Here’s another fine box set which Cherry Red Records do so very well. This time it’s a triple set featuring Warfare, of who Lemmy was a big fan.
Warfare formed in the early/mid-1980s and brought something a bit different to the New Wave of British Heavy Metal scene.
Their style was hard, heavy, fast and well, brutal. A mixture of NWOBHM, punk and thrash metal. No messing about. A full on assault and battery to the senses.
Indeed, not unlike Motorhead in some respects, which I guess is what drew Lemmy’s attention to them.
Warfare’s punky influences brought along by drummer Evo as he drummed for the excellent Angelic Upstarts (remember them?) before forming Warfare.
The band were signed by Neat Records – the label of course being something of a safe harbour for aspiring NWOBHM era bands such as Raven, Venom, Cloven Hoof and others.
Warfare blazed quite a trail for a few years back then with a series of recordings of a high energy nature and that mixture of Raven, Motorhead and Tank style battering ram style with the punk and thrash in addition. Very heavy stuff.
Perhaps their best known song is Metal Anarchy. Have a listen to how brutally heavy it is:
It’s the title track from Warfare’s 1985 album – with that album taking the focus of this Lemmy Sessions box set. The man himself was involved in the mixing of the album. However that version was not released – until now.
Lemmy’s mix is the first disc here. As you might expect from it being almost four decades ago it is in its rough form from the original cassette featured here in the original running order. A shot of raw energy indeed.
Disc two is given as a “new fully polished version” of the Metal Anarchy album with disc three comprising of various singles and EPs including in inspired cover of Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s Two Tribes. Yes, really.
A fascinating listen particularly notable for Lemmy’s involvement with the band and that previously unreleased mix he did of Metal Anarchy.
As ever with these Cherry Red box sets it’s excellently presented in a hard clamshell box and a comprehensive booklet with notes from Evo and John Tucker.
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