ALPHA TIGER is one of Century Media Records’ newest bands and have released a quality album for their first release as a signed band to a major metal label. Their origins are in Germany where other great metal bands have come from including HELLOWEEN and RAMMSTEIN. They may soon find themselves accompanying those two bands in the ranks of outstanding German metal.
As soon as “The Alliance” comes on, one can tell STEPHAN DIETRICH is going to become known as one of the stand out voices in newer metal. It’s a strange mix of RUSH’s GEDDY LEE and early IRON MAIDEN vocalist PAUL DI’ANNO.
The band has a mix of thrash and hair metal to their sound. Their instruments are played in thrash style while the vocals and lyrics account for the hair metal half. The band even manages to include some ballad parts into the album. Because of these factors, they tend to sound slightly dated but this is not necessarily bad; it’s a fun throwback to the ‘80s. In fact, one can visualize the cheesy music videos that would accompany such tunes. This is especially the case with “Along the Rising Sun”. However, they must be careful to not have all of their songs become too similar.
Although some songs are lengthy, they don’t tend to feel that way. “From Outer Space” is the track off the album that can be deemed most fun. It shows that the band does not mind being silly sometimes. It is also the first single and will be the first music video. “Eden Lies in Ruins” offers an interesting story that almost DIO like. “We Came from the Gutter” is one of the strongest tracks on the album. It may have worked better as an opener rather than a closer.
The style in which the album cover for Beneath the Surface is done matches the content well. There is something real and sinister about it although it is cartoony enough that there is some lightness to it. The portrayal of laughing business people and burning money reflects a lot about modern day concerns. Having their reflections as skeletons is reminiscent of the classic heavy metal art seen in the 80s.
Beneaththe Surface is a promising start for ALPHA TIGER’s career. However, they still have some work to do in terms of separating themselves from the rest of the pack. It is an album worth picking up for fans of classic heavy metal looking for a throwback sound.
ALPHA TIGER: Not afraid to show their silly side when they rock out!
For those of us in the industry that review albums regularly, you would have to say the first word that often comes to mind when discussing most bands and sub-genres is “retro”. New bands come a long in waves and mini-scenes, flooding our ears with styles that are all a throwback to some point in the distant past. There is a fine line between aping a few riffs and melodies in tribute, and letting an influence shine through in an original context. The problem with a lot of these new jack bands is they never rise above the imitation stage, providing the sonic nostalgia without the chops or the heart to make those sounds their own. I’m pleased to say that SISTER SIN is a band that graduated from the freshman class of a few years ago, and has come into their own as band of quality with something new to say.
In the ten years since forming in Gothenburg, Sweden and especially in the last few years since recording their last album, True Sound of The Underground (Victory), the band has grown a lot. Lots of bands are influenced by the glam rock and pomp of 80s bands like MÖTLEY CRÜE and RATT, but few take it to another level. What sets SISTER SIN apart is that they write honest, anthemic Rock songs that are not contrived sounding. After a first listen to the album they now have much more in common with a old-school JUDAS PRIEST and the NWOBHM than glam. Their album starts off with the sound track-esque “MMXI”, but quickly gives way to the raucous “End of the Line”. Sharp enough to headbang to during the verses, but then opens up with a fierce and catchy chorus. Obvious from the jump off, front woman Liv Jagrell continues her evolution as a powerhouse metal singer with this album. At just under four minutes, it is just about the perfect modern rock song with all of the old touches: shredding solo, gang vocals, cheering crowd and smashing drums. “Fight Song” has a bit of that old flavor of SISTER SIN collaborator and heroine of hard rock, DORO. Jimmy Hiltula’s guitars are strong throughout the record and rely a lot less on stock sounding riffs than before, showing off a maturity I think their fans will notice. “In It For Life” has a lot of character and roughness to it, similar to a late-era THIN LIZZY. Jagrell hold nothing back vocally and in spaces does a very nice job of showing off her improved melodic range. The solo is pure Phil Campbell style: sizzling! “Hearts of Cold” is another snarling rocker that I wish the legion of GUNS `N ROSES copycats would listen to. Liv comes out swinging like a young WENDY O WILLIAMS, and that is saying a lot! That’s how you do it folks. No b.s. Just Rock and Roll! Other top songs on the album are “The Chosen Few”, “Running Low” and “Shades of Black”. The surprising and well placed album closer is a lovely ballad. “Morning After” took me completely by surprise and shows of Jagrell in yet another interesting light, with her emotionally wrought performance as one of the best of the last year.
