French Metal Friday: Mystery Blue-Circle of Shame (2016 Version)

Eat Metal Records
2016

Mystery Blue is a French heavy metal band that was formed by guitarist Francis Philippon. Other than a short break in the action between the years 1989 and 1995 this hard & heavy outfit has been fairly active live on the stage and in the studio. Preceded in life by "Mystery Blue", 1986's "Circle of Shame" was the second full-length effort from Mystery Blue and it is has been reissued by Eat Metal Records. Last month I covered Eat Metal Record's reissue of the band's 1984 debut (link). Both CDs were mailed to me by a longtime friend and just like the other reissue, "Circle of Shame" includes additional bonus material. In regards to "Circle of Shame" it is the bonus track "Cries in the Dark". Originally released as a 7" flexi with the title track and an Interview, "Cries in the Dark" was included with the first pressing of "Circle of Shame". The song falls somewhere between late seventies/early eighties AOR and vintage European melodic metal. While it sticks out a bit on this heavy metal album, "Cries in the Dark" does have some appeal and I found it oddly satisfying. Opening with the self-explanatory "Heavy and Loud", Mystery Blue's second album came out two years after their self-debut and it shows the band slowly adapting to the heavy metal sounds of the day. With "Mystery Blue" this French band was part AC/DC and part hard rock/heavy metal. This LP finds Mystery Blue picking up the pace a bit on songs like "I'm in Heaven", "Victim of Guilty", "On the Ground", and "Vicious Game". While none of them are as crunchy as "Heavy and Loud", "Circle of Shame" at least finds these French hard rockers trying to do there own thing. The title cut and "Behind the Blinding Light"* show a ever-evolving band that wasn't afraid to explore other styles. Had Mystery Blue stuck at it, "Circle of Shame" could have been the starting point of something special. By mixing hard rock, heavy metal, AOR, vintage hard rock/heavy metal, and progressive rock (it's a tiny dose but it's there all the same!), Mystery Blue's future could have been dramatically different. They would have needed the support of a proper record label and maybe the help of a good producer, but (post-"Circle of Shame") Mystery Blue just might have been a very cool thing. As it stands now (and I'm addressing this 2016 re-issue more than anything), "Circle of Shame" is an album that should find a home in French hard rock/heavy metal collections. Our everyday readers might want to give this one a listen**, but that is only if you are into the older hard rock and heavy metal scenes.



*"Behind the Blinding Light" falls somewhere between a Dio-lead Rainbow and (seventies-era) Scorpions.

**You can hear this re-issue for yourself by heading here.

Xcel-Deliver This Dream

Arkeyn Steel Records
2013

Xcel are the latest cult 80's act to get the royal treatment from the fine folks over at Arkeyn Steel Records. Sometimes it seems as if the label are making it their mission to release every cult heavy metal record out there. If so I have a few suggestions for them, but that's neither here nor there. For now we have this this excellent Texas band who, in addition to self-releasing the "Deliver This Dream" LP in 1986, released the "Last Ride of Ichabod Crane" 7" single on Accent  in 1987. Now, while a bootleg CD by Hot Metal Records is floating around the scene don't be fooled by it as this re-release is the real deal!  In other words this is how "Deliver This Dream" should be re-released! This re-release features both the album and single and, in addition to a new booklet with lyrics, pics and bio, the re-issue has been re-mastered. That makes sense since the album's original production never sat well with the band anyway as it was recorded at Triplex Studios in Port Arthur, Texas who, while technically quite able, were more known for their work with country and western artists instead of rock and heavy metal ones. The new re-mastered version gives the album much more punch although, as this came out in 1986, it still sounds like an eighties production job. Granted that gives it all the more charm I suppose. Vocalist Kevin Luke lead this American power metal act that drew inspiration from Iron Maiden and Queensrÿche. In fact, the band looked at Queensrÿche as more then just an influence, but also an inspiration. Just as Queensrÿche had released their first self-titled album by themselves so did Xcel. They had the right idea and certainly the talent to back it up. While the album's original production was only so-so the single featured better production and should have done the trick as far as getting these guys the nod. It didn't happen though and, just like other cult eighties acts I've recently covered like Nitro and Salem, they didn't get the proper recognition then so, hopefully, this time around will be different. Since the re-release is a limited edition (1,000 hand-numbered copies) I suspect that it will be another hot ticket item for the label. "Deliver This Dream" features catchy metal numbers with really good lead solos. Fans of the aforementioned two bands would do well to check out this re-issue as well as those who love good eighties power metal/heavy metal bands like Heathen's Rage, Mainiax and Metalwolf. Along with Alloy Czar (review latest this week hopefully) Arkeyn Steel Records is giving older metal fans like myself something to cheer about!

