Grinder-Dead End (Deluxe Edition)

Tribunal Records/Divebomb Records
2014

Germany's Grinder released "Dead End" in 1989. As their sophomore LP it saw the band, who had made their debut a year earlier with "Dawn for the Living", release what would prove to be one of the highlights of their (roughly) seven year career. Having formed in 1984, and with nothing but sweet speed metal/thrash on their minds from day one(!), the band was active until 1991 or so with the nine-track "Dead End" originally appearing on No Remorse Records (home to Blind Guardian among others). With this (expanded) deluxe edition Divebomb Records has teamed up with Grinder to give fans something truly special. Seeing as this one has been OOP now for 20 something years it's fantastic to see this album more readily available to begin with. When you take into account the nine bonus cuts and the additional bonus material to be found within the CD's booklet (a new interview and archival photos!) it gets even better! While I could ramble on and on about what makes this cool band tick (and why they deserve such a royal treatment!) why don't we just skip those formalities and you can hear for yourself at the link below? For fans of (older) speed/thrash this re-release should appeal to your inner headbanging urges while today's younger generation might just be able to see where the scene began and why acts like Grinder still provide plenty of sizzle and spark even after all these years later!

http://tribunalrecords.bandcamp.com/album/dead-end-deluxe-edition-2

Forgotten Gems-Mystic Force-The Eternal Quest

Every state had and have their own hard rock and metal bands. I grew up in Maryland in the 80's and didn't really go to that many shows but knew of some local bands. KIX are likely the hard rock band most associated with my state from that time which is a shame because they really weren't that great, but people know them because they were on a major label and the local radio stations played them to death. I Child's Play were another mediocre hard rock band from the area that got some press. Far better than those two was metal act Wrathchild America (formerly Wrathchild) who knocked out two decent albums on Atlantic records before getting dropped and changing their name to Souls at zero. Twenty some years ago Wratchchild America would have been my favorite local metal act from back in the day. However there albums have not aged so well. They are still good, but flawed. Another band I heard back then who I like better know is Baltimore's Mystic Force. They formed back in 1983 and eventually knocked out a few demos, EPs and full length albums. Instead of following the  more popular trends of thrash or hair metal these guys went for the early progressive sound. Think early Queensryche, Mercyful Fate, Fates Warning, Iron Maiden and Crimson Glory. Now  "The Eternal Quest" includes a number of songs that appeared on previous demos, but it's a quite a few songs and it's a good representation of what this band was capable of. It shows a good variation of what they could do. "Shipwrecked with the wicked" is a flat out amazing tune that goes this way and that with more riffs than you can shake a stick at. "Temples of exiles" twists back and forth with vocals leading the way. "Another world" eases on with a late 80's Maiden vibe before gliding into a smooth flow. Mystic Force were tight in all areas and there is never a moment here where I felt like they missed and opportunity. They fill every second with sounds that make their songs more powerful and complete. Now they may be called progressive metal, but since they played the style year ago their brand of progressive metal pulled more on being heavy and less on trying to flash technical prowess. That last part is something that Mystic Force excelled out. These guys are back again these days playing shows in the area. It's a shame they never got discovered by a label that could give them the exposure they deserved, but if you never heard them that shouldn't stop you from tracking down some of their material and checking them out.

Reviews for suckas-White Lion:Big Game

 




Mr. T hasn't done one of these in a while partially because he has been recovering from the pain caused by listening to Operation Mindcrime 2 and Priest's Nostradamus. He's a tough guy so he was ready to get at it again. The earlier segments of this feature were hair metal and that's an easy target, but it's been a while since T tackled one of those albums so it was overdue. So this time he's taking on White Lion's third album the 1989 release "Big Game".


