Belgian GOOD Metal :)

[DaN]

We can't have a "Belgian Crap Metal"-thread and no Good counter-part - that'd be raaaaaayyysist.....

I have always considered Belgian 80's Steel to have a very high "average score", at least as far as LPs and Minis go (the infamous "Belgian Crap" is mostly resorted to early 7"s..)
Apart from the obvious classics like ACID, KILLER, OSTROGOTH and CROSSFIRE there's so many other one-offs I love, like TRIAL, BREATHLESS, DRAKKAR, RITAL etc...

Anything else that you consider underrated? Any more notable rarities that should be added to this list?
...and could someone PLEASE sell me a copy of SAPPHIRE 7"???


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[bigfootkit]

Any more notable rarities that should be added to this list?

Off the top of my head, how about that S To S album?
The pre-Killer band Mothers Of Track had some good stuff scattered across their 45s, though their LP was somewhat underwhelming & they may be just too early for your tastes. I have a soft spot for Warhead's 'Speedway' LP too.
I scored a lot of interesting Belgian stuff back in the day from (former?) Corro member Astra Wally's old blogs, i'll dig out my HDs at the weekend & see if i can refresh my memory with some specific names.

[Maxim]

Any more notable rarities that should be added to this list?

Maybe Golgotha ?

[DaN]

Cheers for the tips!

S To S had completely passed me by. Interesting sound - though not as killer as it could have been, I still think it would fit The Archive. If anyone here has this in his collection, I'd love to get a full cover scan of it.

The Golgotha A-side was nicer than I remembered. I have the single so I'll def' add it. Let me know if anyone needs a good rip.

It struck me that the 4th KILLER LP, "Fatal Attraction" is quite rare and probably belong. Unfortunately it has eluded my grasp through the years so I've never actually heard it - I try to avoid "spoilers" for releases I still think it's a good chance I might find. It has been a few decades now, so I might as well do it anyway - if anyone once again can suppy scans?


On the subjects of both GREAT, underrated Belgian albums and Killer, Van Camp's "Too Wild To Tame" album is an absolute scorcher! I probably hold it higher than even the best Killer albums - some quite amazing riffing going on on that one..

[Cochino]

I've always liked the X-Creta LP. Reminds me of 80s extreme Brazilian stuff (but apparently that's still not "metal enough" for the guys over at M-A), with enough catchy riffs spread around to keep me going back to it from time to time.

[bigfootkit]

Cheers for the tips!

S To S had completely passed me by. Interesting sound - though not as killer as it could have been, I still think it would fit The Archive. If anyone here has this in his collection, I'd love to get a full cover scan of it.

They'd obviously been listening to a lot of the great 70s Detroit bands, but once those influnces were filtered through them it came out sounding pretty unique. According to the blurb on the website of the label who re-released the S To S LP, those distinctive fuzzy guitar effects were the product of 'primitive homemade pedals'. For sheer intensity very few songs released in 1977 could compete with 'I'm A Killer'. The riff at the start of the tastefully named 'Children Killers' reminds me of a NWoBHM song, but annoyingly i just can't recall which it is just now.

[mordred]

t struck me that the 4th KILLER LP, "Fatal Attraction" is quite rare and probably belong. Unfortunately it has eluded my grasp through the years so I've never actually heard it

You have!
Roused you out of your daily lunch nap at Muskelrock with that once, so you crawled out of the tent to ask what the hell we were listening to. Despite your sleep-daze, you went a bit crazy about it and judged it “might be as good as the Van Camp LP”.

[DaN]

t struck me that the 4th KILLER LP, "Fatal Attraction" is quite rare and probably belong. Unfortunately it has eluded my grasp through the years so I've never actually heard it

You have!
Roused you out of your daily lunch nap at Muskelrock with that once, so you crawled out of the tent to ask what the hell we were listening to. Despite your sleep-daze, you went a bit crazy about it and judged it “might be as good as the Van Camp LP”.

