Yes, alright the names a bit of a misnomer; everything on this list has been mentioned by someone at some point but never really given that much attention. Striving for a balance between all the classic 80s metal genres, featured in the onslaught are two thrash gems, a couple of Heavy Metal headbangers and a Prog/Power release that form my christmas countdown. Consider it my christmas gift to Lifer (whether you like it or not).



Blitzkrieg – A Time of Changes – 4/5
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Five Metal Classics you’ve never heard of: Number Five

Perhaps emerging a little late in the NWOBHM era, this effort coming after the small island in Europe had unleashed the likes of Riot, Maiden and Judas Priest unto the world, it was 1985 that saw Blitzkrieg release their dazzling debut, filled with plenty of anthemic chorus lines, frenzied fretwork, bombastic drums and a boisterous bass that doesn’t just sit in the back. Built almost with a stadium in mind; the overall reverberated sound wonderfully conveying a larger than life feel to the album, the simple yet superbly addictive qualities of the never ending supply of completely original sounding ideas in each track going towards creating one of the under appreciated gems of the era.

With everything coming across anthemic in style, adding just a touch more punk attitude to their sound than the average band of the time; the drumming remains consistent in their aggressive focus, clearly heard powering away at all the drums at his disposal, punching through the guitars to be heard through the frenzy, the vocals swooping and soaring with a mid-range melody that distinguishes himself from the falsetto-laden style of the day (not that he doesn’t provide his screams from time to time), superbly capable at his own style that still manages to fit with the sound created, his presence provides both emotion and attitude to the piece.

Like the vocals, the guitars too don’t feel content merely following suit with those that came before them; the dark and mysterious opening track or the almost ‘oriental folk’ like riffs in the title track showing a willing to explore with new ideas, the bass constantly maintaining the blunt attack in the background, allowing the guitars to perform from their large supply of solos at every opportunity given to them.

It is the raw atmosphere from the rough and ready ‘poor’ production value that lends it much of its character. Far from detracting from the end result, the music is perfectly capable of supporting the format, lending a personal aspect that feels as though they are performing right in front of you, and the volume levels of each instrument painstakingly balanced to perfection the impact is incredible. By modern standards this may not be considered the most innovative albums produced, but breaking from the cookie-cutter mould of NWOBHM just enough to distinguish themselves, this is one release no fan should go without.

Highlights: Blitzkrieg, Pull the Trigger, Armageddon

Who hasn't heard of this? Yes great album, but the demos are better.

son_ov_hades wrote:

Who hasn't heard of this? Yes great album, but the demos are better.

I've seen John mention them about twice and nothing else. I was led to believe not enough people knew about it or they'd appear in conversation more

son_ov_hades wrote:

Who hasn't heard of this?

Every one who never bought this.

http://www.metal-archives.com/release.php?id=2791

Or the repressing of this.

http://www.metal-archives.com/release.php?id=538

I figure that leaves out about 10 people. Good album though. A band I would like to look further into.

AarO)))n wrote:

son_ov_hades wrote:

Who hasn't heard of this?

Every one who never bought this.

http://www.metal-archives.com/release.php?id=2791

Or the repressing of this.

http://www.metal-archives.com/release.php?id=538

I figure that leaves out about 10 people. Good album though. A band I would like to look further into.

Yeah I was just about to say, once Metallica covers a band everyone knows them.

Weird. I never bothered with the covers so never knew.

*Hopes the rest aren't known by everyone too*

Rosalind wrote:

Weird. I never bothered with the covers so never knew.

*Hopes the rest aren't known by everyone too*

As long as Metallica have not covered them I think you are safe. Though it is safe to say many have heard and never bothered to go further(mainly newer Metallica fans). I myself have found every song they have ever done a cover of. I love covers and always try to find the original.

