New Wave of British Heavy Metal Blog

Savage is yet another band from the NWOBHM days enjoying something of a renaissance as the genre’s resurge in popularity continues. After a ten year hiatus, Savage is back with a new album entitled Sons of Malice, but first a brief history lesson.

The band originate from the Mansfield area. A mini-NWOBHM hotbed at the time with, as I recall, Witchfynde being from around the corner just the other side of the A38/M1 junction in to Derbyshire.

Perhaps best remembered for what over the years has become a signature song – Let it Loose – Savage chugged along in fits and starts with talent hampered by smallish record companies they signed with not really having the muscle or resources to back the band with big money. Not an unusual occurrence back then.

Aligned with Ebony Records, early recording output in/around 1982 included their debut album entitled “Loose And Lethal. Critical and press acclaim followed though without the record label support to follow that through, Savage left Ebony in favour of Zebra Records.

Some impressive touring support slots were secured – notably opening for Metallica in the US which was followed by an EP and a second album – Hyperactive issued in 1985 – though things started to dwindle away and Savage all but disappeared for ten years or so until a couple of small beer label releases in the mid-1990s.

Spring forward another decade and a bit – and Savage are back with a hot new album, Sons of Malice. Reports suggest it’s classic old school NWOBHM and it’s always great to see a band from “back then” doing good stuff now. The New Wave of British Heavy Metal never goes away….!

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT SONE OF MALICE BY SAVAGE

Thanks to Ian Dick from Soldier for agreeing to a short interview with us. Ian shares with us a little look at the old days and what Soldier is up to now with recording and touring.

Soldier is a NWOBHM original. What do you recall most from those days and being part of the start of it all.

Reply – well remember everyone on these bands back in the day were very young and full of ego. There wasn’t the camaraderie between the bands that there is today and there was also a lot of falling out within bands. I suppose as with most things in life it would be nice to put an old head on young shoulders. The NWOBHM tag came along later so we weren’t aware of the movement and certainly not on the influence it would have on other bands.

I guess Solider will be forever associated with Sheralee. Is it true that the recording was financed from insurance money a band member received from a motorbike accident.

Reply – yes that’s right. Garry Phillips the lead singer came off his bike and as we were all skint back then he put up the money.

Any regrets from the first time around – Soldier as I recall gigged aplenty without really getting the record company attention some of your contemporaries enjoyed.

Reply – it would have been nice to have got the album out but the time and effort we put into gigging has paid dividends. I think that people must realize that the NWOBHM thing was the rock equivalent of punk. Loads of small bands with little or no backing doing there thing. Of course a small number of bands such as Iron Maiden rose above the pack and became huge. It’s easy to put on rose coloured glasses regarding the past and I think a small number of bands perhaps think they’re bigger than they are. Of course the vast majority of a younger audience wouldn’t have hear of most of us so it will be interesting to see what reaction we get in a live situation.

NWOBHM has never gone completely away and recently is enjoying a huge surge of interest. Was that a factor in Soldier reforming – what caused the reformation.

Reply – of course. I think because our recording history had been mostly demos , tapes etc we really wanted to put The album out we never got around to.

What are your hopes for Soldier now. Any plans to record and put out a CD.

Reply – Yes we have written a new album which contains 13x tracks and we have started recording . The intention is to get it released by the autumn. I think it is the best material we have down from a song writing point of view. As we have Miles in the band on 2nd guitar we have also written a lot of two part guitar parts. Added to that this will be the first recording without Garry so it will sound very different from previous Soldier releases . The album will be entitled – “Operation Bedlam “ In the immediate future there is talk of a single release featuring a new recording of Sheralee c/w a remastered original version and a bonus track from the forthcoming cd – watch this space !

You recently played the British Steel Festival. How did that go down.