MEGADETH have been keeping up a hellacious schedule the last few years. Riding high on the successes of relentless world tours, pumping out several albums in a row, The Rust In Peace 20th Anniversary Tour, a live DVD, the massive Big 4 shows and all that it goes with. One started thinking that all of this began to take its toll on the veteran thrash out fit this summer. Front man Dave Mustaine was injured for the last third of the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival and nearly pulled out of the New York Big Four show in September when Dave’s doctor advised him against playing with severe neck and arm injuries. Dave’s epitaph has been written many times and he is still here, kicking ass. Much like Mustaine’s entire career, the band has been driven by the need to excel professionally and musically. I worried if the time constraints on making the new MEGADETH album (according to drummer Shawn Drover when I interviewed him over the summer) would affect the quality. Shawn said no in spite of being the shortest time in the studio ever. Two months seems like an awful short time for my favorite Virgo perfectionist to make a new album, but everyone around the band echoed the same sentiment that it came out awesome. Still, I remained skeptical when I learned that some of the songs were demos and already released tracks from past albums, perhaps in a bid to save time. Then again my head told my metal heart that MEGADETH is MEGADETH and they do not compromise, ever.
The first track “Sudden Death” was leaked a few months ago and sounded impressive then, but more so now. The song is very much in the vein of recent Deth albums, full of shredding solos,tight arrangements, fast tempos and fine singing from Mustaine. The chorus has a very Countdown to Extinction catchy feel to it. I actually predicted a year ago that the band might eschew overt complexity on their next record for finer song-craft. I loved Endgame, but I felt it leaned to heavily on technical playing. “Public Enemy #1” which is about Osama Bin Laden, has also been a recent staple of the bands’ live shows. It kind of sounds a bit like “Hanger 18” in a way and is another catchy track. One of the upgrades in the sound of the band is the return of David “Junior” Ellefson to the fold. No disrespect to other guys who have held the job, but it just doesn’t sound true without Junior on bass and backing vocals. “Who’s Life (Is It Anyway?)” was the first really new track that I heard and was impressed with its urgency and originality. It has an old-school thrash and NWOBHM kind of vibe to it that I love with more cool solos from Mustaine and Chris Broderick. “We The People” is in the tradition of the the band that gave the world “Peace Sells….But Who’s Buying” and “Foreclosure of A Dream”. Of course Dave Mustaine in1986 was a lot less conservative and the this new song calls out American politicians in general, not one party. Drover really puts his stamp on this record as a top flight drummer and the right choice of player behind the kit for this band. Broderick again proves to be one of the finest axe-slingers in the game and reels off blistering lead after lead. Plus he has to keep up with Mustaine, who chips in a strong solo of his own. “Guns, Drugs, and Money” is another political jab aimed at the Mexican drug war. The pre-chorus has a great main riff, but I could care less for the pontificating nature of the lyrics. “Never Dead” is another song that was released early for a video game and is the thrashiest song on the album in the vein of the Rust In Peace album. This is the track that bears the most friuit from the bands experience playing that legendary album live for a year straight.
