Unknown Soldier

Album
If the band’s insidious debut Welcome to Hell would end up as being one of the most influential metal albums of all time, then their second album Black Metal would actually end up going one better and give birth to a completely new metal sub-genre in a few years time, that of course being the nefarious Norwegien black metal scene. All Music describes these early Venom albums as a true Frankenstein monster, but as they weren’t actually created by a gifted if insane Doctor Frankenstein type composer, these early Venom albums can be seen as being created by the monster itself, despite this view Venom were still an extremely creative and visionary force, and were well and truly ahead of their time. The problem was though, was that Venom just didn’t have the ability to truly execute their prophetic vision in the style it truly deserved. Both Welcome to Hell and Black Metal had the Frankenstein monster zipping around in the most insidious manner possible and discovering the delights of Satanism in the process! Venom were always going to be doomed commercially with their non-palatable basement production approach, so the Newcastle trio focused on giving the monster that they had created on the previous album, its first steps around their gloomy mansion and the ultimate trip outside would have to wait until their next album! As for the songs on Black Metal, the title track “Black Metal” with its grisly chainsaw opening, quickly blasts into a quintessential proto-thrash metal track and that’s what this album is in most aspects, a potent and gloomy proto-thrash piece, but it does also serve as a proto-black metal template as well. The constant similarities with Motorhead (as mentioned on their previous review) can be heard on a number of tracks like “To Hell and Back” and “Sacrifice” but instead of singing about tales of the road, Venom simply prefer to sing about their mate Lucifer! Venom also made great use of sound effects on the album and apart from the chainsaw opening on the title track, they made excellent use of a shovel briefly on “Buried Alive” one of the best tracks on the album and the song resonates some real classic era-Alice Cooper vibes to boot as well. Dave Mustaine must’ve got the musical and vocal template for Megadeth with “Leave Me in Hell” which plays more complex than most Venom songs to date and sounds like the sort of thing that Megadeth could’ve easily done as an original as well. These thrash similarities continue with “Countess Bathory” the best song on the album along with “Don’t Burn the Witch/At War with Satan (preview)” and with “Countess Bathory” Metallica surely got the basis for “Battery” several years later and if more of the songs were as potent as these two songs, the album would’ve figured in with the cream at the top of this year’s listings. Some of the songs like the goofy “Teacher’s Pet” with its yobo style chants and its totally unexpected bluesy middle section, neither hang one way or another and I guess are an acquired taste. With the thrash metal breakthrough just around the corner, Black Metal with its dark malice would further add fuel to that fire, earning the album and the band the definitive proto-thrash label. On the one hand Black Metal like Welcome to Hell are original metal classics, but on the second are weakened by the band’s subpar production and their limited ability as musicians.

Cronos- Bass/Vocals
Mantas- Guitar
Abaddon- Drums

Production- Keith Nichol

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Metal Wars

Power Metal

Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

Isbjørn

Venom's Black Metal was released on a label named Neat? That's hella apt.

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Unknown Soldier

As you say it's apt and it was a local label based in Newcastle that was pretty fundamental in promoting NWOBHM bands in the area. They also produced some punk bands as well (but punk's not really my thing, so I don't know which punk bands they dealt with)

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Metal Wars

Power Metal

Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

Unknown Soldier

Overview
By the time of their second studio album, Diamond Head were a band that were certainly living on borrowed time and that borrowed time was fast running out. As by 1982 their principal rivals Iron Maiden and Saxon were already three or four albums in and the likes of Def Leppard had already conquered the UK metal scene, and were now going down a scorcher in the US! While all this was happening, Diamond Head in 1980 and 1981 had squandered much of their time and were now seriously playing catch-up to those bands (something of course they never ultimately achieved sadly) Their debut album Lightning to the Nations had been the greatest NWOBHM album imo (see review) but it had been marketed so badly that it bombed back in 1980! By 1982 Diamond Head were now under the auspices of a major label in MCA and were working on their second album Borrowed Time, before this the band had released a four track EP as a taster called Four Cuts which contained “Call Me” and “Trick or Treat” as it’s a-side with the former appearing on the Borrowed Time album, on its b-side were “Dead Reckoning” and “Shoot Out the Lights” with the latter here a re-recording from their debut album sessions. Now instead of releasing this EP, what the band should’ve done in 1982 was to re-release their classic debut album and re-package it visually like an Iron Maiden album (they may have had problems with their previous label which could’ve prevented this anyway) and then release seven new original tracks for the Borrowed Time album, as they had done so on Lightning to the Nations. This would’ve given the band maximum exposure in 1982 (taking a leaf out of Saxon’s book in this regard) and given the band the huge commercial break they so desperately sought. As a metal band they were fully encompassed into the UK metal scene and had also made sure that Borrowed Time got an album cover worthy of the band’s talents and potential status. As for the actual album, the big and fundamental decision that would surround Borrowed Time was the inclusion of two pivotal tracks from the classic debut in “Lightning to the Nations” and “Am I Evil?” which was a strange move for a seven-track album, as there were only now five original tracks that would feature on their long-awaited sophomore set. This move was further undermined by the fact, that these two classic tracks were actually seen as inferior versions than what appeared on their debut album (probably had something to do with the crisper production the band now had as well) Production would be provided by Mike Hedges and the album would crack the top 30 of the UK album chart, with Steve Harris and Brian Tatler once again writing all the album’s material. In hindsight the album would be seen as the band’s biggest disappointment.

