Badge

Despite releasing just this one single, BADGE managed to epitomize the best aspects of the entire NWOBHM movement while simultaneously being a completely average, nondescript unit. They are the Metal equivalent of Shrodinger’s cat, simultaneously existing in two diametrically opposed states.

Damn, shit got deep fast in this review, huh? And you thought you were just going to read a few lines about another NWOBHM single!

Here’s how BADGE managed to be so great while being so average. First, they were on one of the most generic yet important NWOBHM labels, Neat, but they were technically on the Metal Minded imprint, which only released one other NWOBHM single (wait for it). Thus, the release accrued a modicum of collectability given that Neat inexplicably felt the need to create a subsidiary for just these two releases, neither of which amounted to anything groundbreaking. See? The release was generic yet also special.

Second, the single was housed in one of those expected-yet-still-fabulous monochrome picture sleeves, this one featuring a small dragon (maybe it’s a drake? Yeah, I’m calling it a drake) holding a badge. While cheesy, it’s also pretty awesome. I’ve always been impressed with the ability of small-time acts to develop clever art concepts for 7” monochrome picture sleeves, and the NWOBHM was rife with such examples. So once again, Badge did the most average thing imaginable for a NWOBHM band, yet they did a great job of it.

Third, ‘Silver Woman’ is a minor classic of the genre. It has no unique song structures or gimmicks, but it perfectly exemplifies the NWOBHM sound circa 1981. The rumbly rhythm section, the amateurish yet charming vocals, the catchy chorus, the blue-collar guitar heroics… this song just has it all. Put it right up there with great tracks from the likes of BLACK AXE, SAXON, ARAGORN, and PARALEX. You could put a sound clip of ‘Silver Woman’ in the Online Dictionary next to ‘NWOBHM’ and I would dare anyone to ever question the entry. It will never be anyone’s favorite NWOBHM song, but it is the textbook example of a great NWOBHM song.

And finally, just to cement the pattern, Badge went and mucked up the flipside with the entirely forgettable ‘Something I’ve Lost’, which is a slow, draggy, bland song that goes entirely nowhere and takes every second of it’s 4:14 run time to get there. These slower NWOBHM songs worked well when instilled with a good dose of atmosphere (think along the lines of SEVENTH SON’s ‘Immortal Hours’ or BUZZARD’s ‘Raven Eyed Queen’), but the BADGE lads skipped that critical ingredient, thus ensuring that their single fits perfectly into the endless line of NWOBHM singles that featured one great tune along with one throwaway number.

And there you have it: a great but totally predictable sleeve housing a great yet totally predictable pair of songs, which is a totally predictable pattern for a NWOBHM single. They even followed the great but totally predictable career trajectory of recording 1 demo and 1 single, then another demo in the post NWOBHM years, and then waiting 25 years before releasing their catalog on one of those totally predicable High Roller anthologies.

See? Great yet generic, all at once. Maybe we should rename the phenomenon Schrodinger’s Drake.

Eher in die langsameren Gefilde des nwobhm begeben wir uns mit der Badge Single. Silver woman ist ein klassischer Rocker mit schoener Melodiefuehrung. Something I’ve lost dann eine Ballade welche zu Gefallen weiss und mit einem gekonnten solo abschliesst. Eine Pflichtuebung fuer den nwobhm Sammler, zumal hier keiner eine zweite Hypothek aufnehmen muss um die Single sein eigen zu nennen.