Greg's METAL guide

Rip It Up, Issue 49, 1 August 1981, Page 12

Greg's M ETAL guide

Heavy Metal is a very loose term and encompasses numerous bands and styles of music. Exactly what it is has never been defined, but it can be divided in two the new wave of British Heavy Metal and the original item, that loud aggressive rock music of the late sixties and early seventies. AC/DC I guess the biggest HM act in the world today has got to be AC/DC, currently with four albums in the American Top 200. The re-release of their second album, * Dirty Deeds Done Cheap is rocketing up at the moment, along with If You Want Blood You Got It, Highway to Hell, and Back in Black. Tragedy struck them in 1980 with the death of lead singer Bon Scott from acute alcohol poisoning, but the band recruited ex-Geordie vocalist Brian Johnson, and stormed back with the killer, Back in Black, the ultimate headbanger, which charted number one first week in Britain. April Wine April Wine are a Canadian five-piece whose latest album, The Nature of the Beast is one of the more melodic metal albums available, but heavy nonetheless. They enjoy a huge following in Canada and the

US, and have toured Europe successfully. 'Sign of the Gypsy Queen', 'Big City Girls' and 'Crash and Burn' are the standout tracks on their album. Their previous effects, First Glance and Harder ... Faster, are well worth a listen if you like something a bit more subtle. Black Sabbath Yes, folks, Black Sabbath are still bashing out HM in copious quantities world-wide, now fronted by Ronnie James Dio, who has had spells with Uriah Heep among others. Their new album, Heaven and Hell is just as skull-numbing as their two of over a decade ago, Black Sabbath and Paranoid, which are probably two of the first classic albums of HM. They still

seem to have a fixation with covens and witches. Still, why not? Def Leppard : A band from England's industrial north, Def Leppard are one of the youngest HM bands. Their highly successful debut album, On Through the Night includes the American FM hits, 'Coulda Been You' and 'Hello America'. Their youth doesn't hold them back the sheer power of this album will make your eyes water and your knees tremble. No kidding. Gillan Although one of the old school (Deep Purple, in fact), lan Gillan has found fame with his new band. After several label changes and a couple of

ordinary albums, he's now with Virgin, doing incredibly well with Glory Road arid Future Shock. Girlschool As the . name suggests, ; an all-female English HM -band. Believe me, they don't play like ladies. An excellent hit version of the old Gun , song, 'Race With The Devil' off their debut, Demolition, shows these women can rock out with the best , of them. A new album, Hit'n'Run is out with a five star review from . Sounds which called it "not just a good HM album, but a great rock music album." • ' ; .. Iron Maiden Iron Maiden were pounding out HM in the East End of

London during the punk summer of .'76. They're still at it. Their, recent RWP clip, Women In Uniform' . (an . old Skyhooks' song) is only available on a compilation, but their albums, Iron Maiden and Killers - are' both headbangers par excellence. In-depth analysis is pretty futile, with that name, it's : fairly obvious what lies ; in store. Judas Priest ■ . / Judas Priest are -another. English band' who' been consistently cranking out bonecrushing HM. Lead by ultramacho singer Rob Halford; who looks like an extra from Cruising, they feature a twin guitar assault from Kirk Downing and Glenn Tipton. They've just released their sixth album,

Point of Entry, following their equally good recent releases, Unleashed in the East and British Steel. ■■ You shoulda caught their clip on RWP a few weeks back. .;•> *• ; ;■ /.•; • .vV^'VKrokus . Krokus are Swiss and have two albums available, Collision and the very recent Hardware. More in the Deep Purple tradition, they had 'Rock City' on RWP a few weeks back a great ballsy single from a band who epitomise all that is wonderful about HM. They play loud. Motorhead The ear-splitting Motorhead recently bombarded to number one in UK with No Sleep Till

