Unknown Soldier

Overview
The ‘heavy movement’ of this period was undoubtedly dominated by British acts, who had shown a far greater level of both commercial success and innovation within the genre, just think both Black Sabbath and Deep Purple here in terms of innovation and Led Zeppelin taking the blues to its heavy conclusion. The only US acts that could compete here were Grand Funk Railroad in commercial terms and recent breakthrough Alice Cooper in terms of innovation, but neither of these bands were seen as actual pioneers of the American proto-metal movement. This honour would fall to established acts like Blue Cheer and Mountain, along with newer bands like the previously featured Sir Lord Baltimore and Dust. Like Sir Lord Baltimore, Dust were another New York based outfit and like Sir Lord Baltimore were a three piece band and in additional member Kenny Kerner they had a lyricist and a producer. The one thing all these bands had in common though, was the tendency to operate as power-trios and the power-trio that Dust most aspired to sounding like, surely had to be Mountain and across the band’s minimal two album discography, there are strong links to the Mountain sound. Their first album which featured on my “Albums that missed the cut……” section for 1971, had seen the band put out a decent effort and the album had a definite Mountain influence to it. Their sophomore effort Hard Attack, would be an all-round more accomplished effort and despite its heavy leaning title, the band mixed in quite a few quieter moments and showed that they had real song writing qualities to match their all-out assault, and they certainly weren’t afraid to mix up the diversity either. Whilst the band would never achieve any real success, the band members would go on to other projects, with Kenny Kerner and Richie Wise forming a production team, who of course would go on to produce the first two Kiss albums a few years later, Kenny Aaronson would join Stories and Marc Bell would eventually wind up several years later as Marky Ramone! On a final note, the album cover of Hard Attack was extremely forward thinking for its time and would not have looked out of place ten years later in the era of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) or even as an album cover for a 1980s power metal band!

Richie Wise- Guitar/Vocals
Kenny Aaronson- Bass
Marc Bell- Drums

Production- Kenny Kerner

Album
Pull Away/So Many Times- Starts off with a gentle acoustic intro before the pace really picks up and leads us into quite a frantic song, before sweeping us back into another gentle interlude and then finally moving into heavier territory. Walk in the Soft Rain- A great example of the band’s songcraft, as gentle sections are meshed in with heavier sprinklings, this is really an accomplished song. Thusly Spoken- A slow moving song and I’m guessing that the listener by now, is probably wondering if this is actually a proto-metal album……listen on and find out. Learning to Die- Now we move into true heavy territory and this is a great song, even if it sounds amazingly at times like Mountain’s “Nantucket Sleighride” and in many ways sounds like a seminal heavy track of its era. All in All- Just a typical mid-album rocker, solid but nothing special. I Been Thinkin- Another quieter track before the album moves into its thumping instrumental effort. Ivory- A stunning instrumental set of less than 3 minutes, as the band show just what accomplished musicians they are, with some great guitar and drum work. How Many Horses- The most offbeat and unexpected track on the album and has a subtle country feel to it as well. Suicide- A stomping track that is truly heavy and amazingly covers similar ground to the “Suicide” track recorded by Stray a year earlier and also reminds me of the “Crazy Horses” track by the Osmonds, strangely enough also recorded in 1972. Entanco- A gentle acoustic outro.

Verdict
This again is another album that may not appeal to quite a few listeners and I’m guessing that anybody unfamiliar with the band, may not get what they might have expected from reading the overview and seeing the album title and its cover! Sure the listener will find the heaviness of Sir Lord Baltimore here, the sonic assault of Mountain, but they might not be expecting the numerous softer tracks, which sound far removed at times from a band of their ilk. The term accredited to the album ‘proto-metal’ might well be misleading as well thanks to the progressive elements featured here, but one thing is certain though, is that this band could be heavy when they wanted to. They could be heavy in an all-out assault style like Sir Lord Baltimore on the superb “Learning to Die” or on the instrumental “Ivory" but also in a much slower more methodical way and this style is very much in evidence on “Suicide”, which in turn makes some of the softer tracks like “Thusly Spoken” a real delight on the ears. Listening to this album, reveals quite a different band from some of their American counterparts, as they really had a flair for the melodic and songcraft, rather than a straight-up sonic assault and had they stayed together as a band, they may well have moved out of heavy territory and into softer terrain. As a band they could play and in frontman Richie Wise they had a stellar guitarist who could play a certain number of styles, but he was probably best highlighted on the “Learning to Die” and “Suicide” tracks. Overall the album is a great example of a band combining heavy numbers with quieter numbers and really demonstrating a contrast between the two styles. Another trick the band used to great effect on Hard Attack, is that you never really know what kind of track could be coming up next, whether it’s a gentle interlude or a real power drill effort, which really adds interest to the album. Dust as a band never really got off the ground and this album is one of those almost forgotten American proto-metal classics (if proto-metal is the right word for them) that has stayed locked away….. in a long forgotten musical vault.