"Some times I miss the 80's. Then I remember worthless bands like White Lion and realize that there was a down side to that decade too. No talent fools with cotton candy hair got record contracts and their garbage was played on the radio. Look at some of the songs on "Big Game". "Goin' home tonight"? These guys are going to go home with lumps on their heads if I get a hold of them. "If my mind is evil"? Their minds were evil for writing this stupid junk and leaving it around for people to suffer from. "Let's get crazy"? These pathetic clowns are crazy if they think this sorry song counts as real music. "Don't say it's over"? It better be over because I can't take much more of these suckas and their boring jibba-jabba. There are probably people who work at Food Lion who could write better songs than White Lion did on this album. I pity the 80's fools who bought this worthless album."

Forgotten Gems-Redrum-Power Corrupts

I can just remember when thrash was an and coming style in the mid-80's but by the end of the decade the scene had absolutely exploded. That was good for fans who wanted piles of bands to hear. However it wasn't as good for the bands as a crowded meant not everyone was going to get a major label deal or even get signed to a big independent. Sacramento, California's Redrum were such a band. They formed back in 1985 and went through a series of demos before finally releasing "Power Corrupts" themselves.  The production isn't the best, but not all albums had great production back then. The important thing is the music. The sound here is Bay Area Thrash even though these guys hailed from a little ways from there. They have some specific influences, but the styles vary between early thrash and some real thick frenzied material. On some songs they separate the approaches, but on other songs you'll hear moments that sound what Vio-lence might have sounded like had they really worshiped Metallica's "Kill 'em all". There are also bits that will likely remind you of Testament, Exodus and Heathen as well. The vocals are limited and not as fierce as they needed to be at times. Still they manage to keep the music going consistently and even toss in some surprising change-ups. I bought this album a few years ago. Unlike a number of 80's thrash bands who sound stale to me know; these guys sound better each time I listen to this album. They focus on playing forceful riffs and keeping the mood intense. In that take on thrash they were clearly beginning to establish some of their own style here. Unfortunately this album didn't break them in like it should have. Perhaps if they had gotten it out two years sooner when thrash bands were still being swooped up by labels then they may gotten a few albums out. Unfortunately this was their only album. They was a re-issue a few years with the bonus tracks being some live songs. Live bonus tracks are frequently a waste of time, but no with Redrum as you get that their energy and chaotic approach translated nicely live as well. This album is definitely worth tracking down if you like old school thrash.

Re-animator-Condemned to eternity/Deny Reality

Kraze
1989/1990/2011

In the late 80's-early 90's thrash bands were popping up everywhere. The UK was no exception. Although not nearly the hot spot of say Germany or the Bay area of the United States they still had several bands churning out high powered thrash for a few years like Onslaught, Acid Reign, Sabbat and Xentrix. One of the better acts out of that bunch in my mind was Re-Animator. The band recorded a two song demo in 1988 and managed to secure a record deal with Music For Nations subsidiary Under One Flag. This re-issue includes their debut 1989's "Deny Reality" EP and their 1990 lp "Condemned To Reality". These guys are not going to be accused of being terribly original because their sound is a combination of a number of bands like Testament, Nuclear Assault, Megadeth and Sacred Reich. That's not terribly important because these guys knew a thing or two about creating killer riffs and keeping the pace going. The music is extremely tight on both albums which is better than what many thrash bands of the day were doing on their early efforts. These guys were not afraid to make the songs a little longer either as there are quite a few going over five minutes and even two tracks going past the seven minute mark. It's certainly not filler either as they make every second count. My only real complaints about these albums are that the bass is kind of low in the mix and the vocals could have been a little stronger. After this the band decided to go in more of a funk metal approach for their next two albums before calling it a day. This band frequently gets unfairly dismissed, but this is really strong thrash that's worth checking out. The re-issue has the two albums on one disc for a fair price. Definitely worth getting a copy.

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.

