“I always liked fast music. And this was it, you know. It was really fast with plenty of religion!” – Chris Knox (lead singer of The Vibrators) speaking of the punk rock scene.
Chris Knox was wired for punk rock from the beginning. Long before it hit and became a thing, he was waiting for it. He grew up on instrumental guitar God Duane Eddy and Johnny Kidd & The Pirates. Worshiped The Velvets in the 60s. And then began paying his dues on the pub circuit in the early 70s in a band called Lipstick. Playing Chuck Berry covers just a bit faster & better than his peers. And his own stuff that was heavily influenced by The Velvets.
Of all the UK Class of ‘77 bands, they were closest to their New York contemporaries such as The Heartbreakers. And the reason should be obvious. They shared a musical education. They loved the same bands. The girl groups. The instrumental surf bands. 1950s Rock n’ Roll. All of it. Which gave them a leg up on their UK brethren who were mostly music neophytes who formed bands after finding religion upon hearing The Sex Pistols. Sudden converts the lot of them for the most part. Meanwhile, Chris Knox & his Vibrators had been worshiping at the altar of rock n’ roll for a decade plus.
Unlike the New Yorkers, though, The Vibrators had a toehold on the future as well. Presaging the development of New Wave with bangers such as “Keep It Clean.” Queue it up and just listen to the sound of the guitar and those vocal quirks. Can you say "eighties"?!?!
And if they dipped their toes into new wave territory with Pure Mania, they plunged right in with V2 – a total statement of purpose and a visionary New Wave album that would lead others – most notably Adam & The Ants – into New Wave territory in the near future. V2 deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as other hard hitting New Wave classics like Elvis Costello’s This Year's Model and Devo’s Q: AreWe Not Men?
Truth be told, I think V2 is even better than Pure Mania! It’s just that good with super catchy, punky nugget after nugget with perfect New Wave production, guitar tones and vocal affectations. Really just doesn’t get better for 1978 New Wave/Pop Punk.
Of course the bands in the know knew better. Stiff Little Fingers cribbed their name straight from a Vibrators song. The Exploited pretty much crafted their entire sound from V2's last track - "Troops of Tomorrow." And were't afraid to pay their respects either! Naming their second LP after it!
tldr: The Vibrators are an ESSENTIAL UK Class of ’77 Punk Band. If you've checked out The Clash and The Sex Pistols, they are the next place to go. Right up their with The Damned if you ask me.
THE TWO YOU NEED
1. Pure Mania (1977)
2. V2 (1978)
Take a trip in a time machine back to 1977 and see what was considered “bloody obscene” …
Nothing says Summer Party! like Tiki torches and instrumental surf rock for me. So for your next socially distant gathering, queue this juicy platter up. It's a high quality barnburner throughout and a surefire party starter. Sexy as hell and flirtatious. It’s like the music’s trying to pick you up. That’s a little something that got lost with a lot of punk rock and extreme music in general, I think. My favorite is the menacing street-fighting tones of “Stalking”. You can just picture the greasers pulling in on their Thunderbirds. Hair slicked back and a Pink Lady on their arm. But the whole LP is high quality instrumental guitar rock of the highest order!
The Vibrators are great but Tbh I haven’t heard V2 yet so that’s one for my wishlist.
And you’re really in for a treat if you listen to this gem:
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Punk: The Early Years by The Vibrators
Where they nearly cover all the punk classics, many times in better and grittier versions than the original ones.
The Vibrators are great but Tbh I haven’t heard V2 yet so that’s one for my wishlist.
And you’re really in for a treat if you listen to this gem:
Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.
Punk: The Early Years by The Vibrators
Where they nearly cover all the punk classics, many times in better and grittier versions than the original ones.
Couldn't find this anywhere on line! So I ordered a physical copy. 😎
Since picking up a Stryper album way back in middle school, I've never specifically sought out Christian music ever again. So I'm not really sure where Trouble stands in the Christian Metal hierarchy, BUT they have to be right up there. Even cooler, the fact they are Christian is never the first thing mentioned about Trouble. Nope. It's almost always about the music. Which is where it should be since they are one of the best Doom bands of all time. I made the mistake of thinking all these years that The Skull was a downgrade from Psalm 9. I was wrong. It's every bit as good. It is NOT my favorite Doom album of 1985 - more on that later - but it's quickly won a spot in my heavy rotation.
Highly Recommended (HR).
Can see why you think it's the best, Gowi!
mickilennialThe Most Trusted Name in NewsProfile Detroit
Ok. Before delving further into the extreme metal genre, I’m going to take a small step back to cover another pivotal subgenre that had a massive impact on the metal scene – Speed Metal. As we’ve discussed earlier, the beginnings of Speed Metal started in the late 70s with Judas Priest (Stained Glass, Killing Machine & British Steel) and then got a steroid injection in 1981 from their apt pupils – Raven & Accept. The importance of Priest on this genre cannot be overstated and in a lot of ways their Painkiller album from 1990 could now be considered the platonic ideal of the entire Speed Metal scene! Meanwhile, back in 1981, both Raven and Accept released two speed metal landmarks with Rock Until You Drop (which has grown on me since I started this project! It’s important, fellas!) and Breaker respectively.
