Young Blood-Transfusion

ANGEL AIR
2011

Angel Air is a label known for specializing in quality re-issues. Their re-issue of "Transfusion" is an import album that actually was released this past September although it just recently came to my attention. It supposedly comes complete with a nice booklet/package however my copy came from Itunes originally so all I have is the music to go by. "Transfusion" is made up of some Young Blood demo cuts, Young Blood's "First Blood" (Young Blood's 1984 debut EP) and a 1989 demo of the band when they had changed their moniker and become known as Saviour. Before we go any further I know the question your asking right now. So, who exactly was Young Blood to begin with? Well, the group was formed back in the early 80s out of the ashes of pop band Civilian. As part of the NWOBHM movement (the later part actually) the band's sound garnered critical acclaim from Sounds journalist Garry Bushell and they were (like so many before them) predicted to be the next big thing. With what was more of a melodic take on the genre (no doubt leftover from the band's days as a pop group) the band had a style not too far removed from the likes of Praying Mantis, Samson or Tygers Of Pan Tang. Lead by frontman/guitarist and chief songwriter Stewart Goodchild (who is the only thing that connects Young Blood to Saviour by the way) the group was a power trio from Darlington that managed to play with acts like Grand Slam (featuring Phil Lynott), Tokyo Blade, She, Thor and even Motorhead! The tracks by Young Blood are worth the price of admission alone especially if your into the NWOBHM scene. Goodchild had a knack for crafting catchy hard rock and had Young Blood not been done in by bad management, line-up changes and health problems things might have turned out different for the three-piece act. Following Young Blood's folding some years passed before Saviour appeared in 1989. By this point Goodchild had hooked up with drummer Geoff Armstrong (of Tygers Of Pan Tang fame) and former Pauline Gillan Band bassist/keyboard player Chris Wing. With the new members came a new sound and a new demo to be shopped to labels. The new sound was still melodic although this time it had more in common with AOR acts like Journey, Foreigner, Bad English and Survivor. By 1989 that was not really what people were pinning for and with no takers Saviour was laid to rest. Despite it's production set backs (Saviour just screams eighties AOR) the material isn't that bad and again if Goodchild would have had better luck (lets say it was released in the early parts of the eighties) it could have possible gone somewhere. Instead it sat collecting dust somewhere until Angel Air came along. "Transfusion" is really a tale of two cities and unless your a fan of melodic NWOBHM/pop metal and AOR this release will fall on deaf ears. For me it is a nice little gem from an era long since past.