Darkness-Conclusion and revival

Battle Cry
1989, 2005, 2010

Change can be a good thing, but it can also be a killer too. In 1988 Darkness had released "Defenders of justice" their second album and both were very strong thrash albums. Unfortunately there were problems within the band and between the band and their label. Very soon guitarist Pierre Danielscyk and more importantly vocalist Oliver Fernickel were out. The band reluctantly added vocalist Ray Druschal and decided to continue as a four piece. Their relationship with their label Gama was now strained and their music direction was changing quickly. The results are Conclusion and Revival which is mixed bag of ill-conceived ideas and scattered styles. The thrash of their previous efforts is still present on a few songs, but they also brought in classic metal, punk rock and even some funky moments. Now that might sound promising in print, but trust me it didn't make translate well when they recorded it. The music lacks soul and personality as it just seems like they didn't know how to put the styles together. Vocalist Ray Druschal just wasn't a sufficient replacement for Oliver Fernickel. Druschal lacked to power and grit to pull it off. The production on this album is better, but that's about it. They would release a live album after this and then call it quits a few years later. However in 2004 several members re-united and continued on as Eure Erben playing the style started on the first two Darkness albums. They chose a different band name because they although they wanted to play their old thrash songs they didn't feel they could be Darkness without Olli Fernickel and he had unfortunately passed away in 1998. Despite the fact that this album was disappointing it must be pointed out that the re-issue does include a Eure Erben song from 2005 and the raw, but impressive "Titanic War" demo from 1986 as bonus tracks. This re-issue originally put out in 2005, but is now back in print.

Mean dogs, nasty airplanes and Damien

Like many people my first exposure to Ohio's Damien was through Headbanger's Ball in the form of their video for the title track of their first album "Every dog has it's day". I bought that cassette not too long after seeing the video. It's classic style metal with a definite Judas Priest influence as well as some Maiden, Dio, Scorpions and others tossed into the mix. The twin guitar attack was tight, the vocals were strong and the rythm section was affective. It wasn't particularly new in any way, but it was done very well. It was 1987 and at that time I think was being pulled in different directions with the hair bands like Poison, Motley Crue and the like taking the radio play and much of the spotlight while thrash was dominating the underground and many fans of heavier metal weant in that direction. So bands like Damien who were in the middle had some trouble finding an audience. Two years later "Stop this war" was released. I bought it (yeah, on cassette again) and it was of similar style, but even better. The style was slightly more varied and direct. They got some play on Headbanger's Ball again, but still never got very far. A shame because they were a powerful band playing real metal. They came back with "Angel Juice" in the mid-90's but I have still never heard it. After that they broke up, but reformed a few years ago for some reunion shows. The first two albums were re-issued on CD on Power Play records a few years ago too. That was my re-introduction to them because I didn't play cassettes any more. Hearing them again on CD let me know just how much I liked this band. Nothing special perhaps, but still very enjoyable metal.




http://www.myspace.com/damienlives06
http://www.powerplayrecords.com/

10 things I think about metal in 1989

In reflecting about 1989 I thought about these things in no particular order.


1-In general this was a better year for metal than 1988 was.
2-There seemed be less releases from independent metal labels than there had been in previous years.
3-Motley Crue came back to form somewhat with Dr. Feelgood, but I am not sure they were that relevent anymore.
4-KISS began the 1980's on a low note and they ended it on a low note as well.
5-Even though I am not normally big on post-Dio Sabbath I think that the Headless Cross was slightly underrated.
6-Despite not being all that original Tora Tora's "Surprise Attack" is still a darn good hard rock album.
7-Labels were signing bands (mostly hair bands) who they would not have signed a few years earlier due to lack of talent.
8-Skid Row's debut is good, but it hasn't held up as well as I thought it would.
9- This was a good year for early death metal releases. Although death still kind of blended with thrash at that point.
10-Warrant's debut is even worse than I remember it being.

Top ten albums of 1989

Wow was 1989 really twenty years ago? I guess it was. Here is my list for what it's worth.

10-Faster Pussycat-Wake me when it's over
Not as fun as their debut, but a fine album for sure.


9-Faith No More-The real thing
A fresh approach that was much needed and appreciated.


8-Bang Tango-Psycho Cafe
Great debut with some much needed fire added to their hard rock sound.


7-Annihilator-Alice in hell
Jeff Waters going crazy on his band's debut.


6-Sepultura-Beneath the remains
The previous album turned some heads, but this one put them on the map.


