Your TOP 5 unsigned/"7inch only" NWOBHM bands who had potential to release a "classic" album

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Astra Wally
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Your TOP 5 unsigned/"7inch only" NWOBHM bands who had potential to release a "classic" album

Post by Astra Wally »

The « Best/Favorites NWOBHM LPs» thread put me in a NWOBHM mood again and I was thinking about "demo/7inch only" bands of that period who had the potential to release at least one album full of classic material, with no fillers I mean.

When you really think about it, there are not so many of them. Just have a look at all the killer NWOBHM singles that are reissued those days, most of them with average studio outtakes/demos/live material as bonus. Which make you come to the conclusion that those bands were actually not good enough (sometimes despite their cult status) to come up with a full-lenght that we might consider as top-notch stuff.

Ok… here is my top 5

KRAKEN
Fantastic band. Their 1980 7inch is still one the most interesting and original of the NWOBHM. Unique mix of SABBATH and RUSH influences, adding their own gloomy touch. Not sure at all if they were capable to write an album full of material in the likes of « Winged Bulls Of Ninevh » or « Deadman’s Dreamland » ? But imagine if they did… surely we would regard it today as one of the best and heaviest NWOBHM lps. Until HHR release a compilation with boring and useless demos, I like to think they were one of the most promising NWOBHM act... but maybe I'm indeed wrong.

DAWNWATCHER
This choice shows again my personal preference for bands who differ a bit from the archetypal NWOBHM sound and who include prog and 70’s influences in their songs, while still remaining heavy as hell, fresh and new. A closed circle for sure, but DAWNWATCHER is doubtlessly one of them (unlike WHITE SPIRIT for example). I hold both of their single in high regard. Unique stuff. And the demos are superb too (from what I remember)… so most likely, they were able to write more than 30 minutes of strong, original and quality metal music.

PARALEX
I quite like their « White Lightning » MLP, though it is nothing special imo, especially in regard of their « Gettin’ Somewhere » 4-tracks demo. One year between those two releases and bloody hell, what an improvement… sounds like a total different band ! Perfect heavy metal music, full of youthful energy, talent, heavy riffs, hooks and melodies that stick in your head for years... The "Angel Of Darkness" demo showed a lot of promises too (though not as excellent, and with a different line-up if I'm correct)... A shame they didn't have the opportunity to release a full-lenght at the right time (1981/1982).

TRESPASS / HELL
Those two bands have been discussed many times before so I don’t want to sound too redundant.

Honorable mentions : VIRTUE, STORMTROOPER, SWEET SAVAGE... also maybe HARVEST MOON, RICOCHET and SARACEN (the Roksnax band)

Bands that could have been included in my list until I heard their average demo/live compilations : BLEAK HOUSE, BIG DAISY, RADIUM, BASHFUL ALLEY, etc
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Priamos
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Re: Your TOP 5 unsigned/"7inch only" NWOBHM bands who had potential to release a "classic" album

Post by Priamos »

The most epic are my faves: Tyrant, Virtue, Arc are the first that come in my mind.
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Re: Your TOP 5 unsigned/"7inch only" NWOBHM bands who had potential to release a "classic" album

Post by Pavlos »

TYRANT (!!!!)
SAMURAI (Roksnax)
SARACEN (Roksnax)
HARVEST MOON
TRESPASS

Bonus:
RANDOM BLACK
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ION BRITTON
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Re: Your TOP 5 unsigned/"7inch only" NWOBHM bands who had potential to release a "classic" album

Post by ION BRITTON »

VIRTUE - They scored 5/5 with the 3 demo tracks.
SWEET SAVAGE - Those early tracks are unfuckinbelievable. One of my faves ever. They rerecorded some of them in '96 but the magic wasn't there anymore
TYRANT - The Hold Back the Lightning band
LOTUS CRUISE - The 7'' is top-notch for me, there are rumors about 20 more tracks back from the day.
DESTROYER - The 7" tracks is raw and powerful, a full-length in that style coming from '81 would be totally awesome
WIDOW - More tracks in the 1984 demo ("What If the devil wins" & "Devil's disciple") would make a top NWOBHM LP
EAZY STREET - OK, the b-side is not really promising, but "Quest for glory" is superb. Don't know about any other recordings
SARACEN - The Roksnax band
DRAGONSLAYER - We all heard 'em through SK records compilation. It would make a great LP back then.
ROBESPIERRE
MARQUIS DE SADE - Not really dying for their material, although I guess it would make a quite cool album many would like

Now, somebody bring on those LOTUS CRUISE tracks!
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Re: Your TOP 5 unsigned/"7inch only" NWOBHM bands who had potential to release a "classic" album

Post by Khnud »

Number one is easily DAWNWATCHER. Such a unique sound and two truly great singles under their belt.

Second is probably ARC, mostly due to the insanely good ”War of the Ring” single. Be sure to check out their released material under the name RED HUNTER, as it contains rerecorded versions of some of their single and demo tracks, which are really great too.

Third is VIRTUE. Great single, great demo. Enough said.

Fourth is HELL. Again a truly unique and outstanding band. Too bad their only 45 contains songs that are so very much inferior to most of their demo material.

