Forgotten Gems-Warminister-Out of the ashes

These guys hailed from Dayton, Ohio and formed in 1985. They released this four song EP in 1986 and then either broke up or just vanished because there is very little information on them other than this album. There really isn't a lot on this album. In the the only picture I have seen of them they wore goofy spandex outfits and the album cover looks like it was designed by a 13 year old who liked He-man and pro-wrestling. So is this a lost gem? No, not exactly. However they definitely had some real potential and I would them on a list of bands who I wish had gotten to do another album. The writing isn't great and the lyrics are cheesy at times as you can expect. However these guys had some decent hooks and were fairly tight for a band who had only been around for a year. They played a style that was a cross between metal and hard rock. Think of other band who played metal, but had the glam look like Witch, early Lizzy Borden and Axtion. Warminister play a similar style to those acts. It's kind of party type metal, but with solid beats and a great flow to it. Not overly creative perhaps, but I liked it the first time I heard it and still do. Again a shame they didn't stick with because it would have been interesting to hear what they could do on a full length effort.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdO5ADUOTYg&feature=related

Sunday Metal Funnies with WarMinister-Out of the ashes

First off the band name WarMinister doesn't exactly flow so well and it's a little odd, but the real crime is the cover. It's so goofy I don't know where to start. Oh, let's begin with the background. It looks like they did it on graph paper because you can see the squares. Then the dude looks like a cross between he-man and Thor (the Canadian singer not the Norse god). Only he is standing like he is trying to keep from crapping in his pants or maybe his briefs are on too tight. Even the land looks funny like he is giant standing above a little canyon. The guy must feel cramped by the tiny surroundings too because he is tarting to step out onto the border. I don't know what fifth grader they got to do this or how much they paid him or her, but I am sure they paid too much. Oh, well it could have been worse. Well maybe not.