5-Death-Spiritual Healing
This band finally came into their own and began to carve their niche as the best death metal band of all time.


4-Exodus-Fabulous Disaster
The Steve Souza era finally began to gel.


3-King Diamond-Conspiracy
The story is a bunch of crap, but the music and vocals and fantastic.


2-Overkill-Years of decay
I loved their debut, "Taking over" was alright but noisy and "Under the influence" was weak. By their forth release they were finally back on track.


1-WASP-The Headless Children
These guys were good before, but they came out on fire for this one. Just a huge monster that stands up well even today.

Golden Turd of 1989-Alice Cooper-Trash

Not his first bad album and maybe even not the worst of his career. However he had done "Constrictor" which was decent and the very good "Raise your fist and yell", but then followed them up with this clunker. This was Alice trying to do a sappy hair metal album and it resulted in a limp noodle.

There you go.



On a related note in upcoming weeks I will be re-evaluating my top ten lists for 1980-1984. Back when I started this blog I did those lists in very quick fashion. Then with 1985 I began doing more involved lists. So I will look at the lists from 1980-84 and post again. Maybe there will be some changes due to my tastes or albums I have gone back and heard. We will see.

Defiance-Product of society

Metal Mind
1989/2008



Metallica and Exodus were the first bands to emerge from what would soon be known as the Bay Area scene. Thrash was still being defined and bands were trickling out between say 83-85, then 1986 saw a rise in popularity for this high energy style of metal. By 1987-1988 bands were popping out of everywhere and the San Francisco-Oakland area had more than their share of acts hoping to be the next Metallica. One of those many bands was Defiance whose debut originally came out in 1989 on Roadrunner records. I actually had not heard this album in at least 18 years and it didn't make a huge impression on me back then. However hearing it now I realize two things about it and they are that these guys sounded a whole lot like early Testament and that this album is better than I gave it credit for in 1989. They have much of the tight chugging early Metallica/Exodus type riffs that defined many of the bands from that scene. However like Testament they alternated heavy bits with guitar parts that would break up the one dimensional approach and then go back and forth. The production is slightly stripped down and I think that helps here because I think the raw sound normally worked well with thrash. The guitar duo of Doug Harrington and Jim Adams was a very solid pair and perhaps this band's strongest feature. They weave their way back and forth with plenty of quick cuts and driving heaviness and they show slightly more technical skill than a number of players of the time. I wasn't as impressed by the vocals of Ken Elkington which were adequate, but not all that memorable. This re-issue has eight bonus tracks including several demo versions and a few live tracks. Defiance's Product of society is an album that I'm afraid that underrated a little bit when I first heard it back in 1989. I am certainly glad that Metal Mind have put it out again so I can appreciate it now.

Lessdress-Dumblondes

Sun City
2008

Lessdress hailed from Poland and were playing a style of hard rock that was very similar to what was popular over in the states at the same time. "Dumblondes" was originally released as a cassette only release back in 1989 and it was rare even in their own country. The good people at Sun City Records were able to seek out and and get the rights to this one. Then they re-mastered it and quite honestly the production values are very high. Lessdress play a fairly guitar heavy and surprisingly tight style of semi-sleaze/glam rock. The influences are somewhat varied because the guitars are relatively heavy, but the vocals have large, smooth melodies plus there are keyboards scattered throughout. I would say that I hear Def Leppard, Roxx Gang, Shotgun Messiah and maybe even Bon Jovi sprinkled throughout. The tracks here are very much designed to have you singing along and generally they work on that level. Although I prefer their songs that rely as much on the guitar because many of the many riffs are certainly above average for this type of music. They obviously knew how to mix up the tempos and sounds enough to maintain a fair amount of interest and that sets them apart a little for this kind of music. Unfortunately like every other hard rock band going at this time Lessdress felt obligated to churn out a ballad. The result is five minute plus slug paced piece of pulp called "Strange kind of friend" which turns out to be the only weak track on this album. Would these guys have made it if they had gotten on an American record label back then? I am not sure, but they have enough variety to their songs that I can safely say that they were better than a number of bands who did land major label deals back in 1989. They come across as being more just competent that out and out exciting, but the music world can use both kinds of bands. Overall another nice find by Sun City of a fairly rare slab of energetic hard rock.