I’m not sure if it has to do specifically with choosing producer Johnny K (known for records by STAIND and DISTURBED), but every song on Thirteen has a cool sing-a-long chorus made for live performances. “New World Order” is another thoughtful song about the affairs of state and another stylistically typical Deth track. The rhythm section of Drover and Ellefson are particularly awesome here. This song also contains great gang vocals and several memorable leads. “Fast Lane” is exactly that; an uptempo jam. There is some awesome Mustaine right and left hand technique stuff here that knocked me out, as usual. The guy still has it where it counts. “Black Swan” originally appeared as a bonus track on United Abominations. The song has definitely been upgraded in its new form, but it is essentially the same tune with new and better playing on it. Although I love the song, I do feel like it is a bit of a re-tread at this point. “Wrekker” is a slick and heavy track in line with the bands’ most commercial leanings until the chorus kicks in. “Millennium of the Blind” apparently comes from a left-over demo from the Countdown-era and wound up released as a bonus track from Youthanasia. Starting off like a ballad and grounding down in to a metal/rock song it is the least compelling song on the album. However, some terrific lead playing redeems it before its over. Another left over track, “Deadly Nightshade” is about one of Mustaine’s favorite topics: Mrs. Wrong with whom he has a lot of experience with. Once again the signature Ellefson bass depth and tone reigns supreme, standing tall. Closing out the album and perhaps a wistful recap of their entire career, “13” has the dramatic weight Mustaine thrives on. Building up slowly like a geyser, the song rocks before long and has some fine down picked, chugging riffs that fans come to expect. Overall the album is solid and even great in some places, but I do feel as if the revamped tracks diminish the overall quality when compared to the last few albums by the group.
With the announcement of the beginning of the end of the institution of heavy metal that is the name JUDAS PRIEST means a barrage of special releases, box sets and non-stop (for the time being) tours. The question that the new release The Chosen Few begs is does “the PRIEST” really need another best-of collection? The answer is yes! Allowing some of their peers, including legends in their own right such as OZZY, LEMMY, ALICE COOPER, Lars and James from METALLICA, GEEZER BUTLER, SLASH, KERRY KING, DAVID COVERDALE as well as some more recent heroes of rock and metal was a clever move. To cull these tracks together to comprise at greatest hits collection is fresh and more than a novelty idea. It actually reinforces the legacy of this music and puts these old gems somewhat under a new light based on who is doing the selecting.
The tracks are arranged in chronological order of when they came out and highlight many of the bands most expressive tracks. Beginning with my personal favorite JP song, their cover of “Diamonds and Rust’ as chosen by Joe Elliott, the concept of the collection is clear from the beginning. The goal is to not only honor the band, but to also draw a thread of influence back to the artists that chose the track. Elliott is notable since in their early days DEF LEPPARD was widely considered “the next JUDAS PRIEST” by many until sugary pop songs and slick production derailed their more metal leanings. Next up was “Dissident Aggressor” as selected by shred king STEVE VAI. The track is certainly known for its striking riffs and soloing and makes sense that Vai would endorse it. The early tracks falling all in succession really tell the story of how influential PRIEST really was for their time. When you hear “Exciter” as chosen by ACCEPT you can understand how every part of the track really shifted the paradigm musically from mere rock music to the NWOBHM style. It makes sense that Lars Ulrich would choose “Beyond the Realms of Death” since as a teen in Denmark he saw the early lineup of the band many times. Unabashed fanatic KERRY KING chose “Delivering The Goods”. SLAYER has covered the band many times themselves. Tracks like “The Ripper” as chosen by OZZY or “Rapid Fire” as chosen by VINNY PAUL of PANTERA and HELLYEAH fame proves the lasting, generational appeal of the band. Of the more modern artists who selected the tracks like RANDY BLYTHE, ZAKK WYLDE and COREY TAYLOR, it was SLASH who set himself apart with particular distinction. He put it best when he said his “all-time favorite record is Screaming For Vengeance. It was and still is, one of the best metal records ever produced and the title track is in my humble opinion, still ahead of its time.” I couldn’t agree more. Obviously loyal collectors will want this CD, but I also think this would make a great introduction to the band for the novice fan as well.
Monument of Metal: The Very Best of ANVIL (The End Records)
Drummer Robb Reiner painted the cover art work, as seen in ANVIL: The Story of Anvil
Riding high of late, ANVIL has a new retrospective. These have been interesting times for the Ontario, Canada based band since the 2009 documentary ANVIL: The Story of Anvil. They have seen their album worked on in the movie widely released, toured the world at a much more professional and regular clip and released a decent new album in Juggernaut of Justice a few months back. Now comes a deluxe greatest hits package with re-recorded, live or remastered versions. While this is a no brainer purchase for their fan base, will the recent renewed interest help new fans find the band as much more than a novelty? Let’s find out!