Reviews for suckas-London-Don't cry wolf

It's been a while since we have called upon Mr. T to share his musical knowledge.This seemed like a good time to call him back as we asked him to pick out an album that scares him. So let's find out what he thinks of London's 1986 release "Don't cry wolf".

"Not much scares me. However fools with no talent who get record contracts can be a scary thing. In the 80's so many record labels were signing any pathetic bunch of idiots with big hair and make-up smeared on their faces. This band London was known because guys who left went on to have success with other bands. Those guys left London because they had two things-some talent and common sense. Look at some of these pathetic songs-
"Hit and run lover"? I'm no lover of this lame junk, but I'll gladly hit these fools and make them run. "We want everything"? How can these crazy men think they deserve everything when they offer nothing but worthless jibba jabba? "Killing time"? These clowns are killing my eardrums and they are wasting my time with their sour noise.
Hair metal can be bad and London were one of the worst. I pity the fools that thought these suckas were playing real music.

Fictional metal bands in horror movies

Probably no one in the world cares about this junk except me but on occasion I take notice of fictional metal movies in horror films. I won't make a list and will just leave that for anyone who wants to add examples in the comments sections. The main ones I think about come from 1986 film Trick or Treat which of course had the soundtrack done by Fastway. I have reviewed it here years ago and if you grew up during a certain time and like metal then you have probably seen it. If you saw the film then you know much of the plot revolves around metal singer Sammi Curr (played by former Solid Gold dancer the late Tony Fields) who dies early in the film, but comes back throughout the rest of the movie trying to exert his demonic power. Curr comes over as a combination of Alice Cooper, Ozzy and Gene Simmons (and of course you know that those last two are in this movie). There is another musical act in this film that has far less screen time. That's right it's the Kickers! Yeah, pretend you don't know. The lame local band that have trouble with feedback as they get ready to play at the hgih school dance. Then Sammi shows up,sings and then starts blowing people up left and right. Nice trick that one. The lead guitarist of the Kickers was played by Kevin Yagher who is a special effects make-up artist who even at that point had already worked on Friday the 13th-the final chaper and Nightmare on Elm Street 2. He has since gone on to have a great career in that field working on tons of movies and shows mostly in the horror and action genres. Anyways I liked the inclusion of the Kickers and they probably do a good job of being the local inept hard rock band.


***So there are some mindless ramblings for you. Any other fake metal/hard rock acts from horror movies that have stuck in your mind?

The record store-Once upon a time

If you are of a certain age you probably spent some time at some point at your local record store. Whether that was an independent store or a chain store probably depends on your area although most areas probably some of both once upon a time. Now I am old, but I am not some old crotchety geezer that scowls at the digital format and says everything was better in my day. There are good things about both periods. My intention today is just to remember my local record store. I lived out in the country and the mall didn't pop up until 1987. Before that the big record in the county was a Sound Waves that wasn't that close, but I got to go there on occasion. They were typical of a non-mall chain store of the time. Everything very organized and tidy with posters of the latest pop releases on the walls, but they did have a pretty good metal selection on vinyl. In 1985 Curry's Music popped up closer to me This was an independent store in the true sense of the term. There were no uniforms and neatness in the store was relative. There weren't posters announcing the upcoming Moody Blues album, but instead there collage posters of Maiden, Dio and others as well as tapestries of Judas Priest and Black Sabbath tacked up on the walls. They burnt incense and played music regularly. On occasion it may be to promote a new release, but more often than not they put in 70's ZZ top, Motorhead or whoever they wanted to hear at the time. For workers it was one guy and a few occasional other workers. The owner was a thirty something guy who was into classic rock and metal. He was always quick with recommendations and everything he suggested that I bought was good. Between 1985 and 1986 he recommended albums by Loudness, King Kobra, Executioner, Grim Reaper and others to me and I loved all of them. He once ranted on about how good this band from Detroit called Halloween was and he even played me some of their cassette on the player he kept behind the counter. I was interested and asked him if he had a copy for sale and he said "no, the only copy I ordered was this one for me". Even at 15 I was able to realize at that moment that despite having a cool store maybe his priorities were not in  order for him to be a great businessman. That may be because he was indeed a fan of the music more than a businessman and that may be why the store only lasted a couple of years. However his interest in music and his willingness to have conversations about Slayer, Whiplash, Black n' Blue, Warrior, Armored Saint or whoever was the main reason I liked going there. Later there were some other stores where a conversation about the new Exodus album could be struck up with the guy working at the counter, but it was hit and miss. Curry's eventually couldn't compete when the mall stores popped up with their big selection and occasional sales so the little local record store went out. I enjoyed it while it was around and on occasion I like to remember the times I spent there.