I can only VERY vaguely recall the incident - but not the music.

X-Creta.. wow, haven't put that one on in a loooong time. Nice riff-o-rama crossover for sure. I do hear the Braz-comparison I think..

I'm gonna keep listening to that S To S lp some more, esp those tracks you mentioned, 'kit. I need to figure out if this is something I really should try to hunt down or not...

[Maxim]

That 4th track on X-Creta album sounds like an unreleased Tormentor (Hun) song. But the majority of the LP still more on hardcore side IMO.

[Zombie Dance]

You Belgium's worst band ever?

They were actually quite good, wonder why they were labelling them like that!

[mordred]

t struck me that the 4th KILLER LP, "Fatal Attraction" is quite rare and probably belong. Unfortunately it has eluded my grasp through the years so I've never actually heard it

You have!
Roused you out of your daily lunch nap at Muskelrock with that once, so you crawled out of the tent to ask what the hell we were listening to. Despite your sleep-daze, you went a bit crazy about it and judged it “might be as good as the Van Camp LP”.

I can only VERY vaguely recall the incident - but not the music.

I honestly think Fatal Attraction is on level with Wall of Sound and the Van Camp LP. I bought it at KIT many moons ago for 20 or 25 euros. I honestly didn't know it was anything rare until one or two years ago. Or maybe it wasn't rare until then? Anyway, I think it's an LP you should really try to add to your collection.

[Cochino]

That 4th track on X-Creta album sounds like an unreleased Tormentor (Hun) song. But the majority of the LP still more on hardcore side IMO.

Well, I would say that plenty of extreme metal of that time, and certainly lots of bands of the Brazilian scene, had some strong Hardcore Punk elements to their music. Probably, mostly due to the combination of amateurishness and their ambition to push the boundaries.
I've read lots of interviews with bands of that era that said they shared most shows with bands from the Hardcore scene because the traditional Heavy Metal scene and even most of the Thrash scene didn't want to have anything to do with the extreme bands.

[bigfootkit]

Any more notable rarities that should be added to this list?

How about the confusingly schitzophrenic Retour De Flamme 45 'Pas De Sentiment'?
Shall we sing in English or French? Shall we have a female or male lead singer? Shall we be a Hard Rock, Prog Rock or New Wave band? Shall we drench everything in ill-fitting squelchy synths?
Yes to all of the above apparently, yet it somehow remains an interesting listen.

[Maxim]

Well, I would say that plenty of extreme metal of that time, and certainly lots of bands of the Brazilian scene, had some strong Hardcore Punk elements to their music. Probably, mostly due to the combination of amateurishness and their ambition to push the boundaries.
I've read lots of interviews with bands of that era that said they shared most shows with bands from the Hardcore scene because the traditional Heavy Metal scene and even most of the Thrash scene didn't want to have anything to do with the extreme bands.

Uhh, of course it is well-know fact that many (extreme) metal bands were influenced by hardcore punk and vise versa. But unlike stuff like Sarcofago, Repulsion etc. this album probably has more hardcore riffs than metal ones, hence the reason it was removed from M-A. Haven't listened it in awhile though so I cannot be 100% sure.

[ujr_metal]

We can't have a "Belgian Crap Metal"-thread and no Good counter-part - that'd be raaaaaayyysist.....

I have always considered Belgian 80's Steel to have a very high "average score", at least as far as LPs and Minis go (the infamous "Belgian Crap" is mostly resorted to early 7"s..)
Apart from the obvious classics like ACID, KILLER, OSTROGOTH and CROSSFIRE there's so many other one-offs I love, like TRIAL, BREATHLESS, DRAKKAR, RITAL etc...

Anything else that you consider underrated? Any more notable rarities that should be added to this list?
...and could someone PLEASE sell me a copy of SAPPHIRE 7"???


2 reviews on the subject, just added:





...and:



Nothing super-special, but well worth sharing:

Exclusive content for logged in users.

What about Bad Lizard, Cyclone, Scavenger, Thorax?