The first good move was that the collection is not just from the early days, but celebrates their entire career. The songs were hand picked personally by the band, this is the best representation ever of the group’s history. These tracks are also indicative of the bands versatility of style be it proto-thrash, heavy metal or rock. When This Is Thirteen was re-released by VH1 in conjunction with the film the band re-recorded new updated versions of their classics and some of these like the bands biggest hit “Metal On Metal” sound terrific. The guitars snarl and cut through the speakers with a punch they never had on cassette and you can really here Robb Reiner’s pummeling drum strokes cut right through the din as well. However, if all the band had was one great song this collection wouldn’t be much of a collection now would it? “Winged Assassins” is a killer track from Forged In Fire. Insane riffage and furious sounds with all the touch stones of early thrash/NWOBHM music in place. This is followed by the more recent “666” which is one of the fastest and heaviest anthems the band has ever made. “Thumbhang” is next. The song was first talked about in the film as a forgotten jam and it is really cool to hear it fully realized now. The BLACK SABBATH doom meets classic metal sound here is great, as is Glenn Five’s bass licks. The Steve “Lipps” Kudrow signature lead guitar sound and choice sense of humor are still there after all this time. “School Love” and “Heat Sink” are more in line with the band’s early KISS and IRON MAIDEN fascinations with the latter being the better of the two. Then there is my favorite song by the band “March of The Crabs”. “March….” even as an instrumental is on par with all of the best early thrash anthems and that includes the mighty American Big Four as well. Lipps was ahead of the pack as a lead guitarist for his generation. A powerful and emotional song with excellent riffs and beats. “Plenty of Power” is another riff-fest in the JUDAS PRIEST mold while “Mothra” is another cool old school jam. The updated (1989) version of “Jackhammer” is miles above the original Metal On Metal version, where it was one of the better tracks back then. The title track off of Juggernaut of Justice still hasn’t sold me more since the early summer, but perhaps a stronger choice might have been “Swing Thing” or “When All Hell Breaks Loose”. The rest of the collection ranges from great: “Sins of The Flesh”, “Mad Dog”, “Fire In The Night” and “Park That Truck” to just okay songs like “Bottom Feeder”. Still, if you don’t know the band beyond the film and their “hits”, this is a fine entry point to a deeper listen that will give you insight into music that has sustained for over thirty years.
SEVEN WITCHES released their excellent new album Call Upon The Wicked in late June. We caught up with axe-slinger supreme Jack Frost to discuss the new album, music video concepts, his musical influences and what the band has planned for road in 2011. What follows in an excerpt of our chat:
MAA: Let’s talk us about the concept behind Call Upon The Wicked.
JF: Yea, I’m probably gonna get shot for this! I’ll never get laid again once I say this, but the bottom line is this whole record is kind of like, how men think with their little head sometimes and not their big head. Bottom line is it’s about how women have pretty much from beginning of time to now have destroyed so many things with men. I mean Helen of Troy: a whole empire is gone because a guy stole the kings wife. Adam & Eve: here, Adam eat the apple. The record is pretty dark. It’s all about Medusa, Lilith, it’s all about woman and like, oh god, you ready for this, how they are like a succubus! (Laughing) I show it to people and their like “dude you are never gonna get laid again”. I’m like well it’s freedom of… I’m just saying how powerful the female is. It’s crazy, but that’s pretty much the loose concept of the record man. (Laughing)
SEVEN WITCHES IN 2011, led by Jack Frost (center).
MAA: Musically I hear a lot of old school influences on this one. What were some of the songwriting goals this time out and do you think you’ve met them?
