best of their entire repertoire after so many years of writing & performing. Whilst the album is unquestionably a heavy metal release, I'd suggest that around 40% of the material is closer to hard rock & during the weaker moments on the album I’d even go so far as to throw around the more unforgiving “glam metal” tag. To my ears, Anvil's early sound generally sits somewhere between Judas Priest, AC/DC & Ted Nugent.

The production isn’t too bad for a self-financed debut release. Instrumentally the band are up to the task with some pretty decent guitar solos & particularly solid drumming from Reiner. Unfortunately the song-writing is very patchy & there are a couple of obvious weaknesses that scream out at you from the word go. Firstly, Steve Kudlow’s vocal ability is simply not up to scratch & neither is rhythm guitarist Dave Allison’s when he takes the mike on a few tunes to be fair. Steve sounds like that guy you recruited for your first high school band just because he had a car & was popular with the girls but he really didn’t have any sort of vocal skills. It’s not that he sings out of key or anything but he just doesn’t possess the charismatic delivery of a professional front man to my ears. And the second major issue here is with the lyrics which are shockingly childish & cringe-worthy. They’re generally directed towards sex & seem to indicate that the boys were getting their fair share of pussy at the time however I can’t see how these songs would have helped them in that pursuit & it’s not like they were aesthetically gifted either.

To me, it all screams of the fantasies of a reluctant virgin but even if I could find it in me to completely overlook the lyrical deficiencies I still don’t think I’d find any of these songs to be terribly attractive. They’re simply not up to the level that heavy metal was capable of by this stage. It’s worth noting that “Hard ‘n’ Heavy” features a cover version of The Rolling Stones’ classic “Paint It Black” & surprisingly it’s one of the most metal numbers of the album. Back in the day I thought it was amongst the worst things I’d ever heard in my life but over time it became clear that they’ve actually done a pretty good job at giving the original a metallic overhaul. It’s still not close to being something that I’d genuinely enjoy but it’s an interesting inclusion nonetheless. Another point of interest is that Lemmy Killmeister actually asked Steve Kudlow to replace Fast Eddie Clarke in Motorhead shortly after the release of the album but unfortunately for Steve he declined. I really can’t imagine why based on what I’m hearing here.

The below lyrics give a good indication of the sophistication (or lack there of) that Anvil possessed at the time. If they don't seem completely immature to you & you find them amusing then good luck with this record. Otherwise, give this one a miss.

"Out in the school yard little Peaches play , rubbing their beaves, they got a lot to say." 

Cirith Ungol are a five-piece heavy metal outfit that originally formed in Ventura, California way back in 1972 but they didn’t get around to releasing their debut album “Frost & Fire” until nine years later in January 1981. For those that are unfamiliar with the books (which should be no one in all honesty), the band name is taken from the Lord Of The Rings where Kirith Ungol was the Elvish name of the “Pass Of The Spider”. The band mispronounced it as “sirith” instead of the intended “kirith” & have stuck with the incorrect pronunciation to this day. They've since admitted to having some feelings of regret about taking on a band name that is so difficult to pronounce & remember with some fans calling them “Sarah’s uncle” or “serious uncool”.

“Frost & Fire” sounds considerably different to Cirith Ungol’s later albums which were slower, doomier & more complex. In fact, the band have admitted that they made a conscious decision to release their most commercially accessible material first up in an attempt to pick up an early fanbase. When they failed to get any radio play for the album they decided to go for broke on future recordings. Cirith Ungol’s sound on “Frost & Fire” is firmly rooted in 70’s hard rock with Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin & Budgie being obvious points of reference but there's also a strong psychedelic edge to a lot of the material & progressive rock was certainly an influence. They do tend to remind me of fellow US heavy metallers Manilla Road at times.

The production is pretty poor & does impact on my enjoyment of the album. The rhythm guitars are nowhere near loud enough which minimizes the metal credentials of the album overall. To my ears, early Cirith Ungol comes across as more hard rock than metal for the most part but I suspect that this might not have been the case if the rhythm guitars were fuller & louder. The bass guitar on the other hand is probably TOO loud & the overall production is far too loose which contributes to an impression of the band lacking in cohesion. For this reason, I wasn’t surprised to learn that the band produced & financed the whole release themselves.

