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

The Batlord

I remember reading in Motley Crue's book, The Dirt, that Nikki Sixx claimed that he and Tommy Lee had been dubbed "The Terror Twins". Although this was more due to their propensity for property and other assorted hijinks.

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