Verdict
So now with Diamond Head signed up to MCA and with huge expectations surrounding the band, did Borrowed Time the band’s first major label release really measure up to the band’s capabilities? First off, I really think the band got it all wrong with the idea of releasing an album that carried two tracks over from their debut album and instead they should’ve released a complete collection of original tracks (it’s not as if the band had a shortage of material either as future expanded versions of the album would prove) Secondly the band probably gave too much emphasis on trying to meld their metal sound with a very palatable melodic rock, nothing wrong with this but in Diamond Head’s case it seemed to really water-down the inherent menace of the band. Now it’s largely for these negative pointers that the album only makes number 10 on this year’s list, but then again Diamond Head’s seconds were often better than many band’s firsts. Also the album itself was seen as a disappointment by the critics as well, due to the band’s greater emphasis on commercial sounding material which is highlighted on the five original tracks that they produced for the album, a factor that I can completely agree with to a certain degree, because Diamond Head were very much a band of sinister musings! With all this in mind, I’m still convindcd though that Borrowed Time is a worthy album despite not being a classic and it's an album that has a certain allure as well. If we look at the five original cuts that appeared on the album “In the Heat of the Night” is the type of melodic track that the band did so well and its commercial mid-paced aura labels it as a track that an American fanbase would’ve thrived on. Now I’m less of a fan of the second track “To Heaven from Hell” which comes across as a somewhat static sounding hard rock plodder and even its speedier middle section doesn’t make its six minutes go that much quicker either. But “Call Me” like “In the Heat of the Night” is a track is built to last and one of the best put out by the band, despite its Foreigner sounding overtures! But the album’s crowning glory is surely its accomplished title track “Borrowed Time” a song perfectly suited to the vocal style of Steve Harris and the guitar lead of Brian Tatler. The fifth track of this bunch is the seven minute “Don’t You Ever Leave Me” which is a throwback to the 1970s with its bluesy section which dominates the latter part of the song. At times it’s actually difficult to see the influence that Diamond Head had on bands like Metallica and Megadeath and imo this link is actually overplayed, as Diamond Head’s melodic AOR tracks that frequently appear on the debut and especially on Borrowed Time, are in many ways an antithesis of what extreme metal would be all about. But then again Diamond Head had put out some truly menacing tracks like “Am I Evil?” that showcased the full dynamics of the band, something that when combined with their more melodic side, truly made them a metal chameleon in every aspect.

Steve Harris- Vocals
Brian Tatler- Guitar
Brian Kimberley- Bass
Duncan Scott- Drums

Production- Mike Hedges

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Metal Wars

Power Metal

Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

The Batlord

None of songs were even half as good as anything from their debut. I'd probably actually rather listen to them ripping off Def Leppard. At least then they know how to make an ear worm.

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FRED HALE SR.

I'd say that album was more then half as good, but it certainly didn't hit me as heavy as their debut. Also of note Persian Risk was on that label which had Phil Campbell on guitar who is one of my heroes of metal. If you don't know who Phil Campbell is I can't help you.

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" I slashed and burned thru my 15 minutes of fame."

Unknown Soldier

"In the Heat of the Night" "Call Me" and "Borrowed Time" were as good as anything on the debut.

Persian Risk, that must be the first time I've ever heard them being mentioned on the forum and the only reason I know them is because of the fancy name.