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Metal Wars

Power Metal

Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

Trollheart

Weren't these guys later employed on Molly Hatchet's album covers?

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Unknown Soldier

They could've been, but I'd say the Molly Hatchet covers share more with Manowar, as they all seem to feature the power of the male species.

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Metal Wars

Power Metal

Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

Unknown Soldier

(All the rest of the albums for the year were so special, that it was hard at times to seperate them quality wise and on a different day I may even put them into different positions, so here are the top six)

Overview
For many a year, I often thought of this album as a live album, this was largely due to its concert style cover and its album title……which of course all look exactly how I imagined a live album to be. But when I finally got into Trapeze many years later, I quickly found that this was a studio set and in fact their second best studio album after the classic Medusa set (see 1970 list) Since the release of that majestic Medusa album, Trapeze hadn’t released anything in 1971 and they eventually returned on a very strong footing in 1972 with their excellent third album You Are the Music…We’re Just the Band. In many ways I wasn’t actually quite certain if this album actually belonged in the main list, I’m not speaking quality wise here, but more album genre and feel, as a lot of the material is basically softer compositions, that really outweigh the heavier material 2 to 1. The band of course were no strangers to this sound, as on the Medusa album, they had superbly fused in softer elements on several songs, none more so than on “Jury” which serves as a great example of this characteristic on that album. On You Are the Music…We Are the Band, the band don’t really tend to fuse harder and softer elements into the same song, but have gone for the more straightforward approach of a harder number and then a softer number etc, which in many ways makes this album a far more straight-forward effort than the previous Medusa. This album though, would sadly prove to be their last with the classic line-up of Glenn Hughes, Mel Galley and Dave Holland. In the wake of this album, Glenn Hughes would go onto replace Roger Glover in Deep Purple, which was certainly a move by him to hit the big time, which sadly wasn’t going to happen with Trapeze and he would do this at the expense of leaving behind his far more primary and pivotal role in Trapeze. He would of course return briefly for a second stint but by then the spark had been long lost. Trapeze themselves would produce this album, which ended John Lodge of Moody Blues tenure with the band. The album also features some interesting guest-spots from artists such as the B.J Cole, Rod Argent and Jimmy Hastings amongst others.

Glenn Hughes- Bass/Vocals
Mel Galley- Guitar/Vocals
Drums- Dave Holland

Production- Trapeze

Album
Keepin’ Time- One of the album’s principal rockers and very much a perfect example of the band rocking out, the song has a great funky beat throughout and is a great album opener. Coast to Coast- A slow track that is beautifully penned and a track that suits Glenn Hughes to a T and a real highlight of the album. What is A Woman’s Role?- One of the most soulful tracks ever put out by the band and in many ways reminds me of signature future Toto tune, this is a great song in every aspect and essential. Way Back to the Bone- The fourth great track in a row and we’re in harder rocking territory again and some really great playing by Mel Galley especially in the second half of the track. Feelin’ So Much Better Now- Another good and steady middle album track, that very much sounds like a typical Humble Pie song from the era. Will Our Love End- Another one of the slower tracks on the album, an impressive track that might not have the interest of some of the other softer tracks on the album, as it relies more on basic song structure and accompaniments. Loser- A soulful harder rocking song, which again really highlights the raspy voice of Glenn Hughes on these type of songs. You Are the Music…We’re Just the Band- An instantly recognizable title track, that really has a live feel to it and always reminds me of something that the Doobie Brothers would be doing a few years later.