Instrumentally, I really enjoy the interesting guitar solos & bass lines. Especially when things get a little more psychedelic & progressive. Vocalist Tim Baker is certainly something very different. He has very little in the way of classical vocal skills & possesses a whiny shriek that sits somewhere between Axl Rose, Geddy Lee & Robert Plant, only not in a good way. It may take you some time to get used to his unique brand of delivery.

The striking album cover features Michael Whelan’s stunning portrait of Elric of Melnibone (taken from Michael Moorcock’s Elric series of novels) holding the Stormbringer sword high above his head & it’s obviously directly towards a swords & sorcerers fantasy theme however I can’t help but think that it doesn’t really suit the band’s sound at this stage.

I like what the band is trying to achieve but feel that they come up well short due to their production & musical shortcomings. There are a couple of really solid numbers scattered across the tracklisting however with instrumental closer “Maybe That’s Why” being the clear highlight (perhaps due to the fact that we don’t have to contend with Tim’s vocals). When taken holistically though, I’ve always found “Frost & Fire” to be some pretty tough listening. 

I wasn't a huge fan of the 1981 debut self-titled album from New York three-piece The Rods. The band were all quite capable with Ronnie James Dio’s cousin & former Elf guitarist David “Rock” Feinstein being a pretty talented musician & front man but the song-writing was a little bit flat & it was more of a bluesy 70’s inspired hard rock record than a legitimate heavy metal one. In fact, the decision to include it here on the site was more or less based on the metal credentials of The Rods subsequent material more than it was on those earnt by the record itself. And so that leads us into The Rods sophomore effort “Wild Dogs” which was released in 1982 with the same lineup.

This time we hear the band championing a sound that sits right in the middle between hard rock & heavy metal but is probably metal enough to qualify for inclusion here in its own right on this occasion. The bluesy 70’s hard rock influence of the debut has been greatly reduced in favour of a more modern & commercially accessible 80’s metal sound. The production is pretty good for the time & David’s vocal approach seems to have changed substantially with a tougher & more bad-assed delivery favoured over the more classic & smooth bluesy style he’d gone for previously. I think it suits the music here better although I was more of a fan of his earlier sound if I’m honest. There are times when the vocals sound very similar to The Cult’s Ian Astbury too but I suspect those might be coming from another band member because they’re so different to his usual style. David’s guitar solos are generally pretty frenetic with more electricity than virtuosity. His heavy use of legato & trills allows him to fit as many notes as possible into a short time period & drummer Carl Canedy employs some impressive double kick work at times too.

There are definitely some party time songs included here with accessible backing vocals & anthemic choruses. Opener “Too Hot To Stop” is far too similar to Van Halen’s “Everybody Wants Some” in my opinion while album highlight “Violation” is pure AC/DC worship. There’s heaps of Judas Priest influence throughout the record too. I guess you could say they sound like Saxon or Accept only with a more American sound. Riot might be a reasonable point of reference. Unfortunately there's an absolute shocker of a cover version included too with The Rods' rendition of The Suprmes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On" being by far the weakest song on the album. It’s really very hard to fathom just what the band were thinking with it actually. Perhaps it was out of their hands?

Overall, “Wild Dogs” is a step up from the debut & I find it be a pretty solid example of US metal that should appeal to fans of both rock & metal.

Three-piece hard rockers The Rods formed in New York City back in 1980 but their lineup is most notable for the inclusion of vocalist/guitarist David “Rock” Feinstein who had previously played with fellow New York hard rock outfit Elf from 1970-1973 alongside his cousin; the legendary Rainbow & Black Sabbath frontman Ronnie James Dio. Interestingly enough, David is a really great hard rock front man whose talent appears to have been wasted in Elf although it’s not hard to understand why considering Ronnie sits amongst the greatest singers in rock history. Anyway… whilst there is definitely more metal in The Rods sound than there was in Elf’s I have to admit that I still don’t consider them to be a metal band at this stage. I’ve read on numerous occasions that The Rods showcased some early speed metal elements on this record however that’s obviously stretching things much further than I’m comfortable with. Personally I hear far more examples of traditional hard rock in the vein of Aerosmith, AC/DC & Deep Purple than I do genuine metal on “The Rods” with only a couple of legitimate metal contenders. In fact, there are a few really bluesy numbers here too.  

