I have a lot of respect for what Heavy Artillery is doing for the old school, traditional and heritage metal scenes, releasing such stellar power/thrash gems as Sign of the Jackal whilst remaining unerringly true to their metallic cause. All too often, however, I see new releases from bands like Midnight Chaser and just shake my head. Arriving with faux ironic 80s cover art-which is bright, ironic and laughably terrible-Rough and Tough claims 70s inspired hard rock roots, but the depth of execution really leaves a bit to be desired, despite the points earned for taking their name from a White Spirit song.
Yikes.
Musically speaking, the guitar abilities of Stephen Lauck are workmanlike and effective-if a bit simplistic-evoking positive memories of Saxon, Thin Lizzy and Diamond Head at times, while the vocals of Scott Attwood are a bit nasal, but succeed in a manner which is half Bob Mayo (Wargasm) and half Kevin Heybourne (Angel Witch). In more recent news, it seems as if ex-Mordred/Laaz Rockit axeman Sven Soderlund has joined the band’s ranks on second guitar, so perhaps the sophomore effort will pack a bit stronger punch.
For as it stands now, it’s the silly songs like “Cougar’d” which really bring Midnight Chaser down, sounding more like Steel Panther/Darkness styled cheese than anything forged in fire or baptized in steel. Missteps like this-combined with the one-dimensional, unimaginative direction of the songwriting-make Rough and Tough a difficult album to recommend to anyone other than those with low standards for their 70s/80s retro rock.
They say that sometimes from tragedy, great things can arise.
In the case of Virginia’s Twisted Tower Dire, the terrible loss of vocalist Tony Taylor has resulted in the band’s reforging in steel to release Make It Dark: easily the band’s finest hour.
Although some of the band’s older fans may lament the bright, heavy production and less orthodox song structures-the trad metal group having always possessed much in common with the ‘trve kult’ sect, whether they’d like to believe it or not-Make It Dark looks primed and poised to escape from the indie metal underground to deliver something even MORE true: mainstream presence and exposure.
There is an engaging, classic rock sensibility to be mined from songs like “Snow Leopard,” whose exquisite, Thin Lizzy-worshiping guitar heroics are legit to the absolute bone. Much praise needs to be heaped upon new singer Johnny Aune, whose strong and tuneful vocals are easily the band’s finest and most memorable to date. To be totally honest, Twisted Tower Dire have always suffered from mediocre vocal performances, hampering the band’s otherwise commendable metal efforts. With Aune on board, the circle seems to be complete, and Twisted Tower Dire can finally shine.
Anchored by super-bassist Jim Hunter’s impossibly fluid lines and rock-solid backup, the riffs of guitarists Scott Waldrop (While Heaven Wept) and Dave Boyd (Volture) are firmly in charge here on Make It Dark, re-presenting Twisted Tower Dire as one of the best hidden traditional metal acts in America today.
For this NWOBHM Spotlight, Gems has decided to go with something a bit more obscure before venturing back into our beloved Brit metal classics, the little known 80s collective known as Dragster.
This little English group could easily get lost in the NWOBHM shuffle, particularly when given their extremely limited output. Indeed, apart from the excellent British Steel compilation The Very Best of Dragster-an odd title, that-there exists only one official single, the Ambitions 7″ for Heavy Metal Records, released waaaay back in ’81.
Strangely enough, only the title track is included on this Very Best compilation, omitting the single’s B-side “Won’t Bring You Back,” in favor of Dragster’s late 80s lineup work.
Luckily for us, this rare material kicks all kinds of ass, even if the lion’s share of it is only available here on The Very Best of Dragster. The comp is well worth tracking down, however, containing nineteen solid tracks of workmanlike metal, clocking in at over an hour of power.
Musically, Dragster is rough an’ ready for action, keeping time with what was, for the time, a very cutting edge and energetic form of heavy rock/metal. Although the band kicked up the speed for gems like “Bite the Bullet” and the aforementioned “Ambitions,” Dragster also feels right at home kicking back with some bass-driven jams of mid-tempo hard rock. Each song sounds better than the last, mixing up the furious lead guitar and powerful riff arsenal of guitarist Andy Trafford with vocalists Glenn Whatmough and Derick Pickles (yeah, that’s right) leading the triumphant charge to glory.
Sadly unappreciated yet sorely underrated, it’s this excellent balance of Steve Grant’s double kick fury and the band’s top notch songwriting chops which make Dragster a truly memorable footnote within the annals of Britain’s blessed NWOBHM movement.
Although the New Wave of British Heavy Metal is a celebrated movement amongst critical heavy metal sects, many fans have only familiarized themselves with the most legendary and iconic of its acts.
While Maiden, Motorhead, Def Leppard, Saxon and Diamond Head are all certifiable legend of steel-laden progress, there also exist countless other acts-many of whom released nary a single before falling sadly into obscurity-who also deserved a proper shot at the big time. Gems’s NWOBHM Spotlight will seek to expose a few of those for you to these bands, in the hopes that some might seek out the various reissues of this material currently making the heritage rounds these days.