**Did you have a local record store that you grew up going to?

Forgotten Gems-Dr. Know-This Island Earth

Dr. Know formed in  California  in the early 1980's. Dr. Know  were part of the Nardcore scene that came from Silver Strand Beach, Oxnrd, Port Hueneme and also included RKL, Ill Repute, Aggression and other bands.They knocked out some releases on Mystic records. Eventaully they parted ways with vocalist and former child star Brandon Cruz. Guitarist Kyle Toucher stepped into doing vocal duties as well. By the time they signed to Death records (a short lived subsidiary of Metal Blade) they were a trio. In 1986 they released "This Island Earth" on said Death records. They decided to open it with a cover DOA's "The Unknown". Now doing cover songs on an album in 1986 wasn't as commonplace as it has been in say the last almost twenty years. So as I first looked at the album sleeve and before playing the album saw I the cover track was coming. I wasn't hopeful because DOA's version was a great song, but  Dr. Know nailed it and added their own touches. After that we get quite a few of the band's old songs that originally featured Brandon Cruz only now they were re-worked. "Plug in Jesus" was up first and it's a good example of what this band did with all their old songs here. It's heavier, tighter and it took seconds for me to realize that Kyle Toucher's vocals added a dimension to this band that they never had when Cruz was the vocalist. Brandon Cruz was adequate but a very typical early 80's hardcore singer where as Kyle Toucher had a sarcastic tone to his voice that worked very well with the band's lyrics. The music here received a much tighter production job than the band had ever had. Also while still a hardcore band they do tend to lean just a little towards a metal edge on this album. I could  certainly see this album being considered a crossover album. There may be fans of Dr. Know's earlier work that cringed at this album with it's quirky vocals, heavy drums and more prominent guitar rhythms. I think they began leaning towards a crossover style before this album, but the metal elements were even stronger on this release. I for one definitely think it was their best work and consider it to be a great album even 26 years later. I think Dr. Know and particularly this album never got the attention from metal fans that say COC or DRI did back then, but they should have.

***Unfortunately changes were coming soon for Dr.Know with both their line-up and musical direction. I hope to cover that soon in another Forgotten Gems.