The Rods recorded & released their debut album “Rock Hard” completely independently less than a year after forming but were signed shortly afterwards & the 1981 self-titled release we are talking about here sports a tracklisting that includes re-recordings of many of the songs from “Rock Hard”. The highlight of the album is a song called “Nothing Going On In The City” which is also by far the heaviest song on the record with an opening riff that seems to be heavily influenced by Black Sabbath’s “Neon Knights” while hard rocker “Music Man” sounds a lot like a rip-off of David's cousin’s “Man On A Silver Mountain” song from the “Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow” album to my ears & you can comfortably sing the Rainbow vocals over it without even realizing it’s a different band. 

David’s voice is definitely well suited to a hard rock sound & I can hear a lot of Foreigner in his delivery at times although he does excel when he gives it more oomph on the more metal numbers to be honest. But while I really enjoy his vocal performance, he’s also a very capable bluesy hard rock guitarist & his solos have quite a lot of impact. The other band members are obviously fairly experienced musicians too which sees The Rods coming across like a well-oiled machine as the performances are all very tight & well executed.

The album cover for “The Rods” looks suspiciously like the debut album from The Ramones with the band all standing against a crumbling brick wall wearing denim & leather. I’d be very surprised if this is not an intentional replication from the label. 

The production lacks a bit of gloss but it’s by no means poor & won’t get in the way of you enjoying the album. What WILL detract from your enjoyment though will be the fact that for the most part the songs lack the hooks to make you want to come back for repeat listens. There’s only a couple of real standout tracks in my opinion while the rest seem to drift past without making much of an impact. Some of that can be put down to how generic some of these songs are in both theme & style. Out of interest The Rods drummer Carl Canedy went on to produce several major metal releases with Anthrax’s “Armed & Dangerous” & “Spreading The Disease”, Exciter’s “Violence & Force”, Overkill’s “Feel The Fire” & Possessed’s “Beyond The Gates” all benefiting from his expertise in the coming years.

All up this is a pretty generic hard rock record that lacks the x-factor required for The Rods to stand out from the competition.

Four-piece NWOBHM outfit Fist first formed in Newcastle, England in April 1978 under the name of Axe & wouldn't change their moniker to Fist until late 1979. But that still makes them one of the earlier bands in the NWOBHM movement. Fist kicked off their recorded music career with a couple of well received singles before releasing their debut album through MCA Records in late 1980. That first-up effort, "Turn The Hell On", draws upon influences from a wide array of heavy metal & hard rock bands (with UFO & Thin Lizzy being amongst the most obvious) but I think there’s enough legitimate metal here to warrant it being labelled as such. Unfortunately the production is not all that great & the performances also seem a little naïve at times. The quality really drops off in the back-end too & it's hard not to be left feeling that the record has simply petered out after a more promising start that included a few quality tunes like "The Watcher", "Axeman" & particularly the pure speed metal of "You'll Never Get Me Up (In One of Those)". Unfortunately these positives are nullified by a lacklustre B-side that sees the album closed out with four failures in a row. When taken holistically, I find "Turn The Hell On" to be a bit of a struggle.

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. 

I quite liked the 1980 debut album “Wild Cat” from second tier NWOBHM outfit Tygers Of Pan Tang. It had a raw energy about it with some nice Judas Priest style metal riffage & a punky vocal delivery although it did tend to be a little samey. “Wild Cat” did quite well for the Tygers as it reached number 18 in the charts & was certainly a promising start to their career. But 1981 would be the biggest year of the Tygers career & we were about to see them change things up considerably.

Firstly, vocalist Jess Cox had a falling out with the rest of the band & decided to quit. This instigated a lengthy audition process of over a hundred candidates for a replacement with former Persian Risk front man Jon Deverill eventually getting the job. (Out of interest, Persian Risk also featured drummer Steve Hopgood who went on to play with Tank as well as Iron Maiden’s Paul Dianno in his Killers & Paul Dianno’s Battlezone projects. The guitarist from Persian Risk was Phil Campbell who went on to become Motorhead’s guitarist from 1984 right through to Lemmy’s death in 2015.) Now Jon Deverill sounded absolutely nothing like Jess Cox & I don’t think the band would even have wanted him to. He was a very talented singer with a strong voice that was tailor made for hard rock & heavy metal. Think Joe Lynn Turner or former Black Sabbath front man Tony Martin & you won’t be too far off track. The second change the Tygers made was to add a second guitarist in former Streetfighter axeman John Sykes. John was a gifted young shredder who would later add Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake, Blue Murder & Badlands to his impressive resume & he’s very well respected in the industry in general. These two changes ended up making a huge impact on the sound of Tygers second album “Spellbound” which was released in April 1981.