Our first profile will be a relatively well-known little act by the name of Jaguar, who released their minor classic debut Power Games in March of ’83. Although the band is still tentatively active these days-having released a handful of follow-up LPs throughout the 90s and early millennium-its Power Games which serves as the band’s true legacy, being a rough ‘n ready picture of working class Britain’s take on heavy rock in the early 80s.
Featuring galloping, near-speed metal tempos, blazing riffs, devil-may-care solos and the cracking wail of vocalist Jamie Manton, Jaguar’s Power Games is right up there with Savage’s Loose ‘n Lethal as one of the 80s should-have-been-bigger albums from a band whose career arc certainly started in blower fashion before sadly losing visibility in latter years.
Shame, really, because Power Games is a really varied release which feels just at home in semi-power ballad territory (“Master Game”) as it does on breakneck proto-thrash (“The Fox”). Of course, every band needs to have its prerequisite anthem, as well, and Jaguar certainly had theirs in the form of “Dutch Connection,” a rip-roaring barnburner which still stands as one of the best singles ever unearthed by the NWOBHM boom.
Luckily for treasure hunters, many of these NWOBHM rarities have been reissued in one form or another, many by the legendary genre home Neat Records, so it isn’t TOO difficult to track down CD copies of these gems! In the meantime, look for more Gem Spotlights real soon!
Well, they’re a New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) institution, for one; a rough ‘n ready bastion of heavy metal power and glory.
However, it’s always made me a little sad when I think about how under-appreciated the boys in Saxon seem to be, compared to their higher profiled contemporaries in Maiden, Motorhead, Diamond Head and Def Leppard.
I mean, Saxon were easily on the front lines of the NWOBHM movement, same as of the aforementioned. While it’s true that the band has legions of fans all across the world-not to mention the respect and appreciation of countless journalists and musical historians-there is just something tangible about Saxon which apparently keeps worldwide recognition just out of reach.
That ‘something’ just may be the band’s dodgy fashion sense and er, ‘British’ working man looks. Though the early 80s weren’t exactly the audio/visual playground we enjoy today, the fact that Saxon have never been the most photogenic of lads most certainly didn’t help matters any, either.
But who cares? The band’s 1979 self-titled debut was a surprisingly confident showing, while followup standout Saxon albums such as 1980′s double shot of Wheels of Steel and Strong Arm of the Law solidified the band’s reputation as a go to act for heavy metal thunder. There’s a certain baseness to Saxon’s riffing style; a meat-and-potatoes bluster which possesses a similarly modern aesthetic to early Maiden, yet without any high brow tendencies whatsoever. Instead, the aforementioned ‘working man’ atmosphere is instead transposed into the band’s comparatively and respectably simplistic arrangements.
The iconic anthem ‘Denim and Leather’ is a great example of this tack; a shaggy-headed, one-eyed riff monster which practically screams out one’s typical ‘young, dumb and full of cum’ idea of an 80s metalhead, cardboard guitar and all. Meanwhile, 1983′s The Power and The Glory proved that Saxon had it in them to unleashed a monster fist-pumper of their own, in the tradition of Maiden’s own ‘The Trooper.’
The Power and The Glory’s title track practically encapsulates Saxon’s greatness in just over three minutes, while other album highlights such as “The Town Rocks” and “Watching the Sky” proved beyond a doubt that the lightning of Saxon’s early career didn’t just strike twice.
1984′s Crusader continued this trend, while even Saxon’s 1985 ‘sell out’ glam album Innocence is No Excuse featured a number of standouts, the strongest of which was the epically catchy “Rock ‘n Roll Gypsy.”
While the band would make some bad career choices and stylistic stumbles over the years-opening up 1988′s Destiny with a Christopher Cross cover most definitely being one of them-the metal thunder of Saxon has remained fairly strong over the years, with the band’s frenetic live show retaining each and every bit of its original electricity.
There have been some impressive Saxon studio efforts within the past decade, as well-2001′s Killing Ground for example-proving that these old Dogs of War still know how to Unleash the Beast and Rock the Nations.
SAXON frontman Biff Byford writes on SAXON’s official website: “Got passes to see Lady Gaga for my daughter, but she couldn’t go so I went with our agent, Steve. As we walked backstage, we met the manager of heavy metal DJ Lady Starlight and a couple of members of the support act SEMI-PRECIOUS WEAPONS and they invited us back to the dressing room for a drink. As we drained our glasses, we said thanks and say hello to Lady Gaga from us.
“The show was great, we went off to the backstage bar for another drink. Suddenly Lady Starlight came in and said that Lady Gaga would like to meet us. Tthen we had a fantastic 50 minutes with Miss Gaga, who is a massive heavy rock fan and SAXON fan talking everything rock. She’s a great lady and it was a great privilege to meet her.”
Wild Power (Dark Lore/Stormspell)
Chalk up another victory for Storm Spell Records and its Dark Lore imprint, which is “dedicated to new releases by active bands.” Wild Power from Spain’s STEEL HORSE is another gem and exactly the kind of traditional metal release in which the label specializes. Nothing original here, but all of it is well done heavy metal in the truest sense and a damn good time at that.