Forgotten Gems: Purgatory-Tied To The Trax

Auburn Records
1986


As far as I am concerned no label has done more for the Ohio metal scene that Auburn Records. From as far back as I can remember (my late teens/early twenties being a bit of a blur as it is) I've loved the Ohio metal scene. Thanks to Auburn Records I had been exposed to great groups like Breaker, Chemikill, Attaxe, Destructor (great live!), Wretch and Shok Paris. Thanks in no small part to their excellent 1990 cassette compilation, "Heavy Artillery" (article to follow on this killer compilation) I was also turned onto bands like Kraze, Decimation, Terror, Brainicide (with a very young Tim Owens!), Hatrix and Purgatory. Now Purgatory (not to be confused with the numerous other acts laying claim to that name) had the excellent track "Blood's The Price" on the "Heavy Artillery" compilation. That track featured Andy Boyer (Battery , Rebellious Angels, Hollow, S.O.S.) though as he had replaced the group's original vocalist, a certain Mr. Jeff Hatrix. Jeff Hatrix went on to bigger and better things (Mushroomhead of course) although he also fronted his own self-titled band later on. Purgatory itself was formed in 1984 in Cleveland, Ohio. The band released a self-titled EP in 1985 followed by "Tied To The Trax" in 1986. A demo ("Dr. Pain") followed in 1989 and of course we have their "Heavy Artillery" contribution. Besides Jeff Hatrix on lead vocals "Tied To The Trax" features drummer Kenny Easterly of cult act Mystik fame and guitarist Greg Perry who also played in Attaxe as well as his own band Zyklone. Bass duties were handled by Mark Alexander who ended up playing in (off all things) a country/classic rock act. Rather hard to believe he ended up playing country rock as his bass has all the hallmarks of good old fashioned heavy metal. You know that nice crunchy back end that sends shivers up the spine of many a heavy metal freak. Hatrix himself sounds good here although when he tries to sing in that mid-range area he ends up sounding a bit out of his element. Other times it is hard to fathom that this is the same guy who ended up in Mushroomhead because his pure heavy metal voice is so refreshing. Kenny Easterly is given plenty of space to move about and his drumming sounds classic. Greg Perry though rarely gets to play anything that ends up too fancy or technical. The thing is within Purgatory's musically boundaries he doesn't need to. When he is given a chance to show what he is capable of his lead work is solid. Sometimes I do wish they would have let him really get go crazy. If he did perhaps "Tied To The Trax" would have been one of those eighties heavy metal wonders that collectors just drool over. Or maybe it would have changed Purgatory's sound too much and taken away that raw feeling that makes the band seems all the more real and intimidating. If you've never heard the band before musically one could say that Purgatory was pure eighties in sound and image. Mixing parts of speed metal, power metal, thrash and even traditional heavy metal they were a no frills band-what you see is what you get. Sometimes you hear parts of bands like Overkill, Raven, Metal Church, Destructor, Abattoir, Megadeth, Culprit, Griffin, Chastain and even Jeff's own Hatrix. "Tied To The Trax" (like a lot of albums from the same era I'm afraid) does sound a bit dated now. Thing is this one has nice and heavy riffs, twisted bass, screaming for blood metal vocals, pounding drums and (when they let the man get loose) shredding lead solos. The album has plenty of solid riffs and for fans of eighties metal everything you could hope for. Over the top vocals from Hartix? Yes. Cheesy lyrics? You bet! Headbanging solos? When Greg gets crazy oh yeah! The fact is this is just one fun album screaming for a proper re-release. Auburn Records does have plans to do that, but from talking with their owner it is not in their immediate future. Oh well. Now, while the band ended up folding sometime after the 1989 demo was released the four original members of Purgatory did supposedly do a one night only reunion show on June 3, 2004 in Cleveland, Ohio. Beyond that things have been quiet on the Purgatory front. Who knows if we have truly heard the last of the band or not. With Jeff's busy life though it does seem highly unlikely that Purgatory will ever release new material again.

Forgotten Gems-Blood Money:Red, raw and bleeding!

Back in the mid to late 1980's thrash was certainly my favorite metal sub-genre. I listened to any thrash I could get my hands on. That doesn't mean that I liked all the thrash that I heard back then, but I did enjoy a lot of it. However like any popular musical movement there are bound to be bands that slip through the cracks. Some times there is a good reason why that happens and some times not so much. Even though I am not as amaze by thrash as I was 25 or so years ago I am open to giving a chance to a thrash release from back then that I missed out on. I never heard of Blood Money until just a year or so ago and never got around to hearing this album until. This UK band had formed in 1984, knocked out a demo a year later and by 1986 released this their debut album. I always found it interesting that much of the roots of thrash can be traced back to the NWOBHM as bands like Venom, Raven and others were huge influences for the young acts that were hot on their heels. Yet the number of known thrash bands coming out of the UK in the mid-late 1980's seemed far less than the number of thrash coming out of the states or Germany. However that doesn't mean that there weren't some capable acts churning out thrash in the UK. For 1986 Blood Money may have been slightly behind the times with their sound on this album. The sound here is closer to what was going on in 84-85 as opposed to the thrash explosion that occurred in 1986. Still these guys were very tight and played some catchy, hard driving songs. Oddly enough the top two acts I here are Neil Turbin era-Anthrax and early Joey Belladonna-era Anthrax as well. Beyond that I also hear some Agent Steel and no surprise some NWOBHM influences too including Venom. This is unpolished, un-compromising early thrash. They won't earn a huge amount of style points, but I am sure they didn't care about that either. Instead they charge on and tie it all together as they go. For me I often preferred thrash before a band progressed or tried too hard. Blood Money certainly capture that sound on this album. These guys would knock out one more album after this one. Band members of went onto to be in China Beach, Morgueazm and Xanthoma. Definitely track this one down if you have never heard it before.