 It’s hard to believe that it’s the same band really. The raw energy of the debut has been replaced by a more polished & accessible sound that’s certainly not as metal with a sharp increase in 70’s hard rock influence. I can easily detect a bit of Deep Purple, Rainbow & Thin Lizzy creeping into the band’s repertoire & I don’t think there’s any doubt that Jon Deverill’s involvement would have been the catalyst for this change in direction given his more accessible & easily palatable vocal range. The rhythm section takes more of a supporting role here & there’s a hefty chunk of hard rock about the new sound but the song-writing is very good & the vocal hooks accentuate the material for the most part. There are a couple of weaker tracks but they’re not enough to taint the stronger material.

Sykes guitar solos are a real drawcard for me. He’s got great technique & a really good ear for melody although I could understand if some fans thought he was a little bit too polished for the Tygers. In fact, there’s a noticeable polish to “Spellbound” that was nowhere to be found on “Wild Cat”. In most cases where promising metal bands take a more commercially accessible approach it ends up being a bad move but on this occasion the result is generally positive as this new sound really suits the Tygers. Ultimately, it resulted in a more varied & consistent release than “Wild Cat” & a career highpoint for the band. It’s certainly the record that Tygers Of Pan Tang are most known for & I’m not sure that they’ve managed to top it in all the years since.

Overall I think “Spellbound” is a solid NWOBHM release that won’t disappoint fans of the movement. I don’t feel that any of the songs are heavy metal classics but they’re beautifully executed & well produced which gives it a stronger appeal even though I did enjoy the rough edges of their debut.

Intense black metal with very obvious classic thrash metal influences. When Keep Of Kalessin are playing blasting black metal I find them to be very exciting however the old school thrash riffs, anthemic choruses & lead guitar solos all detract from the overall atmosphere. "The Dragontower" is particularly poor. Having said that the band is good at what they do. Their sound is very tight with drummer Vyl particularly impressive. Needs a bit more maturity in the songwriting to compete with the big boys.

Have you ever wondered what it would sound like if Yngwie Malmsteen decided to record a death metal album? Well I can honestly say that I haven't but I needn't bother now. This CD shows some amazing musicians performing some terribly cheesy music. There's plenty of energy with shredding 1980s-style guitar/keyboard solos & the progressive metal influences are obvious. The Iron Maiden-style guitar harmonies come thick & fast. I agree with some of the other reviews that said this is a power metal record with death vocals. Unfortunately I'm not into this sound at all and find it very hard not to cringe throughout most tracks.

This is a really ambitious project from Ihsahn & I quite enjoyed it. Highly progressive song structures, clean melodic choruses & crazy saxophone solos all get a showing. So does it all work? That depends on who you ask. I personally think he earns more hits than misses here. The most impressive things about the album are the brilliant production & the wonderful musicianship on display. These allow Ihsahn to get away with a few overambitious sections that weren't fully realised. The session musicians do a wonderful job & although the amount of pure black metal is minimal, it's nothing short of crushing when it finally shows its head. The saxophone solos initially caught me off guard & it took me a while to come to grips with them but now I find them really interesting. Closer "On the Shores" is a fantastic climax to the album & was thoroughly worth the wait. Give this album a few listens before passing judgement as it's a grower.

There are some great moments on this album. It combines some seriously aggressive thrash metal with more melodic sections & clean anthemic choruses. The pure shredding thrash metal tracks like "Beyond Our Suffering" & "Condemned" are peak time mosh pit madness. I love 'em! The heavier sections remind me a bit of Exhorder at their heaviest which is definitely not a bad thing. The guitar solos are also quite tasteful (in a James Murphy kind of way) & very well executed. However it's the more melodic sections that let As I Lay Dying down a bit. The Iron Maiden-ish lead guitar harmonies take away from the intensity of the album in my opinion & the clean vocal sections (which remind me very much of Linkin Park) are fairly commercial sounding. The screaming vocals are very aggressive throughout but can do with some variety. I can't help but wish that they would let go of their commercial aspirations & just mosh out for the entire length of the CD. This album is still worth a listen though as the pure metal riffs are brilliant.