Taking influence from a cross section of NWOBHM acts like TYGERS OF PAN TANG and SAXON, as well as a range of others like German stalwarts ACCEPT, STEEL HORSE brings solid, catchy songwriting, hot riffs, and an updated, yet roots-based sound that is crisp, sharp, and screaming to the heavens. Demonstrative of the blend of styles is “Burning Soul,” a track that crosses the riff heaviness of ACCEPT with the tolerable end of 80s hair metal, punctuated by one of Jorge Cortes’ glass shattering wails. Cortes’ vocal approach is otherwise reminiscent of EDGUY’s Tobias Sammet, the German band one whose translation of trad-metal can be heard on several songs here as well. Take “Line of Fire” for example. Other cuts incorporate the music of groups such as the SCORPIONS’ (Love at First Sting era), mainly on “Winds of Time,” but overall the approach taken by STEEL HORSE is influence-based without being poor imitation or devoid of identity.
The best part is that there are no misses to speak of on Wild Power, only the occasional so-so effort (e.g. “Raise Your First”) and even then momentum never wanes and the fist-pumping good times abound. The Spanish clan plays it like they mean it and write some pretty darn good songs in the process. Now get on your STEEL HORSE and ride! Or something like that anyway.
SABATON hails from Falun, Sweden, for those of you that don’t know, they’ve been around for over a decade, since 1999 to be exact. They are known for their war themed lyrics, taking their inspiration for various battles, and wars. That being said, they tend to focus on World War II the most.
As a result, you can definitely hear the obvious influences of Iron Maiden and Saxon, along with hints of keyboards that have become popular in female fronted bands like Within Temptation, and Nightwish (to name a few), or groups like Symphony X, and Kamelot. That said, SABATON are nowhere near as technical as the latter two bands, which I wouldn’t necessarily consider this a bad thing. Their lead singer Joakim Broden does not sound remotely like any of the bands mentioned, and adds a nice twist to the band’s music.
The album’s opening three tracks are in my opinion the best songs on the album. The album starts out with the title track “Coat Of Arms” before going into “Midway” which to me is the strongest track of this record. This track is then followed up by “Uprising” before moving forward through a series of less memorable songs. They’re not bad, just ok at best, the only issue here is that the end of the album (the last three tracks to be exact), are just to generic in my opinion. Don’t get me wrong the album is entertaining, but towards the end it falls into the pitfalls of sounding like a lot of the other music that is currently coming out of Scandinavia. Again, nothing wrong with that, but it just doesn’t hold my attention at that point.
The standout of the album is defiantly lead singer Joakim Broden, adding a different approach to what you would be accustomed to by what some would consider a “power metal” band . Coat Of Arms does start out strong but ends up sounding less engaging as the album progresses. Would recommend the album to anyone that enjoys any of the aforementioned bands listed above.
“It was just a self centered venture to make a band like I would want to be in and to write songs,” says bassist Jon Leon about his forming of WHITE WIZZARD in 2007. That certain kind of band turned out to be one heavily influenced by the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, yet the music of WHITE WIZZARD is not some modern twist on the storied NWOBHM style. While the musical blueprint followed is not exactly obscure, WHITE WIZZARD pays tribute to the beloved era with distinction and verve, rather than second rate mimicry. One needs only spin new full-length Over the Top to hear loud and clear a collection of traditional heavy metal songs written for maximum memory retention and delivered with power; in other words, with cheese-free catchiness and balls.
Leon’s vision led to the inclusion of a song on Earache’s Heavy Metal Killers compilation and the release of WHITE WIZZARD’s High Speed G.T.O. EP. “It was meant to be a high-end demo and a starting point,” explains Leon about the EP. “Earache came in after the first lineup dissolved and when I was forming the second lineup. They liked the songs and the vision and they wanted to put a song on Heavy Metal Killers too.”
And therein lay the rub, that is, the “second lineup” rub. Momentum had been gained and the band’s profile rose with the quick ascension from independent act to one with an EP released on heavyweight Earache and a song on a well known trad-metal compilation, yet by that time the original lineup had already imploded. A lesser person would have packed it in and shipped off to the land of 9-to-5 routine. Not Leon. He stuck to his artistic vision, revamped the lineup, and ended up recording an even better album in Over the Top, one that retains the infectiousness of its predecessor, yet showcases a more dynamic, mature, and muscular approach to composition. As Leon readily admits, sticking to your guns has its benefits, even if it requires drastic structural alterations.
“Old members wanted to do different stuff and were not behind my vision, which was pretty headstrong. We also had some personality conflicts. They went another direction and I kept going with a new lineup on the Over the Top record. The lyrics for the song “Over the Top” are actually about climbing the mountain and shooting for the highest goal; stick with it and take it over the top. The meaning is self-inspiring. So I just kept writing and progressing and that is where it is at now.” (more…)