JF: Well what’s funny is the title track, the guys at first where like “oh I dunno man, that’s a little too RAINBOW-ish, DEEP PURPLE-ish”. I’m like “Nah man it’s gonna be cool, I think it’s gonna to work”. I think what happened was the last few records we got a lot of slack like ‘Ah, Jack, Jack should be in DISTURBED now or he should be in KORN’. I’m like ‘KORN?’ I don’t play like that’ but, I just… the sound on the last few records are a little bit more… modern. I never did that on purpose. It was just how you write you know. You write. I don’t sit down and go, ‘OK, today I’m going to write a song to sound like NICKELBACK’ and I just think with this record, not to say we’re back, but I say ‘where did that come from?’ When I was 13 years old what kicked my ass? Number Of The Beast, Stained Class- those kind of records were timeless. Rainbow Rising! I just thought I’d listen to like, just all 70′s metal and that’s how my head was. I just want to make a record that takes you back in time, when we were kids with our denim vests’ on just driving down the street in our beat up cars, just yelling “METAL”! And that’s pretty much what this record is all about. I really think, not too toot my own horn, but I really think I captured the instance of old metal. The new wave of British Heavy Metal, DIAMOND HEAD, that was my idea. and I can go to bed at night now going, I made a record that I can go back, that could have come out in 1981.
MAA: James Rivera really kills it the entire album on vocals. Talk about what he brings to the table compared to previous singers you have worked with?
JF: what, he brings, he brings back girls that I banged when I was in high school that we broke up and you just go, that was my real first. He just brings…. it’s like riding a bicycle me and him together. We fight, we love each other, we fight, we don’t get along sometimes, we piss each other off sometimes and I think that’s what he brings. He brings that David Lee Roth, Eddie Van Halen, that Joe Perry, that Steven Tyler. We love each other sometimes and he just brings out the best of us. James is such a great singer, and I know just how to work with James, I piss him off and I know sometimes I get under his skin, because I just know he’s so good at what he does. He brings being a true metal guy and he’s lived it his whole life and that’s what he brings to the table. He brings reality to the record. He’s never been the guy to go do a dance record or cut his hair or change the sound. He’s always been true to what he believes in and that’s what James Rivera brings to the table. True honor of what he believes in, that’s what I feel.
Jack tears it up live!
MAA: I thought the “Feel the Fire” video was excellent. There is a lot of cool military context in the images intercut with the band playing. Who’s idea was that?
JF: When we started to do a video, I was pushing for “Call Upon The Wicked” and James says “I don’t know man, Feel the Fire!” James actually said to me, he goes ‘ what with all the wars that are going on, all this stuff over the years, wouldn’t it be cool to have a video that just shows you that’. I know some Jewish people got a little pissed at us like, oh Hitler! We’re not trying to say Hitler was right, we’re trying show how war started in the beginning to the end of time. It’s all the different sides. Cowboys and Indians, that’s war. There’s Civil War and , and freakingVikings! That was James’ concept for the video. James has this great idea he started to pull all these things. I guess he had to get permission from CNN and all this stuff, to use some of this war footage. I have to say that was a cool idea by James because I was just gonna do a live video. He say ‘Nah, lets do some imagery’, and it really worked out. We work good together. Both of us had ideas that were doable, like let’s have it done live and let people see what we’re like, but let’s also go with what the song is talking about.
MAA: You are well known as a big time riffer. Who are some of your heroes on guitar?
JF: (Laughing) Dude, I’m far from the best guitar player. I’m just a fan of guitar players, I do the best that I can do. I mean there’s so many great players out there like Gus G and Michael Romeo. I wouldn’t touch those guys. Those guys are a different style of players, I’m just a riff guy and I think I’m pretty good at that, but thank you very much. (Laughing) Well I would definitely say back in the day Kerry Livgren from KANSAS kind of blew my mind with his playing. He’s a different type of player. God! Of course Tony Iommi, I mean how could you not say him? The guy was king of the riff. Ritchie Blackmore, I have to say John Sykes, I love John Sykes! I always will love John Sykes. But to me I have to say this and I’m probably gonna get shot, but to this day my favorite guitar player of all time will always be Neil Schon. He makes that guitar sing. I always tell people, oh, you wanna make fun of Neil Schon, turn on the “We’re Stars” video and watch Yngwie and watch Dave Murray and watch Brad Gillis and just watch when Neil Schon plays. How the guy just, he just tears it up! He’s not from this earth as a guitar player, that’s how I feel.
MAA: What is it like to work with Mike LePond and Joey Vera as producers?