Verdict
This album sits next to Medusa as the best album that the band ever put out and again is one of those albums that really doesn’t suffer from any weak songs. Medusa takes the podium position of course, but this album can give it a run it to the wire, as this album is truly chock-full with great tracks throughout and as stated above the album can really be divided between its harder rocking and softer tracks. Firstly looking at the softer tracks, these tracks song for song probably come out on top and again serve as perfect examples, of a band that truly know their songcraft when it comes to laying down quality compositions. This can be seen on songs like “Coast to Coast” and “What is a Woman’s Role?” which demonstrate just how special these softer numbers are and really show that Trapeze were masters of this style. The softer tracks were also more suited to Glenn Hughes’s lower-vocal range, better than the harder rocking tracks on the album and on this album his voice seems even more soulful than ever, which lends itself perfectly over to these songs. On Medusa his voice often gave over to a less soulful delivery and often relied more on an abstract style. Secondly, the harder rocking tracks on the album like “Keepin’ Time” and the title track “You Are the Music…We’re Just the Band” really do rock out and are infused with liberal dosages of funk, and are both high on energy. When it comes to the funky sounding harder rocking numbers “Way Back to the Bone” is certainly the killer track on the album as far as I’m concerned! Glenn Hughes, Mel Galley and Dave Holland on You Are the Music…We’re Just the Band, may well have just put out one of the most soulful, funkiest and softest sounding hard rock albums ever recorded!

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Metal Wars

Power Metal

Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

The Batlord

I listened to that album a while back and loved it. It's sound didn't strike me as particularly different or original, but the songs just did what they did so well. And I'm pretty sure that cover was from an old collection of Conan the Barbarian stories. At least it's on one of mine.

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Unknown Soldier

The cover is from the Snow Giants and the originality of the album is more in its song choices than the actual songs themselves. Not too many bands would sling an album like this together and have the confidence to pull it off.

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Metal Wars

Power Metal

Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

Unknown Soldier

Overview
I’ve already featured Sir Lord Baltimore and Dust from the NY area and despite these two bands never really achieving any real recognition at the time, it could still be safe to say, that New York was one of the major hubs of the American proto-metal scene of the early 1970s. The arrival of the superbly named Blue Oyster Cult would cement that fact in stone, as finally here was an American band, that would go the distance both creatively and commercially and give us a major US player on the ‘heavy scene’. Almost from the word go, the Blue Oyster Cult were labelled as an ‘American Black Sabbath’ surely in an effort to promote them, but in reality they were quite a different band and didn’t have that much in common with Sabbath at all. The Blue Oyster Cult were essentially a biker band from Long Island, whose sound was based around a heavy jamming psychedelic style infused with R&B. The only thing they really shared with Sabbath, were the pseudo-satanic lyrics and the science fiction themes that the band were interested in, the band also added their own conspirational insights into the lyric pool, and most song compositions were band dominated. In fact the US had another band in Bang (soon to be featured here) that were far more like Sabbath than the Blue Oyster Cult were. A lot of the actual Sabbath connection came from band manager and producer Sandy Pearlman, who had wanted to form an American Black Sabbath, but the band after some initial member shuffling soon evolved into their own distinctive and original style. In fact frontman Eric Bloom was one of the later replacements, taking over from Les Bronstein as the principal vocalist and the band after several name changes and unreleased material finally settled on the Blue Oyster Cult. BOC were blessed with two very gifted front men in Eric Bloom and Buck Dharma, who put the group ethic before individual glory and along with third guitarist Allen Lainier, they helped to create the band’s highly original and murky sound, all of which was supported by the Bouchard brothers on bass and drums. This sound was largely created through the production techniques of Sandy Pearlman, who used layered guitars to create a muddy-ambiguous mix, that lent itself over to repeated listenings, to really be able to fully absorb the dark heavy psychedelia of the band. This album would be seen as another one of the early proto-metal classics of its time.

Eric Bloom- Guitar/Vocals
Donald ‘Buck Dharma’ Roeser- Guitar/Vocals
Allen Lainier- Rhythm/Keyboards
Joe Bouchard- Bass
Albert Bouchard- Drums