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Metal Wars

Power Metal

Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

Unknown Soldier

Overview
After churning out an amazing triumvirate of albums in just a few short years Wheels of Steel, Strong Arm of the Law and Denim and Leather (see reviews) it was fitting that Saxon one of the tightest and most exciting bands of the NWOBHM would grace us with a live offering. 1982 was a pivotal year for the band, as Iron Maiden would become the hottest heavy metal band in the world with The Number of the Beast album and Def Leppard were preparing for their massive onslaught of the American market the following year with Pyromania. So with heavy metal reaching the far flung corners and senses of the listening masses, this period should’ve also belonged to Saxon as well and a live album seemed a fitting celebration in anticipation of that goal. The problem was though, was that critics felt differently about this and attacked the band for what they saw as a below-par live release (something I obviously disagree with, as do many others now in hindsight) as critics thought the album was no more than a quick attempt to cash-in by the band, with a kind of greatest hits album that just happened to be in a live-setting. Also criticized were some of the bands song choices and performances to boot as well. In fact much the same had taken place with UFO’s Strangers in the Night live album (see 1979 review) and thanks to critics this had been one of the numerous reasons for UFO’s rapid decline as a major player, and Saxon in many ways would now take the same and similar downward spiral from the upper echelons of the metal world. Overall though and in response to the critics, The Eagle Has Landed would be like any number of other worthy live albums from the period, in that it would be severely cut by the label, who as always would leave off some of the material that they shouldn’t have done and many years later would re-issue of the album to include these as bonus tracks, but the bonus tracks for this album wouldn’t come out until 2006! Also the band went through the departure of core drummer Peter Gill who would finish up with Motorhead and he was replaced by Nigel Glockler (ex-Toyah) who would go onto to become the mainstay drummer of the band. The album was recorded from the Denim and Leather UK and European tour throughout 1981-1982, and the album title is a play on the war film The Eagle Has Landed of the same name. The album also supposedly won the UK British Heavy Metal Live award (not that that means much anyway) Chartwise the album would do the business in the UK album charts where it reached an impressive no.5 slot and would be one the last major charting positions by the band.

Verdict
The 1970s may well have been the era of the live album and like double albums, were usually only given to worthy bands. But in the 1980s live albums by metal bands were very much an expected release to both satisfy both genre fans and the record labels. As a band Saxon were always one of the better live acts at the start of the decade and for this reason The Eagle Has Landed is in such a lofty position on this year’s list, despite certain songs being omitted from the album. The Eagle Has Landed is a live album by the Saxon metal beast that seamlessly shifs from song to song in all its glory and the album starts with the Wheels of Steel duo “Motorcycle Man” and “747 (Strangers in the Night)” the former one of the band’s now trademark speed metal offerings and the second a superb lesson in mid-paced melodic metal ambience. Then comes the popular opener from the Denim and Leather album “Princess of the Night” the band’s so-called love song about a train and this track is then followed by two tracks from the Strong Arm of the Law album, “Strong Arm of the Law” and “Heavy Metal Thunder” the former one of the band’s mid-tempo essentials and the latter one of the band’s heaviest tracks. Speaking of one of their heavier tracks, we then go onto one of their fastest tracks in “20,000 FT” which starts the second side of the album. Next is the third killer track from Wheels of Steel and that is the memorable and enticing title track “Wheels of Steel” which is greatly extended thanks to Biff Byfords interaction with the crowd. The next two cuts are from Denim and Leather “Never Surrender” which easily could’ve been left off in favour of a stronger track, but they’re right on cue again with “Fire in the Sky” one of the band’s fastest and this leads into “Machine Gun” which contains one of the band’s best ever riffs to close the album. Of the criticized omissions from the album, none come any greater than tracks like the band’s classic ode to metal “Denim and Leather” the equally superb “And the Bands Played On” and also “Midnight Rider” one of the band’s slickest tracks. These are three of the most obvious tracks that should’ve been included in the original pressings for the album. Overall The Eagle Has Landed contains most of the bands essential proto-speed and testosterone metal classics that have been garnered from the classic Wheels of Steel, Strong Arm of the Law and Denim & Leather albums (nothing from the disappointing debut luckily) Biff Byford as expected interacts Biff style with the audience, but it’s the twin-guitar team of Graham Oliver and Paul Quinn that probably end up as being the stars of the album though.