Forgotten Gems: Randy-"Shadows Are Falling" Single

Arp Grammofon
1986


Man alive I can not even begin to tell you how many times I came across this band over the years only to pass over them because of that cover art. Just about every eighties heavy metal blog site worth half a crap had this single for download though. With the name and cover I always expected this to be some sort of awful second wave thrash act named after their singer or something. If only I would have bothered to check Randy out sooner I'd have realized that this single might just be the best one to come out of Denmark ever! More than likely I'd wager that the band took their name from the fact that they were from Randers, Denmark. That would make sense. What does not make sense is how this single isn't more well known here in America? Supposedly it still has a huge cult following to this day over in parts of Europe and one can see why...or rather hear why. Randy pulled off superb heavy metal the way it used to be. No frills heavy metal like this was all the rage in the early part of the eighties and has only recently made a comeback. This three piece band managed to release only this single (backed with the excellent track "The Beast"!) and a seven song demo before folding. The single is highly sought by record collectors the world over and as stated pretty much every where on the web you can find it download wise. In 2011 the record label No Remorse came along and finally released a proper version of the band's catalog on CD. This Best of/Compilation includes the tracks from the "Shadows Are Falling", the 1987 demo and three live tracks (also from 1987). An LP release of the CD is in the works from the sounds of it and either one would be a worthwhile purchase for heavy metal fans. I've provided a link below for the track "Shadows Are Falling" that I found on YouTube. Enjoy!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jjsi-vghsbA&feature=related

Forgotten Gems: Soothsayer-To be a real terrorist

I remember back around 1989 hearing about an album called "Have a good time" by a Canadian band called Soothsayer. I am not sure if I remember any reviews of it, but for some reason I remember hearing that this band was supposed to be good. I didn't hear it then and it would be a few years before I would hear it. Once I heard it I wasn't too thrilled about it. It was alright, but it as much a joke album as it was thrash. The problem was it wasn't that funny and it was quite honestly messy. So I forgot about this band for years until a little over a year ago. I stumbled upon a discussion about Soothsayer where one person was saying they heard good things about Soothsayer, but didn't care for "Have a good time". The other person said that the band's 1986 demo was much better and that people should track that down. I did find a download of it and indeed it's great blast of thrash mixed with some hardcore bits. Actually it's fairly heavy for 1986 and I hear Slayer, Destruction, DRI, Broken Bones and others including fellow Canadian thrash act Sacrifice. The sound on this demo is thick and tight with the vocals screaming along too on songs like "Death Radiation" and "Deadly fear". Okay, now with this demo I could see why fans would speak some praise for this band. I am not sure why their musical direction changed by the time they did their full length LP. A lot of things can change for a band in three years as it did here. I also discovered that a few years ago there was a CD release of "To be a real terrorist" with a remastered version of the demo plus a live show from 1987. I picked that up and the demo sound good cleaned up plus the band sounds solid live although on the show they get into some of the silly tracks that would end up on "Have a good time". Whether you download the demo or find the CD with the remastered version, I would definitely say this is worth a listen.

Forgotten Gems-Mania-No lullabies

Self-produced
1986

Mania hailed from Houston, Texas and released just this one album. The first thing you will likely notice is that vocalist Stacey Richards sounds a whole lot like Lizzy Borden. For me that's a definite plus and his style blends well with the music. The music is at times a little like early Lizzy Borden too. The seven tracks on "No lullabies" are all strong. Opener "Rock hard" is a fist pumping anthem. "Treat me this way" reminds me of a cross between Lizzy Borden and Dokken. "Night stalkers" starts with an odd paced almost bouncing feel, but is soon elevated some blazing solos and rhythms. "Cut ya down to size" goes back and forth between blazing blasts and some hard chops. "Licensed to kill" goes from a low and steady pace down to a heavy slow glide and then back again. Maybe the best written song on the album. "Promises" has a late 70's/early 80's hard rock sound to the music and the chorus. "Go for broke" continues with a late 70's/ early 80's vibe and makes me think of Starz with Lizzy Borden on vocals. Mania were comfortable going between hard rock and metal. It's a shame they didn't stick around longer because I would have like to have seen what they would have done on a second album.

