Back in the early New Wave of British Heavy Metal days, Grim Reaper were right there at the forefront.
Between 1983-1987 they released three instant classic albums – See You In Hell, Fear No Evil and Rock You To Hell. All three are now available in a tasty box set and it’s marvellous.
It all looked so good for Grim Reaper back then. See You In Hell is one of THE great NWOBHM anthems and the album is remarkable.
Nick Bowcott’s guitar pyrotechnics and huge gut-wrenching riffs punching every song along with Steve Grimmett’s vocal histrionics at a lung-busting scale.
The album’s running time is just over half an hour – but what a half an hour. Eight songs of hard-hitting proper heaviness. It’s not surprising that See You In Hell did so well – particularly over in America.
The follow-up, Fear No Evil, was in the same vein as See You In Hell. Big, thumping heaviness, lots more of those cutting, monster riffs, scorching solos and Grimmett’s huge vocals. This album also did very well in America with the band being on the bill at the 1985Texxas Jam in front of an 80,000 crowd sharing the spotlight with the likes of Ted Nugent, Scorpions and Deep Purple.
Grim Reaper surely set to be up there with NWOBHM mega-acts such as Iron Maiden, Saxon et al……..or were they…..sadly not.
The momentum and attention from the first two albums stalled due various legal and label-related issues creeping in with the third album – Rock You To Hell – subsequently delayed by a few years.
Rock You To Hell is another fine album and like its predecessors sold respectably and saw Grim Reaper tour America with Helloween and Armored Saint though after that Grim Reaper fizzled away.
Have a listen to See You In Hell. A monster is it not?
https://youtu.be/DWlxbb1Eh_8
Four decades later, Grim Reaper’s 1980s output stands up against anything else. A band seemingly with the world at their feet until the legal stuff got in the way.
So good now to have all three albums together in this box set. A trio of timeless NWOBHM classics.
>> GRIM REAPER THE GRIMM CHRONICLES ON AMAZON <<
Steve Grimmett did reform Grim Reaper a few years ago though for those historical legal reasons it is Steve Grimmett’s Grim Reaper. And it sounds like the Grim Reaper of old. Check out At The Gates for example. Hopefully more to come.