Five is HOLLOW GROUND. The EP is killer and their demo and compilation tracks are great too.
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nightsblood
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Re: Your TOP 5 unsigned/"7inch only" NWOBHM bands who had potential to release a "classic" album

Post by nightsblood »

Fun topic idea! I think some people do overrate some of the NWOBHM bands that only made singles/an EP/a demo tape. I remember that, soon after I signed up on Corroseum, one of the other members, Black Axe, sorta gave me a hard time b/c in the 'Introduce Yourself' forum I listed 'NWOBHM' as one of my favorite genres but did not list any NWOBHM bands among my Favorite Acts (Riot, Running Wild, Misfits, Blind Guardian, and early Helloween). Recording 2-3 great songs is a helluva lot easier than recording a strong LP, and I agree that we have seen plenty of evidence of that over the years with the never-ending stream of so-so anthologies.
There are lots of singles/EPs I like, but many of these bands probably would not have been able to make a really great album.
So which bands do i wish had made a full-length album? Let's see....

First off, I'm totally just gonna ignore the rule of picking only 5 :)

CHARGER
'Desperadoes/Are You Out There' is arguably my favorite NWOBHM single, and I would love to hear what the band could have done with a full-length album.

CRUCIFIXION
I like all their material (well, except 'Jailbait' perhaps). The fact that they strung together about 8 great tracks across various singles, demos, and comps makes me think they could have released a great album, given the chance.

SWEET SAVAGE
So good, so very, very, good.

JJs POWERHOUSE
Another one in the proto-power metal vein perhaps, but both tracks are great and the associated WHITE HEAT single isn't bad either, so a decent full-length might have been within their ability.

LE GRIFFE
Lots of good stuff strewn across their EPs, so a good album seems totally possible

LOTUS CRUISE
I could definitely get behind this! Great single that never gets the props it deserves

MENDES PREY
If CHARGER is not my favorite NWOBHM single, then 'On the Borderline'Running for You' is! Lots of good songs on comps and demos. Yes, let's just pretend 'Wonderland' didn't happen. Shameless plug: fans can check out my interview with Jih Seymour in 'Steel for an Age' issue 4.

REINCARNATE
This single used to be considered one of the best of the genre, then folks seemed to forget about it. Killer stuff.

SAPPHIRE
One of my favorites, both songs are just so good!

SPITZBROOK
Wanted to throw this name out there since several of you have expressed a fondness for some of the more quirky/unique sounding bands that tended to have more 70s influences. That style is not really my favorite flavor of NWOBHM, but for those of you who like it, you might find SPITZBROOK's demo and single interesting.

VALHALLA
'Lightning in the Skies/These Sunday Nights' is another great single. Could the band have managed a proper full-length? Honestly, I've no idea. But I would like to hear more by the band.

VIRTUE
I love the single but am not quite as keen on the demo as others (it's really good, but others seem to deify it and I wouldn't go that far).

WEAPON
This is another one that, once upon a time, was considered one of the true benchmarks of the genre. But over time it sorta faded from the NWOBHM community's zeitgeist. Not really sure why. My only guess is that it was a pretty easy one to come by, so a lot of people probably heard it early on, but then it got relegated to the back burner as those people started digging deeper and deeper into the more obscure corners of the genre. Eventually you stop looking for TYGERS OF PAN TANG albums and get obsessed with finding demo-only bands and lost LOTUS CRUISE songs... or you quit listening to metal, go to business school, and listen to Maroon 5 on FM radio.
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Astra Wally
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Re: Your TOP 5 unsigned/"7inch only" NWOBHM bands who had potential to release a "classic" album

Post by Astra Wally »

MENDES PREY is obvious choice. TYRANT too of course (I used to dislike their 7" for years, for whatever reason...... )

Good to see some love for DAWNWATCHER and HARVEST MOON.

Need to check ARC again (and RED HUNTER, which I've never heard of) but from what I remember of their single, the b side was kinda weak.
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Re: Your TOP 5 unsigned/"7inch only" NWOBHM bands who had potential to release a "classic" album

Post by pzman »

DEEP MACHINE
TREASON
STEEL
TRAITORS GATE
BUFFALO
STORMQUEEN
BURN
MYTHRA
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ION BRITTON
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Re: Your TOP 5 unsigned/"7inch only" NWOBHM bands who had potential to release a "classic" album

Post by ION BRITTON »

Forgot to add HELL - I do not like all of their demo tracks, but those that are good could really make a monumental album
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Re: Your TOP 5 unsigned/"7inch only" NWOBHM bands who had potential to release a "classic" album

Post by Pavlos »

Talking about Harvest Moon, last summer I did an interview with Glynn Porrino about the band:

http://www.sacredmetal.de/board/viewtop ... 45#p542607

(scroll down)
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Astra Wally
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Re: Your TOP 5 unsigned/"7inch only" NWOBHM bands who had potential to release a "classic" album

Post by Astra Wally »

Pavlos wrote:Talking about Harvest Moon, last summer I did an interview with Glynn Porrino about the band:

http://www.sacredmetal.de/board/viewtop ... 45#p542607

(scroll down)
Nice read. Thanks

Another worthy mention: HAMMERHEAD. Superb 7". Killer compilation track "Lochinvar"... and the demo tracks featured on the Will To Survive LP are very good too.
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Re: Your TOP 5 unsigned/"7inch only" NWOBHM bands who had potential to release a "classic" album

Post by fengisriprider »

Charger: Desperados/Are You Out There
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Re: Your TOP 5 unsigned/"7inch only" NWOBHM bands who had potential to release a "classic" album

Post by bigfootkit »

Pavlos wrote:Talking about Harvest Moon, last summer I did an interview with Glynn Porrino about the band:

http://www.sacredmetal.de/board/viewtop ... 45#p542607

(scroll down)
That was a great read, nice one Pavlos!
I particularly enjoyed Glynn's remembrances about the Wrexham festival, he had some great stories.
Maybe he's right about Harvest Moon being cursed, their name was even misspelled on the gig poster:
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