Hammersmith, a totally uncompromising full-on live aural attack, by possible the loudest three-piece you'll ever hear. It features tracks from their three previous albums, Overkill, Bomber and the excellent Ace of Spades. Motorhead comprise the eccentric Lemmy, Philthy Taylor on drums and Fast Eddie Clarke ,on guitar. From the word go there's not a trace of subtlety Motorhead kills your lawns! Ted Nugent Let's not forget our American friends. We have just had one of the all-time great HM albums released here. Intensities in Ten Cities is Ted Nugent at his carnivorous best, with live versions of 'Put Up Or Shut Up', 'Jailbait', 'l'm A Predator' and an outrageous version of 'Land Of A Thousand Dances'. Ted epitomises the motor city hard, tough; badass heavy metal in the tradition of his earlier efforts, Ted Nugent, Free For All, Cat Scratch Fever, Double Live Gonzo and countless others. Ozzie Osbourne's, Blizzard of Ozz An old headbanger from way back, Ozzie Osbourne (exBlack Sabbath) has an extremely powerful new band with Lee Kerslake (Uriah Heep), Bob Daisley (Rainbow) and new guitar hero, American Randy Rhoades. Ozzy is back better than ever, and up to all his old tricks.

Joe Perry Project Joe Perry surprised everyone by leaving Aerosmith to form his own band. The title track of the Project's debut, Let the Music do the Talking sums up the whole album. Its blistering guitars, frenetic vocals and rock solid bass and drums make Aerosmith sound like a bunch of wimps. Rainbow Rainbow have been around for years, since the demise of Deep Purple. They feature two stalwarts Ritchie Blackmore and Roger Glover. They peaked on Down to Earth with the great vocals of Graham Bonnet and powerhouse drumming of Cozy Powell, who have both since departed. Forget the new album, check the earlier ones like Long Live Rock 'n' Roll, or Rainbow Rising. Saxon Saxon are the definitive new HM band. Their first albums, Saxon and Wheels of Steel are both available here. Screaming, spitting guitars, pounding bass, thundering drums and piercing vocals are the order of the day. Unfortunately, their new album Strong Arm of the Law (on the Carrere label) is unavailable here. Scorpions Huge in Germany, and also now in Britain, they have two albums out here, Love Drive and Animal Magnetism. Eurometal at its best.

Michael Schenker Group Michael Schenker left UFO a couple of years ago, went into hibernation and has just released a new album. One. of the more innovative HM guitarists, he has come up with a couple of stunning tracks, 'Armed and Ready' and 'Cry for the Nations'. Trust A very politically and socially concerned French band who owe a lot to Bon Scott, Trust have the distinction of having had their lyrics translated into English by Jimmy Pursey. Make of that what you will, but listen to Paris Is Still Burning' or 'Antisocial' off Repression who said HM was for thickos? Solid as the Rock of Gibraltar. Tygers of Pan Tang A top HM band with two very impressive albums, Wildcat and Spellbound. From the industrial North East of England, they played the club circuit and supports before breaking through. Both albums rage from start to finish, they definitely take no prisoners. UFO ' One band which has stuck to its guns. Formed by Phil Mogg in 1971, they achieved cult status in Europe. They added guitarist Michael Schenker in 1973, and the rest is history. Their recent double live album was voted top HM album in Britain in 1979, and follows the very successful Phenomenon, Force It, No Heavy Petting and Obsession.

Van Halen You can't talk about American HM without mentioning Van Halen. Their new album Fair Warning is more subtle than Women and Children First, which featured FM single hit, And The Cradle Will Rock'. Poser extraordinaire, David Lee Roth has difficulty with low-slung lighting rigs, and guitarist Eddie Van Halen is reputed to be technically better than Segovia, but-they play like alley cats who haven't had a scrap of. food for weeks. Not for the faint-hearted. • Whitesnake Yet another s post-Purple band.’ David Coverdale is a great vocalist in the tradition of Robert. Plant and Paul Rogers. There are three ex-Purples, Coverdale, Jon Lord and lan Paice and they give a pedigree to this intelligent, hard-rocking outfit. Three albums, Ready and Willing, Live in the Heart of the City and Come and Get It are all English heavy rock at its best. There seems an unfortunate lack of HM bands in New Zealand, though I've heard rumours of a bunch of desparados who go under the name of the Woodville Warriors, currently leaving a trail of destruction in the lower part of the North Island. If they come your way, catch them if you can. They're armed and dangerous! Greg