This full-length debut from UK sludgers Fudge Tunnel is driven by a chunky riff-based sound that sits somewhere between early-Godflesh & Nirvana's "Bleach" album. Alex Newport (who later went on to form Nailbomb with Max Cavalera of Sepultura fame) drives his guitar sound to the dirtiest, fuzziest levels imaginable & there is a real groove to the huge riffs. When the tempo slows down a bit the intensity is sometimes at it's highest level due to the sheer weight of noise coming out of those amplifiers. "Spanish Fly" is particularly massive & is the album highlight. I can only imagine what these tracks would've sounded like in a live environment. The two cover versions that end this release are a little bit disposable & unnecessary in my opinion but they both feature the same sort of powerful riffs as the originals so I can deal with them. "Hate Songs In E Minor" shouldn't be over-analysed. It should be enjoyed for it's simplicity & fun just as my brother & I did as teenagers back in the early 1990s. Some kids never grow up.

If I had known that this release was a hybrid of medieval/folk & doom metal I would never have bothered with it. I didn't make it to the end of track 5 before realising I would never get this time back again & calling it a day. I do not understand how people can find this deep & gloomy as it sounds so cheesy & overly melodramatic to my ears.

I've always favoured Crimson Glory's debut over this sophomore effort however there's not much in it as they're both really high quality metal records. "Transcendence" sits somewhere between the classic Iron Maiden/Judas Priest heavy metal sound & the more progressive Queensrÿche/Fates Warning one. There's some great vocal hooks & guitar solos & the song-writing quality is very consistent throughout with no weak tracks included however there's probably not enough genuine classics to have me reaching for the higher scores. Vocalist Midnight is pretty amazing though & is the obvious focal point with his operatic style being heavily influenced by Queensrÿche's Geoff Tate. "In Dark Places" is the clear highlight for me & is a perfect example of this style of heavy metal. It stays with me for days after each listen.

A very disappointing release from a band that can do much better. I find very little material of merit across these two CDs. The depth of their first couple of CDs is all but gone now & is replaced by prog rock noodlings & hippy worship. Lee's vocals are pretty horrendous throughout and even the doomier "Requiem For The Voiceless" shows very little of the atmosphere the band were reknowned for earlier in their career. I don't see myself coming back for their next release.

Although Borknagar are a talented group of musicians & I respect what they are trying to achieve with "Universal", I don't think they've quite managed to pull it off. The sound is definitely more progressive metal than black metal these days which is fine as long as it's done well. I find many of the clean vocal sections to be fairly cringe-worthy & the overall production to be a little thin for such expansive ideas. The proggier ideas come across as a bit unfocussed at times & tend to make this album sound more lightweight than it should be (check out the Eastern influenced parts in "Reason" for an example). "Fleshflower" in particular is simply horrible.

A solid three track death metal E.P from Zürich, Switzerland. Bölzer's sound sits somewhere between the swarming density of Immolation & the dark atmosphere of Incantation with a bit of a Deathspell Omega influence to some of the riffs. Combine that with a delightfully old-school death metal production & you get quite an entertaining listen.

The debut album from these Melbourne-based melodic death metallers. It has all the usual subgenre boxes ticked but it also has a couple of points of difference. The first is their extensive use of piano throughout the album. I'm not entirely sure it actually enhances my listening experience (in fact in some cases it makes things sound a fair bit cheesier) but it certainly adds some interest. The second point of difference is the vocal style which is a lot deeper than your standard raspy MDM fair. It's more Johnny Hedlund (Unleashed) than Tomas Lindberg (At The Gates) & I find it to be very effective. I like the way they keep the song structures fairly simple & don't try to overcomplicate things. It leaves the songs feeling accessible & uncluttered. Having said that I'd like to hear a bit more variety in the way of tempo as they really do stick to a mid-paced rhythm throughout & they never really put the foot down. As for the quality of the songs, "The Frail Tide" does end up being a bit hit & miss in my opinion. There are some quite mature & fully realised tracks such as "The Desolation of Ares" & "Sanguinary" mixed in with some cheesier & more generic ones like "Neither Shape Nor Shadow". The six minute piano track "Paths" seems a bit overindulgent on a six track album too. Overall this is probably not as good as their more recent material but you could certainly hear the promise of better things.

While the production wasn't ideal & Vincent's vocal skills were a little immature, Anathema more than made up for those shortcomings with high quality song-writing that's simply dripping with emotion. Tracks like "Eternity Part II", "Suicide Veil", "Eternity Part III" & album highlight "Radiance" are stunning efforts that show the band's new direction to be both exhilarating & surprisingly well-defined. There really aren't any weak songs although closer "Ascension" & cover version "Hope" are probably a little less effective than the rest. "Eternity" is often regarded as a transition album & it is to an extent but there's really a lot more to it than that. It possesses immense depth & a grandeur that is continually pulling on your heart strings. I can't deny the emotional attachment I have to this record. It's an underrated gem as far as I'm concerned.