Forgotten Gems-Arrow-Diary of a soldier

A.R.S.
1986

Sweden's knocked out a 12 inch and then followed up with this four song EP in 1986. This is very likable melodic metal. When a band had a full time keyboard player you don't expect the music to be really heavy.Fortunately Arrow have a good balance between heavy rhythms and sweeping melodies. The opener is the title track and it reminds me quite a bit of early 22O Volt. The balance I mentioned above is very much in playon the title track. "Straight to your heart" is up next and it's a little slower, but another fine outing with some impressive vocals. "Tonight's the night" is easily the best track on the album though. The sound here is early European power metal and it's about a year before the mighty Helloween would adapt a similar sound on their first Keeper of the seven keys disc. The album raps up with the ballad "Until the end of time" which reminds me slightly of the Scorpions. A good song, but I would have prefered the album not ended on a ballad. It's frequently hard to gage a band by an EP and unfortunately this would be it for Arrow, but they offered up an impressive album to remember them by.

Forgotten Gems-Post Mortem

New Renaissance
1986

In the mid-to late 1980's I was completely into thrash. Every band with leather jackets, high top white Nikes, stringy hair and some fast riffs probably had my attention at least for a little while. So if I bought an album thinking the band was going to be thrash and they weren't then the album probably tossed to the back of the stack. Such was the case with Post Mortem. They were on New Renaissance records. Which for anyone who remembers this meant bad production, the bands went nowhere if they stayed on this label and most of the time thrash. I bought 1986's Coroner's Office without having heard anything off of it although I had read a brief but but glowing review of it. I figured they would be thrash because one of the band members was wearing a Slayer. Fantastic logic I know, but in my defense was only 16. Well, I listened to the album and there were some fast songs, but not all thrash and those vocals, they were not straight thrash metal vocals. Plus there were some long very slow tracks. Even worse there were short joke type fillers and a slight jazz interlude? What the heck? I was ripped off, mislead and duped by a band pretending to look like a thrash band! That was the thought on this album for a long time. It wasn't until just a few years ago that I gave it another shot and at last it clicked. The band's influences are Slayer, Saint Vitus, Black Flag and Black Sabbath and they all show up on this album. The production is still poor, but that doesn't hold back how brilliant this album yes. Yes, I freely admit that I misjudged this album all those years ago. The faster songs here are a cross between metal and punk and they pull in the heaviness of both, but live for the raw edges of both as well. The slower songs are similar to what Saint Vitus were doing at the time only with even more droning moments, but they are heavy and thick. The band throw several different styles in and sound totally comfortable every step of the way. They could have been a little tighter in spots, but that would come later on. I was wrong on this one and I even think their sound here showed some ideas of early death metal so in some respects they were ahead of their time. If you never heard it then hunt it down and check it out.




New Renaissance
1987

Now the second part of this story was Post Mortem's 1987 four track EP The missing link. Despite being disappointed by Coroner's Office a year before I still believed there was a thrash band in these guys. By 1987 I had gotten into more punk rock bands and was slightly more open to that sound although thrash was still number one in my limited spectrum of music. This album has two fast songs that both lean more towards punk than thrash and two really slow songs. The production was still crap, but for whatever reason I enjoyed this album right away despite it not being what I was hoping for. The two faster songs are mean and raw with lots of bite. While the two slower songs crawl along like a huge dinosaur slowing crushing the ground on it's journey. I still like this EP even better today as well. Even though Coroner's Office appeals to me now I still think that The Missing Link heard the band becoming mush tighter and far more confident. Despite only four tracks it's still the superior album out of the two.

There was a scheduled re-issue of these two albums on one CD from New Renaissance a few years ago, but it never came about. However you can still find them on vinyl on eBay and various places. Plus there was a CD release if Coroners Office back in the 90's, but I heard the quality wasn't the best. You can also find free downloads of both online.

My 2008 interview.
http://metalmark.blogspot.com/2008/08/interview-with-post-mortem.html