The next vital band in the genre were metal documentary stars and all-around good guys - Anvil. They released two crucial, if not quite seminal, albums in the early 80s with Metal on Metal and Forged In Fire. Metal on Metal was the second best Speed Metal album of 1982 (right behind Accept’s Restless & Wild) and thus a major influence on the burgeoning Thrash Metal scene. However, Forged in Fire saw Anvil taking a quantum leap in both songwriting and power (equivalent actually to the leap they took from their debut LP Hard ‘N’ Heavy(which is a really fun & dumb metal album btw!!!) to Metal On Metal. But I digress! Forged In Fire is definitely the pinnacle of their oeuvre. They would leap no further. Instead they would churn out consistently good Speed Metal albums to drink Molson Bradors and other cheap Canadien lagers to at the local pub for the rest of their lives. Which honestly is good enough for me! I ain't picky! Everything they’ve recorded is worth a listen. Just remember, that…
THE TWO THAT MATTER R…
1. Metal On Metal ( 1982) (R)
2. Forged In Fire (1983) (HR)
And if you are going to listen to just one Anvil song, make sure you check out this...
Anvil was at the top of the world for like one album, and then they kept making mediocre songs and their label kept dropping the ball on the production/mixing. They are one of those sad stories we talk about in the genre.
The heaviest garage rock band of all time?! They were certainly the heaviest of their Pub Rock brethren, who were critical to the formation of the concert circuit and audience that enabled the punk explosion in 1977 in England. Formed in 1975, these neanderthals were a direct lineage to The MC5/The Stooges of late 60s. But whereas everyone’s heard of The MC5, The Count Bishops live in relative obscurity even by music nerds such as myself. And trust me. That shit ain’t right. These guys are literally GODS of garage rock. NO ONE does bluesy primitive R&B/rock ‘n roll quite like them. No one! Everything they've released in their short lifetime is worth scooping down like a melting ice cream in the Cincinnati heat over a blistering hot Fourth Of July weekend. Trust me. If you like garage rock, you need to hear some Count Bishops. They are one and the same.
The first twoThe Animals albums are essential listening for anyone interested in the origins of garage rock/proto-punk. Legendary stuff. And upon FIVE cases of PBR (hipster booty if there ever was!), I swear there is no better way to get a party started than this particular incendiary LP. It’s a baby maker, brothers & sisters!
It's that time again. Where I recap the ground we've covered since the start of this little diary. Part of this exercise is to suss out what The Essential Repo Punk Metal Canon looks like. Again, I will ONLY be cataloging albums that have been specifically name-checked in this diary thus far. So this is far from an exhaustive list. More of a fun, let's see how much ground we've covered as well as a nice synopsis for those keeping score at home. So here's a list BY YEAR of the albums that I feel is essential to building the ultimate punk metal discography. I will periodically update this list. And of course, I'd love to hear your thoughts & recs!
\m/_\m/____ The Repo Canon (so far)____\m/_ \m/
1958
Duane Eddy - Have “Twangy” Guitar Will Travel (HR)
1964
The Animals – The Animals (E)
1965
The Animals – On Tour (HR)
1969
The Stooges – The Stooges (E)
MC5 – Kick Out The Jams (E)
1970
The Stooges – Funhouse (E)
Mountain – Climbing (E)
1973
The Stooges – Raw Power (E)
1974
Kiss - Kiss (E)
UFO – Phenomenon (E)
1975
Ted Nugent - Ted Nugent (E)
UFO – Force It (E)
Scorpions - In Trance (E)
The Count Bishops – Speedball EP (HR)
1976
Judas Priest - Sad Wings Of Destiny (E)
Rainbow - Rising (E)
Scorpions - Virgin Killer (E)
UFO – Heavy Petting (E)
1977
Judas Priest - Sin After Sin (E)
AC/DC – Let There Be Rock (E)
Scorpions - Taken By Force (E)
The Count Bishops -The Count Bishops (E)
The Vibrators – Pure Mania (HR)
1980
Black Sabbath – Heaven & Hell (HOF)
Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden (HOF)
Ozzy Osbourne – Blizzard Of Oz (HOF)
Motorhead – Ace Of Spades (HOF)
Van Halen - Women and Children First (HOF)
Judas Priest - British Steel (HOF)
AC/DC – Back In Black (HOF)
Saxon - Strong Arm Of The Law (E)
Saxon - Wheels Of Steel (HR)
Angel Witch - Angel Witch (HR)
Diamond Head - Lightning To Nations (HR)
Witchfynde – Give ‘Em Hell (HR)
Vardis – 100 MPH (HR)
Tygers Of Pan Tang – Wild Cat (HR)
Discharge – Realities Of War EP (HR)
Discharge – Fight Back EP (HR)
Fist –Turn The Hell On (R)
Quartz - Stand Up and Fight (R)
Witchfynde – Stagefright (R)
1981
Iron Maiden – Killers (E)
Venom - Welcome To Hell (E)
Discharge – Why (E)
Exploited – Punk’s Not Dead (E)
Holocaust - The Nightcomers (HR)
Accept – Breaker (HR)
Subhumans – Demolition War (R)
Raven – Rock Until You Drop (R)
Tygers Of Pan Tang – Spellbound (R)
1982
Venom - Black Metal (E)
Discharge – Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing (E)
The Exploited – Troops Of Tomorrow (E)
Accept – Restless & Wild (E)
Pagan Alter – Volume 1 (HR)
Witchfinder General - Death Penalty (HR)
Anvil – Metal On Metal (R)
1983
Metallica – Kill ‘Em All (E)
Slayer – Show No Mercy (E)
Accept – Balls To The Wall (E)
Hellhammer – Satanic Rites (E)
Manilla Road – Crystal Logic (HR)
Anvil – Forged In Fire (HR)
Witchfinder General – Friends Of Hell (R)
Key
HOF - Hall of Fame
E – Essential
HR – Highly Recommended
R – Recommended
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