Forgotten Gems: Mistreater-Hell's Fire

Self-released/Independent
1981

As if anyone needed more proof here it is. Cleveland, Ohio has given the world more kick ass heavy metal bands and Mistreater are not just "one more" to add to the pile. Rather, these guys should be on top of that pile! Formed in 1980 this four piece act drew from British heavy metal as much as they did the American heavy metal scene at the time. My first exposure to the band came by way of a blog site (link below) where I was intrigued by the blogger description of lead vocalist Curt Luedy "The vocals kind of remind me of if Paul Di'Anno was in a drug induced trance or something" and the band itself as a sort of UFO inspired act. The Paul Di'Anno part was the real draw for me and sure enough Curt does have that same sinister vibe. Interesting enough this also has much of the same sort of raw edge that Iron Maiden's first two albums had (I have always felt like those two albums were more in line with the punk scene thanks to Paul's approach) although Mistreater are much more evil sounding. As hinted at the band does seem to have been influenced by UFO and Iron Maiden although the American hard rock/heavy metal of the time comes shinning through. Fans of eighties metal will love this as will those that love their heavy metal a bit more on the raw side of thinks. Sadly the band's follow-up, 1987's "Swami", does not even come close to "Hell's Fire". The CD I have now of the band collects these two albums, but if I am to be honest (and I like to be!) the link below is just as good (if not better!) as it contains the 7 tracks from 1981's "Hell's Fire" LP along with the B-side from the "Hell's Fire" 7", the band's appearance on the "Cleveland Metal" compilation and and a cut from "Mitch Capka's CLEVELAND'S HEAVY METAL : ETCHED IN STEEL" compilation LP! That is a nice collection of material and I tip my hat to the original poster for not only gathering such great material, but also for turning me onto this great band to begin with! You can see for yourself why Mistreater gets me excited at the link below.


http://apocalypsewestcoast.blogspot.com/2009/04/mistreater-hells-fire-lp-comp-tracks.html