JF: Well, I’ll always say this, Joey Vera is the fifth member of SEVEN WITCHES and always will be. He’s been with this band since Xiled to Infinity and One, he’s one of my best friends. I don’t do a record without Joey. I learned so much from him over the years and we are just the best of friends.
JF: Mike LePond, we’ve played in a cover band together. We’ve been friends for fifteen years. Bottom line is, what Mike brings to the table is something no one knows, he’s an amazing lyricist, he’s a great song writer and he’s a really good rhythm guitar player too. So, Mike’s brought so much to this table, his words were so kick ass on this record. The guy should write a fucking book. He’s so intelligent when it comes to things, and how to make words that I’ve never even heard of in my life, sound metal. I love working with the guy and he’s great. Me, him and Taz; we’ve been playing together for so long now it’s just like a natural thing. I’m so glad he’s a part of the WITCHES camp finally.
MAA: Do you have any touring plans lined up for the rest of the year?
JF: Well, right now, SYMPHONY X and HELSTAR both are in their kinda touring cycle which is really good for us because the record just came out and we kind of want to let the record sit for a few months and let people really absorb it a little bit and say, “Wow, WITCHES is back, in a big way”. That was kind of what we wanted to do. Let SYMPHONY X do their tour, let HELSTAR do their tour, and then we just want to come out with a tour, like September, October and really get out there and play. We’re looking into stuff right now, we’re looking into festivals in Europe, we’re looking to tour the states, but we want people to really listen to the record a little bit and absorb it, that’s what we’re doing. And poor James, we don’t want to have James play your area two weeks before, were it gets overbearing where people are like, “I just saw this guy”. We wanna come out with, with a really killer set. When we do tour, we’re only going to do the records we did with James, which I think is really respectful. I mean, I feel bad because a lot of the fans like some of the older stuff. But for this first run, we’re just going to do everything Rivera was involved in, for sure.
The unholy filth legion known as Midnight have never disappointed, not since this sick ‘n offensive first burst onto the scene, straight outta Ohio, back in 2003.
From the early compilation of kills Complete and Total Fucking Midnight right on through 2008′s equally killer Farewell to Hell EP, this sleazy outfit have been delivering good ol’ blackened rock ‘n roll without fail, serving somewhat as a modern day Venom: a defiantly untight and proudly blasphemous trio whose aim is complete metal blasphemy.
Satanic Royalty ups the ante set on recent splits and EPs-of which the band has recorded many over the years-while keeping all of the expected Midnight energy to expected heights…and good taste to the most bitter depths. For the new listener, Satanic Royalty basically tosses everything righteous about old Motorhead, Venom, Tank and Warfare into a NWOBHM pot, stirs it up with some early Bathory seasoning and viola!…a perfectly electric metal stew, with all the trimmings.
If you’re looking for progression or subtlety, however, forget about it. Midnight isn’t for the weak or squeamish, but rather some straight forward, to the point heavy metal with balls to spare and power from hell. Now’s just as good a time as any to become a complete and total fucking Midnight devotee, so dive into some Satanic Royalty! You’ll be glad you did.
A while back, when discussed the power of FENRIZ (DARKTHRONE) to make or break your band with his ‘Band of the Week’ column. One such fortunate band is Brooklyn old school metal purveyors NATUR. The band was receiving a huge amount of fanfare after being included as FENRIZ’ band of the week last year, even playing his first-ever LiveEvil event in London. Now, NATUR has inked a deal with Earache Records and are getting more attention than ever before.
Their latest big impact came when they were featured in popular NYC news source the VILLAGE VOICE, which also gave away an MP3 of the band’s “Spider Baby” track. For me, it’s very awesome to see a band like this getting so much acceptance in the music community. They pull no punches and still have found an audience who are really excited and very supportive of what they do. I am in awe of this band and I am beyond excited to hear what they bring to the table with their first Earache offering.
In the meantime, check out a few tracks from NATUR below. What do you think of them? Are they set to be the next big thing in the underground? Let’s hope so….
Hard to believe that Oakland’s Saviours are about to release their fourth long player, but it’s true.