*awaits to see what is next*

Doom – Complicated Mind – 4/5
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Five Metal Classics you’ve never heard of: Number Four

Say hello to Doom. They’re a trio of Japanese musicians, which means naturally they have some sort of odd quirk; an avant-garde band of sorts, you might think doom might make up a healthy dollop of their sound, and you’d be wrong. With a sound rooted in thrash (I say rooted, its not really ‘rooted’ anywhere but thrash forms the bread and butter basis of their unconventional formula), they feel as much ‘Spiritual Beggars’ as ‘Sodom;’ with too much of a groove to their sound, a quirky bounciness to many of the riffs that almost feels stoner rock in its ability to create simple but ultimately addictive melodies that prove the perfect launchpad for whatever direction they desire.

The guitars deal much of the damage with their versatile attack, playing everything from a psychadelia-laden slow placed melodies, gently bending notes to create floyd-like rhythms, great care taken to demonstrate that brief period of melancholy only to break out into a blackmore-like shredded solo that feels perfectly in tune to the rapidly shifting sounds created. He is also responsible for the vocals, less growled as much as yelled frantically over the cacophany behind him, he lends his rough and ready tone to the proceedings with an unashamed willing to vary in style and aggression to suit the passage at hand.

Complemented superbly by the fretless bass work from Morota, doubling as both bass and rhythm (particularly during the solos) and the frenetic drumming, both are superbly produced (the bass is perhaps a little too quiet, heard but rarely prominent) in this foray into unfamiliar territory. Whilst many strong thrash influences emerge, it never feels as though it was trying to attain that same rebellious attitude, instead utilising that same energy in a flurry of broken english and varying tempos to demonstrate a dissonant internal struggle of emotions, chaotically fluctuating like a stroppy teenager going from melodramatic to weepy back to bouncy all in the space of a minute.

You couldn’t pin a better album title to this; a ‘complicated mind’ describing precisely what you’ll find within, all the time shifting and transforming from all out aggression to melancholy, the cheery face you put on in the company of others all too readily shifting into something more sinister. If this had been the origins of ‘groove metal’ I dont think anyone would have minded, and the only real disappointment from these nutters are the closing moments, taking a further step into the bizarre and losing much of their insatiable groove in the process, resulting in a somewhat disjointed finalé to an otherwise superb release.

R.I.P. Koh Morota (1999)

Highlights: Complicated Mind, Bright Light, Can’t Break My Without You

Seeing how well that one went down, I'm betting this wont do any better but since I've already written it:



Gargoyle – Misogi – 4.5/5
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Five Metal Classics you’ve never heard of: Number Three

In the year of thrash; Slayer brought out “Seasons in the Abyss,” Megadeth “Rust in Peace,” Bathory’s “Hammerheart” and Acid Drinkers’ “Are You a Rebel” all in 1990. By any measure it was a good year for the genre, and in the shadow of the ultra-aggressive and punk-filled chaos came the wave of Japanese thrash lending their own brand of insanity, this debut filled with slow emotional solo’s, classical interludes, neo-classical shredded guitars, groove-laden bass-work, flailing drums and nonsensical falsetto rasps; like an old school thrash version of ‘Diablo Swing Orchestra,’ this is thrash but not as you know it.

Saxophones and jazzy guitars, piano interludes and randomly interspersed female backing vocals (once from the lips of a small child), sombre violins and whispering flutes complementing the emotion-laden guitars in a rare absence of vocals only to be abruptly ended when the vocalist becomes aggravated about the lack of gas (apparently). To really get a grasp of what is presented here is not easy to concisely describe; even the vocals sound unlike anyone else I can care to name, perhaps an odd combination of ‘Gama Bomb’ and ‘The Mighty Mighty Bosstones,’ if they both happened to be Japanese. The thrash resemblance at times wearing extraordinarily thin, it is nonetheless the only safety line this band seems to have in creating a coherent song, often settling into mid-paced rhythms only to go off on a tangent at a moments notice.

The bass prominent in creating the rhythm, it performs a vital duty in maintaining the structure of the track (because none of the other three musicians are going to) allowing the guitars to do everything from swaggering chords, jazz-like twanging tremolo-laden riffs and blues-like crunchy tones, excelling with further variety during the solos; from the slow and melodic to the slayer-esque shredding and malmsteem’s neo-classical, always somehow oddly suited to the track at hand. There is none of this muddy production either; of particular note is the incredible impact the drums manage to convey, unafraid of using the full extent of the drums before him, the cymbals never become overpowering and the toms never become lost behind the snare.

