DAMIEN THORNE The Sign Of The Jackal (1985) From Chicago, Illinois comes Damien Thorne, a five-piece metal outfit formed in 1982. The band have had numerous personnel changes but the present lineup reads Justin Fate (vocals), Ken Starr and George ‘Mule’ Shelton (lead guitars), Sanders Pate (bass) and Brian Horak (drums). Damien Thorne’s latest demo, […]

DESTRUCTIONSentence Of Death Steamhammer (1984)Rating: 8/10 While there can be no doubt that the North Americans win hands down in the death / power / speed metal stakes, it’s the Germans who are heading the European challenge. Hot on the heels of Living Death, Brainfever and Grave Digger comes the speed / black metal trio […]

WHIPLASH Thunderstruck (1984) Bangers in the New Jersey area will no doubt be familiar with Whiplash from the days when they went under the moniker of Jackhammer. Thunderstruck is the band’s second demo, under their new name (the first was Fire Away) and more than suggests that Whiplash will be up there thrashing with the […]

FIERCE HEART – The Dynamic Duo Of Melodic Rock Kelv Hellrazer Metal Forces, Issue 9 (1985) Fierce Heart (l-r): Rex Carroll and Larry Elkins 1984 saw melodic rock taking a turn for the better. Firstly, we had Legs Diamond, then Shy, closely followed by White Sister and finally Guiffria. These were all names that mysteriously […]

WITCHFYNDELords Of Sin Mausoleum (1984)Rating: 8/10 Despite their black metal image, there’s little here musically to associate Witchfynde with the likes of Venom, Mercyful Fate, Running Wild, Slayer and other demonic bands. But that’s not to say that Lords Of Sin is not a good album, for it contains some really strong material delivered in […]

HELL’S DAGGER Metal Rebels (1983) Hell’s Dagger are a four- piece metal band from Canada featuring Frank Ross (vocals / guitar), Syd Brophy (guitar), Danny Clout (bass) and Gil Heynemann (drums). The band’s Metal Rebels demo has four numbers – ‘Eyes Of Fire,’ ‘Better Safe Than Sorry,’ ‘Metal Rebels’ and ‘Power Of Love’ – which […]