Warlock-True as steel

Metal Mind
1986/2011

After the tour for 1985's "Hellbound" Rudy Graf left and was replaced by Nicko Arvantis (ex-Stormwind). Then the band signed with Phonogram and the stage was set for album number three. "True as steel" was released late in the summer of 1986 and this was the first album I heard by them. I can't remember if I heard the whole album or if I saw the video for "Fight for rock" first, but either way I was impressed right away. Dore Pesch's tremendous vocals are the same as during their previous outings, but the music took a slightly more melodic turn. "Speed of sound" is a barn burner and "Mr. Gold" and the title track are spine rattlers for sure. However other songs like "Love in the danger zone" and "Lady in a rock n' roll hell" are a little closer to say Dokken than the Accept/Judas Priest level of heaviness that much of Warlock's previous material was at. However that doesn't mean it's not enjoyable. Quite the contrary as the band handles the hard rock approach just as well as they do the metal sound. No filler to these ears and they branch out their style a little more on tracks like "T.O.L". Overall I probably prefer the early material a little more, but this was the album that got their name out there. This was due to the radio/video play for the aforementioned "Fight for rock" plus they played the Monsters of rock festival in Germany opening for the like of Def Leppard, Scorpions and Ozzy. After a tour and some more line-up changes they were on to record their forth and what would unfortunately be their final album. That's a story for another day (hopefully tomorrow). The re-issue includes lyric booklet, band biography and three bonus tracks. A nice package and as with "Hellbound" this album has stood the test of time as well.

Top 5 re-issues/re-releases of 2010

I'll be doing my top 25 albums of 2010 next year, but am knocking a few other other best of lists this week. Here we go with re-issues and re-releases.



1-Quartz-Stand up and fight
Always heard good things about this NWOBHM classic, but finally got to hear it with a bonus track to boot this year.
2-Poobah-Let me in
Early 70's fuzzed out goodness that I never heard before this year.
3-Blind Illusion-The sane asylum
Not much in the way of bonuses on this re-issue, but a veru good and overlooked late 80's thrash album for sure.
4-Savage Grace-Fall from grace/Ride into the night
The two Savage Grace I hadn't heard were put on one set with bonus tracks. Nice package.
5-Darkness-Defenders of justice
I missed this one in the 80's, but got to hear it this year. Great old style German thrash metal.

Clash of the album covers

It's soundtracks for two 1986 horror movies.



AC/DC-Who made who (Maximum Overdrive)

vs.



Fastway-Trick or treat soundtrack

***Which cover do you prefer?

Bleach, line-up changes and the dreaded melodic turn

A new record store had just opened near me in the summer of 1985. One hot Summer day my dad was going into the grocery store and I had enough time to slip down to the record store and just enough money to buy one cassette (yes, I know that was a bad format to choose). I remember looking at lots of choices. Most were bands I only knew by name or one song from one of the late night metal radio shows that I soaked in. Finally after much deliberation I settled on King Kobra's "Ready to strike" although I don't remember why. This band was formed by former Cactus, Vanilla Fudge drummer Carmine Appice and eventually rounded out by four bleached blond musicians. Their debut wasn't anything new, but I loved it then and still do. The pace and heaviness level is comparable to Dokken or Black and Blue, but for me the kicker was singer Mark Free. Years before his gender change he was a remarkable singer. You can really hear it on the "Motor City Strike" bootleg too because there are no overdubs and you are treated to his fabulous range.

Unfortunately a year later their label pushed them to create more radio friendly songs and the result was the more AOR leaning "Thrill of a lifetime". Mark Free still sounded good, but guitarists Mick Sweda and David Michael Phillips get shoved to the background and Carmine Appice's drum sound is thin and limp. Only the last three tracks had much life to them. After this album the revolving door began going on full motion. Their label dropped them, Mark Free left and was replaced by Marc Torien and bassist Lonnie Vincent replaced Johnny Rod who had left for higher ground as he joined WASP. It wasn't long after that point until the four blonds left Appice to form their own band. However David Michael Phillips didn't get along with Marc Torien so he soon returned to Appice while the other band would become the Bulletboys. King Kobra was soon completed with Johnny Edwards on vocals, Jeff Northrup filling in the second guitar spot and Larry Hart on bass. By this point it was 1988 and the band couldn't get signed so Appice released "III" on his own label and got some distribution help in the form New Renaissance. To me this album was a mixed bag that sounded like it was made up of leftovers and while Edwards was quite decent he was no Mark Free. The band did not tour for this album and soon they broke up. An album of unreleased demos called "The Lost Years" came out years later and unfortunately so did an ill-advised not really reunion album called "Hollywood Trash" in 1999. Truly a band that never followed up on their initial potential, but I still enjoy the debut and the bootleg.