http://www.suncityrecords.com/main.php

Fates Warning-Perfect Symmetry

Metal Blade
1989/2008 Re-issue

Fates Warning were quick to jump into the studio back in early 1989 shortly after wrapping up the tour for "No Exit" which was quickly establishing the band as one of the leaders of the fairly new form of progressive metal. Progressive metal twenty years ago was perhaps far more basic than a number of bands who play that style today. A year earlier in 1988 "No Exit" had the band changing not only vocalists, but their overall direction to some extent as well. Fates Warning had started out strongly in the Iron Maiden style of metal, yet by "Awaken the guardian" and "No Exit" they were spreading out their sound and their once straight forward approach was being replaced my a more controlled and varied format. For me "No Exit" was a welcome change and "Perfect Symmetry" was even more so because I think this album was even tighter and the band were becoming more comfortable with this style. There are more melodies and even some more subtle sounds here that are as much hard rock as they are metal, but it all works out in the end. This re-issue contains a second CD which has a lot of demo versions of the tracks from the album. The demos are largely are decent, but other than a few die hard fans I doubt most people will be playing them that much at least not when you have the completed product on the same set. The better bonus is the DVD which includes a number of live performances from late 1988 through to 1989. The quality here is decent enough and it gives fans a chance to see how the band handles their increasingly complex material live. The DVD I would probably actually watch from time to time so that helps to make this set worthwhile. It also includes a thick booklet with some detail about the album. Another great re-issue from Metal Blade and I hope they keep coming.

Believer-Extraction from mortality

Metal Mind
1989/2008

I remember reading good reviews about Believer's debut back in 1989 and I remember reading a good interview with them around then as well. However I never pursued any of their CDs because I was ignorant in thinking that because they were a christian band they would not be very heavy. I guess that my train of thought was that all christian rock sounded like Stryper and Petra. Fortunately I have gotten to get ahold of this re-issue of this album so I can hear what I have been missing. Believer played thrash a little in the style of Exodus and Testament although with even grittier vocals. The sound leans a little more towards heaviness than speed which helps the music to have a very thick feel to it. They plow into almost every song with a lot of confidence and more fire than many acts who just went through the paces back then. It's not the most original thrash release ever done and it came when thrash was into it's peak which means it was a crowded field when this came out. Yet they approached their material with a head full of steam and the end product shows that for sure. They control the pace and really milk each moment as much as possible and that in itself sets them well above the bands who thought thrash was only about speed. This re-issue includes a thick booklet, a nice package and I am certainly glad to find out that these guys far exceeded my expectations.

Icon-Right between the eyes

Wounded Bird
1989/2008

This was the fourth and final studio album from Arizona (and at one point LA) based Icon. By 1989 they had been up, down and changed singers and drummers before landing on Megaforce with distribution from Atlantic. There is no doubting that they were a very competent band of musicians even when they released their 1984 self-titled debut. However their downfall probably had to do with the fact that they sounded too much a like a more established band. You will read very few reviews of Icon’s CD that don’t mention that “they sound like Dokken” and indeed I agree with that fact because they always sounded to some extent like the band who wanted their name to rhyme with rockin’. Icon had obviously heard Whitesnake’s 1987 self-titled album by this point as well because there are a few tracks here that fall into that style as well. I mean there is no denying that this is a solid enough hard rock outing, but by 1989 it had already been done and the market was so packed with poofy haired bands hoping to be the next Motley Crue, Poison or Whitesnake. Icon had no problem creating decent hard rock songs and they were certainly consistant, but they never really defined their own sound or at least not enough to stand out. Even though this is likely their best album, it’s easy to see why they didn’t really make it any bigger than they did. However hard rock lovers will likely be thrilled that Wounded Bird has re-issued it and you can now get it for under $15.00.