VENOM – Venomous Reptiles Dave Reynolds Metal Forces, Issue 3 (1984) The world is ravaged by a ferocious nuclear war on such a horrific scale that it makes The Day After look like a normal Saturday afternoon’s sport for the Inter-City Firm. The ground is scorched, the sky a dull grey. A wailing noise emanates […]

WARLOCKBurning The Witches Mausoleum (1984)Rating: 9/10 Warlock are another of the many female-fronted bands that have recently burst onto the heavy metal scene. But after listening to Burning The Witches, it’s obvious that these Germans are far superior to their American counterparts, such as Hellion and Bitch. The band are fronted by the beautiful Dorothee […]

PANTERAMetal Magic Metal Magic (1983)Rating: 8/10 After the first wave, always comes the second. I am of course referring to the New Wave of American Metal currently taking place. In the beginning you had Wild Dogs, Bitch, Crysys and others, and now following close behind come Slayer, Helstar, Anthrax and from the state of Texas, […]

ABATTOIR Abattoir (1983) Hailing from Los Angeles, California come the highly recommended Abattoir; a five-piece consisting of Raul Preston (vocals), Robert ‘Danger’ Wayne (drums), and founding members Mark Caro (lead guitar), Juan Garcia (second guitar) and Mel Sanchez (bass). Abattoir have only been together for about a year but they’ve already appeared on the Metal […]

OBSESSIONMarshall Law Metal Blade (1983)Rating: 9/10 “Total destruction / But that’s the price you pay / A loss of hearing that just won’t go away.” So begins the lesson according to Obsession, a five-piece from Connecticut. Their four-track EP on Metal Blade is just what the above says, full of crushing dual guitar breaks, 100mph […]

MANILLA ROADCrystal Logic Roadster (1983)Rating: 7/10 This is Manilla Road’s third offering to the metallic globe and is by far their best to date. I was none too impressed with their previous efforts, Invasion (1980) and Metal (1982), but Crystal Logic at least shows promise for the future without exactly setting the world alight. Unfortunately, […]

YNGWIE MALMSTEEN – The New Rising Force K.J. Doughton Metal Forces, Issue 3 (1984) Yngwie J. Malmsteen While the name Yngwie J. Malmsteen might not be as catchy or pronounceable as Eddie Van Halen or Gary Moore, it’s destined to become a renowned term among guitar hero circles in no time at all. Malmsteen has […]

HIGHLIGHT Highlight (1983) Sweden’s Highlight come from the same management stable as the excellent Syron Vanes, and have a slightly similar sort of sound; though the production is more rougher. Highlight are a three-piece comprised of three brothers who claim to be ancestors of “the rawest Viking in Scandinavia”, one Sture Leufvenius. Michael Leufvenius is […]

AXE VICTIMSAnother Victim Mausoleum (1984)Rating: 6/10 With a name like Axe Victims, I’d expected this five-piece German band to be nothing short of a frenzied attack of power metal. Sadly, this is not the case. The album opens in fine style with the fast hard driving metal of ‘Shoot From The Stars’, complete with space […]

OSTROGOTHEcstacy And Danger Mausoleum (1984)Rating: 7/10 This is Ostrogoth’s first full-length album and the Belgian’s follow-up to the four-track Full Moon’s Eyes release of last year. Ecstasy And Danger is pretty much the same as that first offering being none too brilliant, but then again not that bad. ‘Stormbringer’ is by far the standout track, […]