Free Metal Monday: Nightmare-Demo

Self-Release/Independent
2016

California metal band Nightmare released this three-track demo on November 28, 2016. There is no information to go with it, but seeing as it is vintage heavy metal with a N.W.O.B.H.M. tint it is all good! With a slightly raw production job that recalls some of those late seventies/early eighties underground gems, I hear traces of Witchfinder General, Cloven Hoof, Angel Witch, and Blitzkrieg. I'm sure there are more influences lurking about, but honestly it's a name-your-price release that is so good that I just don't care! This one easily stands up tall next to some of the more recent retro offerings and the N.W.O.T.H.M.

Pulsar-Alien Crusader

Rush of Power Records
2017

Pulsar is a N.W.O.B.H.M.-inspired traditional heavy metal band from Oslo, Norway that "May contain traces of (the bands) Purple Hill Witch and/or Condor vibes". The three-track "Alien Crusader" is the group's first studio recording and while we might not exactly know who plays what, Pulsar's (vintage metal-soaked!) debut is just too golden to pass up! Available as a digital download and as a limited-edition cassette*, "Alien Crusader" recalls the early days of the N.W.O.B.H.M. movement as much as it does mid-seventies proto-metal. Hopefully this band is more than a one and done deal.....  


*Supposedly there are only fifty copies available. Well, lets' make that 49 as I ordered a copy for my own collection yesterday....