Although the last few times we “looked beyond the darkside” of metal we were having a laugh, it's not only comedy that defines the lighter side of this music. In just the same way as the Hell's Angels are generally looked on as badass bikers you do NOT want to cross, but may take disadvantaged children for picnics (do they do that? They probably do), it's often not expected that heavy metal artistes will get involved in charity projects, but they have, at least once that I know of.
Originally the brainchild of Dio men Jimmy Bain and Vivian Campbell, Hear'n'Aid (geddit?) was a response from the metal community to the likes of Band Aid and USA for Africa. Metallers are, after all, also people and deplore the injustices in the world, usually through their music, and like anyone else they want to do what they can to lessen the suffering on this planet, and one of the major treatable causes of most of the maladies afflicting our less well-off brothers and sisters is the spectre of hunger.
So, to try to raise money to combat famine in Africa, Bain and Campbell enlisted the aid of their boss, the late Ronnie James Dio, and soon bands like Iron Maiden, Accept, Y&T, Kiss, Motorhead, Rush and the Scorpions, to name but a small few, were getting involved. The result was an album of songs whose profits were to be split between famine relief for Africa and Dio's own project to help runaway children, Children of the night.
The finished project was the album “Stars”, with the title track written and performed by the Dio team, who also contributed a live version of “Hungry for Heaven” to the album. I'm not going to be reviewing the album, mostly because it's primarily comprised of live versions of songs you probably already know backwards, like “Heaven's on fire” by Kiss, “The zoo” by the Scorps and “Up to the limit” by Accept. But the project raised a cool million for famine relief, with the proceeds divided as I mentioned, and remains one of the only times, to date, that metal artistes have come together in the name of a good cause that wasn't a tribute to a fallen comrade.
Who says headbangers have no hearts?
Stars --- Hear'n'Aid --- 1985
TRACKLISTING
1. Stars (Hear'n'Aid)
2. Up to the limit* (Accept)
3. On the road* (Motorhead)
4. Distant early warning* (Rush)
5. Heaven's on fire* (Kiss)
6. Can you see me (Jimi Hendrix Experience)
7. Hungry for Heaven* (Dio)
8. Go for the throat* (Y&T)
9. The zoo* (Scorpions)
(* = indicates a live version)