This album saw Absu returning with a stronger 80's thrash metal influence than we'd heard from them previously. Stylistically it sits somewhere between the ferocity of Dark Angel's "Darkness Descends" & the raw power of Bathory's "Blood Fire Death". I know that sounds awesome in theory but I don't think they got the execution right. There's certainly lots of aggression but the fact that these songs are so much more effective in a live environment is strong evidence that this album could have been much better. Overall I think it just lacks a bit of class. The thin production & poor vocal delivery are also contributing factors. I definitely prefer the first two albums over this one.

Tygers Of Pan Tang were an four-piece English NWOBHM outfit that formed in 1978 & would become very popular with a young Lars Ulrich who spent several weeks following them around & sleeping on the band members couches before Metallica became serious. They combine Stained Class-era Priest with the punkier early Iron Maiden material, the intensity of Motorhead & a bit of AC/DC's hard rock crunch. It’s quintessential NWOBHM & the Tygers are often talked about as one of the senior second tier bands of the movement. 

"Wild Cat" possesses a great energy that's fueled by an excellent performance from the rhythm section. If there’s an obvious weakness it’s that many of the songs sound quite similar. The riffs often take a similar structure but I don’t mind too much as they’re metal as fuck. The punky vocals are definitely an issue at times as they sound really cool on some songs but incompetent on others which probably explains why this was Jess Cox’s only Tygers album.

The A side features a great punky opener in album highlight "Euthanasia" but the rest of the side seems to fall a bit flat to my ears. The B side is much stronger & more consistent however & I end up quite liking the album overall. It’s worth checking out for any NWOBHM fans out there.

1979 & 1980 were life-changing years for Motorhead, with three hugely influential albums being released in close succession. However, 1980’s “Ace Of Spades” album had brought the band a new level of commercial success with Motorhead becoming a household name almost overnight. The trio were left with a great opportunity to capitalize on the sales of that album & extensive touring was undertaken which put an end to any thought of a quick follow-up in the studio. The “Short Sharp Pain In The Neck” tour was extremely successful & the band’s first live album “No Sleep ‘til Hammersmith” is a fitting testament to the intensity & electricity of live Motorhead at their best.

What makes “No Sleep ‘til Hammersmith” so special is that it showcases the band’s classic lineup at the absolute peak of their powers. With three classic album’s worth of material to choose from, the tracklisting reads very much like a best-of-Motorhead compilation only there’s something a little bit different here. While the band were hitting new levels of speed & ferociousness in the studio this live album takes that to another level altogether. All of the songs are faster, dirtier, heavier & more overthetop than ever before. In fact, although I’ve made it very clear that I don’t consider Motorhead to be a legitimate heavy metal band on numerous occasions previously, I find it very hard to deny when listening to this live album. It’s absolutely crushingly intense!

The production isn’t as clear & shiny as modern day live recordings are but I’m not sure that would have made for a more enjoyable listen with a band like Motorhead. Lemmy’s vocals & bass sound are the driving element in the mix & he puts in an incredible rock ‘n’ roll performance here. His vocals are loud & perfectly executed while his bass lines are almost overpowering at times. There’s clearly no room for rhythm guitarists in the band if this performance is anything to go by. Philthy Phil’s drum sound is as up-front as we’ve hear from him & all of the touring has clearly been beneficial as he’s extremely tight by this stage. His energy is infectious. Fast Eddie Clarke’s guitar sound is loud, noisy & generally out of control. His solos understandably don’t stand out as much as they do on the studio albums but he’s a great foil for the brute force of the rhythm section with his balls-&-all approach to live performance.

The album offers two songs from the band’s self-titled debut album, five tracks from “Overkill”, the title cut from “Bomber” & three songs from “Ace Of Spades” with no weak moments across the whole album. In fact, I’d never really liked the band’s title song “Motorhead” before the raucous reenactment that closes out the album here. “No Sleep ‘til Hammersmith” certainly recalls the punk rock energy & intensity of the MC5’s “Kick Out The Jams” in no uncertain terms & has become a classic live release for rock music in general. It’s my favourite Motorhead release to that time & I regard it as essential listening for any self-respecting metalhead.