In some senses, this album feels so varied that it loses much of the coherency, only the distinct energetic vocals tying everything together and making them instantly recognisable through all the classical and jazz passages. They have broad influences and know how to incorporate them all in such a manner as to make bouncy, energetic and aggressive music that stands up to multiple listens. There really is nothing quite like them, and despite this unconventional amalgamation of styles boast a career spanning two decades, with only two line-up changes and a back catalogue without any weakness (to my knowledge), Gargoyle are unquestionably one of those unsung metal bands that deserved their name in lights a long time ago.

Highlight: Bala Bara Vara, Purple Heaven, 人形の森

Anthem – Hunting Time – 5/5
Link

Five Metal Classics you’ve never heard of: Number Two

Amidst the cries of the big Japanese bands, ‘Loudness’ and ‘Galneryus’ given plenty of mention these days, it is perhaps surprising that nobody seems to mention Anthem. Formed around a similar time, and frequently sharing members with ‘Loudness,’ what separates them is the speed; like an early ‘Blind Guardian’ the furious drumming and impeccable production leaving a thick and heavy tone retaining all the melody that their name would allude to whilst still capable of belting out head banging riffs with the best. Accept might be as fast as shark but even they’d have a hard time matching up to the full blown stampede on display here.

Picking apart flaws in this line-up is made incredibly difficult by the fact everyone knows their place; the drums roar furiously in the production, raw and energetically setting the quick pace for the rest of the band to match; the bass punching through to set the rhythm like he has something to prove, and the combination of these two allow for a great deal of versatility in the focal points. Despite the vocals being sung almost entirely in their native Japanese tongue, they are the only real giveaway of their origins and yet impressively they fail diminish the memorability of the passionate mid ranged sing-a-long melodies as he dramatically soars authoritatively.

Yet what makes this artist stand from the other leagues of excellence is the masterwork from the phantom guitarist, leaving the band shortly after completing this release (for photography due to a hearing condition sadly) never to play guitar professionally again. An unrelenting display off riffs playing against the bass guitar, he is one of the fewer Japanese guitarist not to simply submit to the over neo-classical shredding, capable of creating incredibly powerful melodies combining speed with style, perhaps more akin to ‘Schenker’ than many other virtuoso guitarists.

With only eight tracks clocking in at a meager 37 minutes you could argue for it being a little too short, but that’s simply because there’s no fat. Everything’s been trimmed to provide an unrelenting assault of Heavy Metal bliss, but what impresses me perhaps the most about this band is not just that they seem to have gone by unnoticed, but that they have done so for over two decades. Releasing ‘Black Empire’ just last year, the production’s improved but the music is just as impressive; insane solo’s and soaring ‘Kursch’s-Lost-Japanese-Twin’ vocals galore, showing a evolution of their sound. They may not be breaking any conventions here, but when the musics this good why change?

Crimson Glory – Transcendence – 5/5
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Five Metal Classics you’ve never heard of: Number One

In that time before ‘progressive metal’ had its sound typified by Dream Theatre, and when ‘Power Metal’ was a term that had yet to really come into fruition, this artist capable of transcending the genre boundaries arrived, the influences of the musical styles just a short way in the future overflowing from each track. Seemingly capable of tackling everything from ‘Helloweens’ melodic banshee screams (‘Lady of Winter’), Maiden-like aggressive riffs (‘Red Sharks’) and emotional ‘Redemption’ like acoustic ballads (‘Painted Skies’), that’s just how the album begins.

And it is this immense variety that results in such a major strength to this piece, still feeling a complete entity, instantly recognisable by ‘Midnight’ McDonald’s unique brand of vocals as they melodically soar and scream in a relentless display of emotional energy, powerfully reaching unbelievable falsetto highs that puts others to shame. Yet, he is still capable of performing in a distinctive, altogether softer mid-range that so rarely seems frequented by the many recent masters of the falsetto; all the time complemented by the drummer’s insatiable appetite for his fills and rolls, prominently heard pounding away in the crisp yet raw production, never content with merely sticking to the beat laid before him.