Reply – Fantastic  – we had a great time. Unfortunately the numbers were down this year but we had people from Italy, Belgium and France who came over to see Soldier. It was the first time we had played live in eight years so a bit nerve racking and still feeling our feet. We had a great reaction from the audience and quite a few positive reviews and feedback from the fans. One negative from a guy who thought we didn’t have enough “metal attitude”or jump around enough  but you can’t win them all!! Big thanks to Phil from Elixer for his hard work each year in putting the festival together.

And I understand Soldier is on the bill at this year’s Hard Rock Hell festival along with some other NWOBHM stalwarts. You must be looking forward to that.

Reply – absolutely it will be the highlight of the year for us. The fact they put so many of us together reflects the interest in the NWOBHM movement. I had never listened to Gaskin before the British Steel Festival and to my ears they were the outstanding band of the evening so really looking forward to hearing them again.

Other than Hard Rock Hell do you have any touring plans or gigs lined up

Reply – now that we are out and about again we are talking to promoters and other NWOBHM bands regarding  2x band gigs. Nothing confirmed as yet but we will post them up on the website as they come up. I think each of us in Soldier would love to play at Sweden Rocks or Wacken if the opportunity arose.

Where can fans go on the internet to check out what Soldier is up to – official web site, Facebook, Twitter etc.

Reply – the official website is being re-launched in the next few weeks
Links as follows
www.soldier-uk.com
www.soldierstormtroopers.com

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Soldier-NWoBHM/203989236303577

http://www.reverbnation.com/soldiernwobhm

http://www.myspace.com/soldierofficial

Thanks again to Ian for his time. And our best to Soldier for the new album. Might be cheeky and ask for a review copy….!

P.S: just had an email from Ian to say that he can confirm that Heavy Metal Records will be releasing the new album and the band has decided to add a new version of Sheralee on the album as a bonus track.

Grim Reaper burned briefly but brightly in the NWOBHM days and enjoyed some commercial success in America rather than here in the UK. Formed by very talented guitarist Nick Bowcott, Grim Reaper could also boast a fine singer in Steve Grimmett. However a short career was marked by just a two album output – but fine albums they were.

An initial one track offering – The Reaper – appeared on the notable Metal For Heroes compilation stood out from most of the other stuff and the band toured and toured playing small venues up and down the UK.

Next was a recording deal with the independent label Ebony and the release of the debut offering entitled See You In Hell in 1984. This was picked up and given worldwide distribution by the powerful RCA label.

Touring followed which included a performance at the Texxas Jam to a massive audience. A second album was then recorded and released – Fear No Evil – which had more than respectable sales mainly in America and mainland Europe.

Respectable sales indeed with See You In Hell selling in the region of 250,000 copies and breaking in to the top 100 album charts in the US. Sadly for Grim Reaper, the follow-up album did not match the sales of their debut album. RCA’s support dwindled and without that the band had little hope of a breakthrough and became yet another notch in the “could have and should have had more success” column which is filled with many of their NWOBHM-era contemporaries.

The metaphorical towel was not thrown in and grim reaper slugged on with an all or nothing third album in 1986 Rock You To Hell. It was far from badly received and did, all too briefly, appear in the lower reaches of the US top 100 albums chart. And that was that for Grim Reaper.

However such is the resurgent interest in all the good stuff from the New Wave of British heavy Metal days you can get your ears around Grim Reaper and see, well hear, how good they were. Great artwork too!

CLICK HERE TO DISCOVER GRIM REAPER ON AMAZON

More was another New Wave of British Heavy Metal band that had all the talent but none of the breaks. Just two albums – Warhead and Blood and Thunder – before it was all over in a mess of management and legal issues. Thought for a while it did look like their chops would take them far.

Believe it or not, original vocalist Paul Day was briefly in a very early incarnation of Iron Maiden as both bands have London roots. More gigged far and wide building up a following and noticed by all the “right” critics. They contributed one track – Soldier – to a compilation album Metal Explosion which was one of many that would appear to cash in on the MWOBHM phenomena.