Biff Byford- Vocals
Graham Oliver- Guitar
Paul Quinn- Guitar
Steve Dawson- Bass
Nigel Glockler- Drums

Production- Saxon

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Metal Wars

Power Metal

Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

Unknown Soldier

For anybody following this journal, The Batlord has been kind enough to start adding an index at the start of this journal, which will make it easier for anybody looking to search through it (should take him a few days)

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Metal Wars

Power Metal

Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

Unknown Soldier

Overview
When most bands either make their critical or commercial breakthrough it normally happens on one of their studio albums and in some cases it takes a live album, but in the case of Finland’s Hanoi Rocks it happened to be on one of those ‘bits and bobs’ or ‘odds and ends’ albums. Therefore Self Destruction Blues was basically a compilation album of material made up from singles and b-sides etc that had been recorded by the band throughout 1980 and 1981, and strangely enough this material ended up being far superior than what had appeared on the band’s first two albums. Hanoi Rocks were without doubt one of the earliest examples from the glam metal genre and along with Motley Crue, Twisted Sister and the lesser known Girl from the UK, they were vital for the glam metal explosion that was about to happen. They were also one of those Scandinavian heavy metal/hard rock bands they were around before that whole scene took-off there several years later and due to local limitations quickly based themselves in London in the early 1980s and everything about Hanoi Rocks (btw a friggin cool name) smacked of glam rock down to the tiniest detail. The aesthetic of the band rivalled that of Motley Crue and in vocalist Michael Monroe they had their very own David Johansen and in Andy McCoy their very own Johnny Thunders or Keith Richards glam style of course. Added to this were the superbly named other guitarist Nasty Suicide and bassist and drummer Sam Yaffa and Gyp Casino (btw none of these were their real names of course) Like any glam inspired band they namechecked all the usual suspects, which included the New York Dolls, Kiss, Alice Cooper, Aerosmith and the British glam rock bands of the 1970s as well the Rolling Stones. But whereas Motley Crue were looking to follow the Van Halen line in the sleaziest way possible, Twisted Sister a heavy pounding metal sound in the most gharish way possible, Hanoi Rocks were far more indebted to the UK punk/art rock scene of the late 1970s and bands like The Clash, the Damned and Japan etc were as just as important to them as the previously mentioned usual suspects. The band’s first two albums included the decent and greatly named Bangkok Shocks, Saigan Shakes, Hanoi Rocks 1981 and the much weaker and disappointing second album Oriental Beat 1982, but in terms of quality Self Destruction Blues trumps either of those two albums imo. The album was written by Andy McCoy and produced by both Michael Monroe and Andy McCoy who had called themselves ‘The Muddy Twins’ taking their cue of course from the Stones and their ‘The Glimmer Twins’ Jagger/Richards, as Aerosmith had done many years earlier with the ‘The Toxic Twins’ Tyler/Perry.

Album
Self Destruction Blues sits largely as a stand alone album in this year’s listings, for the simple reason that it owes so much to punk more so than it does to hard rock let alone heavy metal, but it makes the list given its importance and feel for the soon to explode glam metal scene just around the corner in the USA. The album has so much energy and bite, and feels like a great starter ordered in a restaurant before moving onto the main course. This sonic bite is there from the moment the starter is delivered and starts with the raucous “Love’s an Injection” a song that will either gets you hooked or not tastewise when it comes to the rest of the album. On “I Want You” Michael Monroe sings ‘Oh, hold on, we’re gonna make this a big one’ and the song quickly comes off as a great take on any number of Rolling Stones’ tracks and shows the band’s ambition and the knowledge that their timing was right for a commercial breakthrough. The highlights of the album might be the slick “Kill City” a song which perfectly captures the band’s glam rock style with a Rolling Stones cum Blondie style ambience. Then there is the melodic “Whispers in the Dark” a classic sounding pop piece stiffened up by some heavy sounding guitar work. But there are some tracks like “Café Avenue” which are distinctly punk in their arrangements, instead of being more hybrid issues like some of the other tracks. Like any compilation album, not everything works on the album and the title track “Self Destruction Blues” with its heavy blues feels distinctly out of place on the album. Also “Desperados” which in places covers difficult Clash territory and doesn’t always work. On most of the songs Michael Monroe vocally come across as a great mix between Mick Jagger and David Johansen, and he also has the added feature of playing the sax as well! Also on the stone cold “Taxi Driver” he sounds like those two along with touches of Iggy Pop and Alice Cooper, showing that despite having a limited range that he can cover the whole spectrum. The strength of Hanoi Rocks is in the fact that they are able to meld their multitude of influences into their own sound and the whole thing comes across like a trashy back alley romp, as let’s face it there aren’t too many bands out there that can sound like the Rolling Stones, David Bowie and Blondie all the same time, whilst having mascara running down their faces! Overall Self Destruction Blues is dressed and dolled up to the nines, and sounds like one of those great albums that should be listened to before going out on a Saturday night out whether it be the 80s, 90’s, 00’s………… I’m sure you get the idea.
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Michael Monroe- Vocals/Sax
Andy McCoy- Guitar
Nasty Suicide- Guitar
Sam Yaffa- Bass
Gyp Casino- Drums

Production- The Muddy Twins

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Metal Wars

Power Metal

Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History