Medieval

New Renaissance
1986, 1987, 2008

In the mid-late 1980's metal bands were popping up in the cities and the towns and all were pushing and striving to get noticed, recognized and get signed. Unfortunately many bands who deserved recognition got overlooked in this crowded sea of would bes and never weres. In my book the best 80's metal band you probably never heard of was a three piece from Kalamazoo, Michigan called Medieval. I first heard their unbelievably crunchy "World War IV" on New Renaissance's Speed Metal Hell compilation back in 1985 and I was in awe by that one track with it's off the wall solo and scattered pace. They signed to New Renaissance and released a self-titled EP in 1986 and then the ever so aptly named "Medieval Kills" in 1987. Unfortunately they didn't get the kind of or amount of recognition that they so justly deserved back then. However now at long last New Renaissance has released Medieval on CD so we get the EP, the "Medieval Kills" LP and three new track all on one disc. Even though I already have the two albums on vinyl I still opened this sucker like a four year old kid on Christmas morning, ripping that plastic off and anxiously put it into my stereo. Ah, I was greeted with music that is as good and perhaps even as fresh as it was twenty plus years ago. Tracks like the anthem "All knobs to the right", the pulsing "Reign of terror" and the blood boiling "Epitaph" are just a few of the killers on this disc just dig and plow forward. Medieval had a style that's a little difficult to put a finger on because they were following their own drummer to some extent. I think of them as a basement metal band because I have this image of the three of them back in the 1980's playing a raw, stripped down combination of metal and punk rock in one of their basements. I imagine windows rattling from the sound as they crank forth this sound that brings in parts of Motorhead, the Dead Boys and their own ideas into the riveting blend that they put forth on those two albums. "Medieval Kills" is slightly tighter and has stronger production than the EP, but every song in worth hearing. The three new tracks were recorded in 2007-2008 and the sound is something of a combination between Medieval's old sound, early Metallica and maybe even some spurts of Pentagram as well. The new material is slightly heavier and perhaps a little more metal, but really thick and certainly along the lines of the band's work from the 1980's. So Medieval and New Renaissance deliver in a big way with the best re-issue so far in 2008 which has been a year rich with quality re-issues already.

http://www.myspace.com/medievalkills

First Day Flashback

Abattoir-The only safe place
1986



Abattoir formed in LA back in 1978 and released their debut "Vicious Attack" on Combat records in 1985. They went several line-up changes including members John Cyriis and Juan Garcia leaving to form Agent Steel. Their sophomore release was "The only safe place" and even though it came out just a year after their debut 3/5 of the band's line-up had changed. "The only safe place" is a decent example of early thrash although it also borders on early American Style power meta as well considering it's not far from say Metal Church as far as the pace goes. I bought this on vinyl back in 1986 and always took to it well enough. It's not a landmark album at all and it's easy to see why it got lost in the same year as "Reign in blood" and "Master of puppets". Yet it's still a slab of solid metal with a duel guitar attack and powerful enough vocals. The production has that slight fuzz that I think actually helps this style of music carry a bit of thicker presence of sorts. The first seven tracks are all good, but then the last three is where the band explodes and just burst out with some of their best material. The band folded a few months after this release, however they reformed in the late 1990's and played on a few tribute albums. There is still a version of the band who are hoping to get everything together and finish a comeback album that has been talked about for several years.



http://www.myspace.com/abattoirla

Slaughter-Strappado

Metal Mind
1986/2008



Every mention of this band over the last 17 years has to include "no, not the hair metal band of slight early1990's fame". Instead these guys were from Canada and played a rather early style of death metal that was influenced by the likes of Venom and Celtic Frost. Unlike other early death bands like Death and Possessed, Slaughter (at least at this point) were as much about heaviness as they were about speed. Strappado has some thick, killer riffs that grind forward and it's easy to see why this band had a bit of a cult following. With all the bands trying to blaze forward, Slaughter stood out a little because their direction was far more creating a pounding sound that you would not just hear but feel in your bones. The vocals are even less of a typical thrash style, but actually there is a slight hardcore influence as well rather than the standard growling of most early death metal singers. A few songs sound a little bit alike yet that's not all that important compared to the relatively fierce sound they churned with ease on this underground classic. This re-issue also includes an entire live show that sounds like the band is playing to maybe a dozen people in a basement somewhere on a Tuesday night. The quality of the live recording is extremely raw even by 80's standards yet their style and agrressiveness shine past their primitive sound and off the cuff banter with the crowd. It may not have seemed like an essential release in 1986 amidst all of the typical thrash of the times, but Strappado holds up well and there's no doubt it was influential on death metal bands over the next half decade or so.