A signing to big label Atlantic followed and produced their debut Album entitled Warhead. Such was the band’s emergence at this time that they even got to open the Monsters of Rock festival at Castle Donnington on 1981. I might even have been there – can’t remember – went to a few back then though who was on I have no idea it was so long ago. But that doesn’t matter.

On the back of Donnington and support slots with some of the major names of the day it did look like More could have it all and recording began on what would become their second album – Blood and Thunder. However in true rock music tradition this is when it started to fall apart. Day got a better offer and went off during recording to join Wildfire.

In came new vocalist Mick Stratton though apparently re-wrote the lyrics causing some delay in recording.  Other line-up changes came about before the album saw the light of day and changes didn’t stop there with perhaps the most notable one being Laurie Mansworth leaving to form Airrace.

And that was pretty much that for More and even a couple of attempted reformations came to naught.

Whilst it is always a shame to see a NWOBHM band who could have risen from the pack not doing so for various reasons, the better news is that the band’s brace of albums have been re-issued and can be enjoyed again. I hope they sell truck loads.

 PLEASE CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE MORE RE-ISSUES ON AMAZON

Just back from tonight’s UFO gig at the O2 in Leeds. Man, they really turned it up to eleven tonight with an absolutely first rate performance. This was another one more time I’ve seen them over the years than I’ve had hot dinners and they do not disappoint. From Let it Roll all the way through to Shoot Shoot this was a band right on it for night on two hours.

The Heavy Metal Kids gave us something to listen to for a while and didn’t sound too bad at all. Can’t say I’m familiar with their work from the “old days” though they were entertaining enough to make me want to get hold of an album to see what’s really what.

Just about 9pm it was time for the main event. Phil Mogg, Vinnie Moore, Andy Parker, Paul Raymond and Ron De Luca open it up with Let It Roll and it’s quite obvious that we’re all in for a good night. Phil sounds great and then we get two songs off the new offering Seven Deadly as Phil says there have been some “complaints” about not enough new stuff so it’s Fight Night and Wonderland next.

It’s a nice tight, powerful performance although after I’m a Loser and This Kids some of the crows stood near me start to whine that there are no “classics.” C’mon boys – UFO are not a band that has to trade on “classics” with enough bona fide other stuff to fill a dozen set lists and then some.

Saving Me proves that point and a fine rendition of Burn Your House Down (another off Seven Deadly) simply reinforces that. The new stuff sounding crisp and clean and right at home already.

The few restless locals are then treated to their “classics” with Love to Love, Too Hot to Handle, Lights Out and a particularly excellent extended Rock Bottom closing out the set. Oh – I forgot that the nice surprise song tonight was Venus off Walk on Water. Nice choice lads.

An encore of (what else) but Doctor Doctor and Shoot Shoot sends us all out in the crisp Leeds night air more than happy.

The band all look more than happy themselves up there too. Very tight, very slick. New man Rob De Luca solid enough on the bass. Paul Raymond has the occasional foray out from behind the keys to remind us how essential he is to the sound. I’d never really realised before tonight how hard Andy Parker works behind the kit thumping the tubs with real power. Vinnie Moore is effortless without being needlessly flashy.  And Mr Mogg – looking cool, sounding smooth and very powerful. On this form it’s hard to think of anyone you’d rather see or anyone who could outdo them.

Phil’s entertaining between song interludes very funny too. A selection being Andy Parker’s birthday, Vinnie’s shoes off eBay, where he went for lunch and stating the obvious: “this is the title track from Lights Out……………..it’s called Lights Out.

First rate indeed. And after Nazareth the preceding evening it’s been a fine “rock ‘n’n roll” weekend.

Oh – set list. I think it was (E&OE) something like this:

Let it Roll
Fight Night
Wonderland
I’m a Loser
This Kids
Saving Me
Burn Your House Down
Only You Can Rock Me
Love to Love
Venus
Too Hot to Handle
Lights Out
Rock Bottom
============
Doctor Doctor
Shoot Shoot