Developing the melodies through the combination of the three guitars, the lead alternating between the soft acoustic melodic ballads (which come in no short supply) and the rhythmic electric, reminding us of the days before bands performed neo-classical shredded solos at every opportunity and instead seeming to become so entranced by his own melody that he forgets he’s meant to have finished, forcing the vocalist to do battle to return the focus. With this mini-duel occurring, the deep bombastic groove of the bass plunders on playing a prominent role beside the rhythm of the guitars, harmonising with one another to provide that all important grounded feeling to the track at hand.

Sticking their neck out briefly into political territory for ‘Red Sharks,’ the powerful imagery in ‘burning bridges,’ or the existential contemplation in ‘Transcendence,’ the lyrics haven’t been shown any less attention than the instrumentation, meticulously produced to allow each of the instruments to flourish. What’s left to say other than not only was this release ahead of its time, but manages to do a better job than the vast majority of others to arrive in their wake; a lost late-80s gem that should have been remembered alongside the greats. Who’d have guessed ‘Roadrunner’ would have something worth owning in their back catalogue?

R.I.P. John Midnight McDonald (July 2009)

Highlights: I gave up trying to choose when I realised only ‘In Dark Places’ and ‘Eternal World’ weren’t listed.

Astra – The Wierding – 4.5/5
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I admit it, I screwed up. The christmas special was intended to finish on the 24th, but about 2 days in I realised it would finish a day early so to compensate I had to think fast. Coming in as a recently discovered impressive debut from a supergroup of “Yes” and “King Crimson” members comes the bonus! 80 minutes of epic prog rock goodness with 4 tracks over 10 minutes long (and two over 15)! Sweeping psychedelic melodies galore, riffs swooning and vocals soaring as though the last thirty years had never actually happened and…and…

Alright fine. Its not actually a Yes/Crimson supergroup that somehow snuck under the radar, but it might as well be; unashamedly retro, you could easily be forgiven for mistaking this as some early 70s release, but in truth this Californian quintet begain making waves with this release as late as last summer. With a strong instrumental focus comprising of space-like Floyd or Hawkwind psychedelia streaming from the guitars, all the time complemented by the rhythm behind him, bass and drums seamlessly worked into the slowly shifting soundscape created as it gently meanders its epic course. It’s a little bit of shock to the system when the vocals finally kick in after so long, produced in what feels like the same manner as the classics themselves, their ever so slightly crackly tone only enhancing the atmosphere.

But its not just the core either, an album of this length has pulled out all the stops in creating many different styles in their repetoire. The occasional liberal helping of minimoog bringing fond flashbacks of listening to Yes’s “Roundabout,” or King Crimson’s flute work with more than a couple additions of Jethro Tull’s folk like atmosphere, and yet for all this versatility, it eventually does feel as though its dragging its heels a little. The music is superbly composed, but its length makes this an album you need to go in headstrong and alert, charging in full pelt to make it through to the other side. This is not easy listening and many may find themselves struggling to make it through the entire release in one sitting (myself included).

From tracks like ‘Broken Glass’ which wouldn’t have felt out of place on a ‘Beatles’ album; short yet oddly simplistic and poignant, and all the more beautiful for its deceptive haunting melodies, to the lengthy title track still capable of maintaining its momentum like a lost Crimson epic; for all its combination of styles taken from prog rock’s glory days it never comes off as a mere imitation, instead serving to remind us of how powerful the genre used to be. If this was released 30 years ago there is no question in my mind that this album would be mentioned alongside “In the Court of the Crimson King” and “The Wall.” Late is indeed, far far better than never.

Highlights: The Weirding, Broken Glass, Beyond to Slight the Maze

Crimson Glory hell yeah! This band is seriously underrated, thanks for this I'll have to go back and listen to them again.