When it comes to the glut of post-Sleep/High On Fire acts, Saviours and The Sword have always stood relatively high above the competition in terms of quality and honesty of execution. In particular, Saviours have proven their mettle in the live situation, offering a much more traditional/NWOBHM-influenced attack than is led on by their studio output.
Death’s Procession amps this up a little more, however, driving home the band’s much more energetic and entertaining live show within the confines of a studio record, sounding comparatively frantic ‘n crackling to the band’s earlier efforts. Less emphasis is placed on speed here, with many songs instead choosing to revel in a Trouble-meets-Priest rage, focusing their energy on dual guitar dynamics and lengthy, warm-sounding bar jams.
The vocals of guitarist Austin Barber are still a point of contention, however, as the whole ‘yelling in key’ shtick has been beaten into the ground at this point. Barber DOES tone it down a bit on Death’s Procession, however, indulging in his best early Hetfield impression with results that are, at this point, the best for which we can probably hope. Overall, this album is surprisingly enjoyable, and defies the hype machine so closely associated with this scene. Death’s Procession is solid proof that Saviours do indeed have something musically to say.
Despite the fact that this British band has been much maligned by the Beavis and Butthead crowd over the years for their undeniably cheesy apparel and overall OTT metal cliches, Droitwich’s Grim Reaper actually advertized their early career as being one of the ‘heaviest,’ ‘scariest’ and ‘most Satanic’ outfits around town.
For serious.
Having beaten out 99 other acts in a Battle of the Bands contest for the opportunity to record a demo, Grim Reaper-centered ’round guitarist Nick Bowcott, vocalist Steve Grimmett and a revolving door rhythm section-signed to Ebony Records in the early 80s and delivered the seminal See You In Hell debut in 1983.
Best known for its release during the early days of music video-with the band’s title track clip receiving much hilarious ridicule from our aforementioned MTV headbangers-See You In Hell nevertheless serves as a typical, meat and potatoes NWOBHM effort to the bone. Priding itself upon a high energy attack which pushed forward Grimmett’s piercing wail and Bowcott’s working man melodic guitar work, See You In Hell really didn’t rock the boat much with inventive ideas, yet served just fine as a simplistic, every day metal outing which featured immediate, memorable appeal.
None of the album’s eight tracks featured anything wild or crazy, yet each possessed an instantly hummable melody line and chorus which stuck in the listener’s head for days. This, alongside the album’s traditionally ‘scary’ heavy metal artwork certified that Grim Reaper would, at the very least, achieve some success amongst the denim ‘n leather faithful who were simply MAD about Thee Almighty Riff.
It’s not so strange, then, to understand that both See You In Hell and its ’85 follow up Fear No Evil would do quite well for themselves with fans, assisted by a number of corny, post-apocalyptic and/or medieval videos showcasing the band fighting against some sort of over-the-top evil invader.
All of this made Grim Reaper one of 80s metal’s bigger names, right up until the release of 1987′s Rock You To Hell, a comparatively watered down affair which showcased The Reaper setting sights on more commercially oriented pastures. Despite the album’s typically brutal artwork, Rock You to Hell followed a hairier, hair-sprayed path. This wasn’t exactly such a bad thing, however, as evidenced by “Lust For Freedom” and the supremely catchy title track, both of which struck primarily to a tried ‘n true Grim Reaper formula.
Not every fan was able to get behind such songs as “Suck it and See” or “Waysted Love,” however, and Grim Reaper slowly began to devolve into a caricature of both their prior glories, as well as the typical ‘heavy metal excess’ of the day. Largely lionized by the media, Grim Reaper effectively dissolved after Rock You to Hell, with Grimmett singing briefly for Brit thrashers Onslaught on their In Search Of Sanity LP before later forming a new version of Grim Reaper, whose apparent purpose is to solely play out these classic Reaper jams to a new, younger audience who weren’t able to see them back in the day.
Elsewhere, former guitarist Nick Bowcott has worked for the Marshall company for many years now, while also penning a monthly column for Guitar World, a nice continuation of a career which has seen its fair share of ups and downs, yet which has also undeniably had some impact upon how the world today views prototypical, raise your fist and yell heavy metal.