Production- Sandy Pearlman and Murray Krugman

Album
Transmaniacon MC- From the word go, the BOC kick-off with their signature R&B base sound, full of dense sounding guitar and high on lyrical overload, all delivered through the raspy vocals of frontman Eric Bloom and the song focuses on the infamous Altamont concert of 1969. I’m on the Lamb But I Ain’t No Sheep- One of the band’s older songs and it’s about Canadian mounties after a fugitive, the song is highlighted by a series of stiff-sounding densely delivered riffs, before finishing up with a late flurry. Then Came the Last Days of May- Starts off as one of the most blues infused tracks on the album and also one of the slowest numbers as well. It’s sung by Buck Dharma who has a very different delivery to that of Eric Bloom and it’s one of the best tracks on the album. Stairway to the Stars- Back to Eric Bloom on vocals and one of the stand-out tracks with its almost cosmic approach. Easily remembered for its hand-clapping sounding section and combined with some great guitar work. Before the Kiss, a Redcap- The second Buck Dharma sang song on the album and a song about barbiturates whilst kissing, the song is all neatly wrapped up with a boogie feel. Screams- Performed by Joe Bouchard and a reference back to the band’s psychedelic roots and again highlighted by some great instrumentals, before the drumming finale leads us into….. She’s as Beautiful as a Foot- One of the softer tracks on the album, which is accompanied by a haunting melody. Cities on Flame with Rock & Roll- The heaviest song on the album and actually sung by Albert Bouchard, with its crunching guitar, great rhythm and slow plodding bass and drums. The later part of the song introduces us into a lighter more frantic section. This might be the definitive track on the album and a real early metal classic. Workshop of the Telescopes- A great swirling track that comes as a welcome respite, after the heaviness of the previous song and is infused with some great choppy guitar moments, and of course it has a great title, it all finishes up with a helicopter type blade sound. Redeemed- A steady reflective track that in many ways serves as a great album closer, the more I hear this the more I seem to love it. As far bonus tracks go, the best original 10 songs were clearly chosen. Of the bonus tracks "Donovan's Monkey" is probably too Doors sounding "What is Quicksand" is a poor song "Betty Lou Got a New Pair of Shoes" is a cover song and "A Fact About Sneakers" is probably the best of the four songs here.

Verdict
The Blue Oyster Cult debut with songs like “Cities on Flame with Rock & Roll” ushered in one of the most important bands in the heavy genre of the 1970s and they were possibly the first real ‘thinking man’s metal band’ if you doubt that check out this or any of their other work. They also never really abandoned their early psychedelic and R&B roots either and throughout this album their musical origins can be noted. Their signature sound of densely layered guitars was laid down by Eric Bloom and Allen Lainier, but it was the crunching guitar of principal guitarist Buck Dharma, that was the most important element of the three guitarists on show and on this album Buck Dharma performs those really stinging sections. These elements along with a potent rhythm section, also offered up a keen sense of melody throughout the album and on tracks like “Transmaniacon MC” “Stairway to the Stars” and “Before the Kiss, a Redcap” all the components of the band play in that densely layered and unified style, but at times the musical sections did break up to offer an easier listening stance, especially on songs like “Then Came the Last Days of May” but where BOC truly came into their own were with their dark musings. Whereas a band like Black Sabbath used their dark musings as a statement and as a lyrical reaction to critics. BOC focused their musings in a more literary and complex manner and in this respect they were so far advanced for their time. Making them one of the most sophisticated of all early hard rock and metal bands. In many ways their early work lyrically reminds us, that the dark side of the 1960s psychedelia movement was still very alive in the early 1970s and I’m certain Jim Morrison from his grave, would have approved of the lyrical content being laid down by the band. In essence BOC were never an overly complex band, but their layered and ambiguous sound, could always lend itself to further examination and scrutiny from the listener! This debut album really ushered in a biker band that really knew how to play and in the Bouchard brothers they had an enviable rhythm section. Frontman Eric Bloom provided the band with enough grit and Buck Dharma as a guitarist had the world at his feet, and his delivery as second vocalist was always something special. But the rhythm guitar of Allen Lainier, may well have been the aspect that gelled the band’s sound together.

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Metal Wars

Power Metal

Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

Scarlett O'Hara

I absolutely adore your Deep Purple album review. It is an important album but I think I just generally really enjoyed it, particularly growing up.

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Unknown Soldier

Glad you liked it, some reviews I write come really easy to me whilst others take a lot more time to think up, the Machine Head review came really easily to me.

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Metal Wars

Power Metal

Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

The Batlord

I bought Machine Head way back in high school and thought it was cool enough, but it just sounded dated to me, so I never truly got into it, but a few years ago it just started making sense to me and is now one of my favorite albums, metal or not, of all time. Every song is perfect and just fun as all hell. I love that it's heavy as hell, but still got this sort of lazy, almost country feel at times that really gives it a unique atmosphere that just takes it to a whole 'nother level. If Sabbath is a bad trip, then Deep Purple is the guy sitting next to Sabbath telling him to quit harshing on his buzz. I'd have to go with Sabbath in general, but I enjoy Machine Head more than any single Sabbath album. So, **** yeah, Machine Head.

Side note: I also like that "Lazy" starts with exactly four minutes and twenty seconds of jamming before the vocals kick in. So, in case you didn't know just why the guy in the song is so lazy...

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