I'll have to start writing about 1984 metal SOON! You're catching up! lol.
Hey thanks so much! This project has already been a big hit for me - giving me more of an idea of the musical environment of the late 70s-early 80s. And it introduced me to some new favorites (like Mercyful Fate), it has reminded me of the greatness of old favorites and made them newly favorites (Minor Threat) and it has taken albums and bands I only remember being lukewarm on before and made me “see the light” so to speak (Damaged, and Venom and Discharge).
I never thought I’d post about 60+ albums. Lol. I am excited to move onto the next phase. (Will be backtracking to listen to and talk about some 1982 demos by Sodom, Holy Moses and, of course, METALLICA - before moving into 1983. The amount of great stuff and also very very enticing and cool looking albums in 1983 and 1984 is both exciting and intimidating.
———
OH! And yeah I was flabbergasted to see you didn’t go to 84! That was the year that started it all when you posted a thread topic about best 1984 albums maybe 3-4 years ago. (Not sure if you remember that). And as I got more into ketalnthese last couple years, I was super excited to finally have something to add to your diary Metal discussion. Lol. Then you jumped back 27 years. Ha! It’s okay and I actually love your older music exploration. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t looking forward to discussing goodies from the year 1984 - when the metal world really went wild! (Bathory and Celtic Frost - classics from Slayer and Metallica - Megadeth and My War and my oh my oh my!!!!! So many boundary pushing classics that year!) _________________ -Ryan
Here is what I think I will do next: Music. I will continue with music stuff. More specifically, I will now (or very soon) move into 1983. My original plan was to work my way chronologically until I got to that fateful July day in 1983 when Kill ‘Em All was released. Metallica’s debut really is a landmark album and moment. And it deserves fanfare as a sort of demarcation line in Metal history.
The plan changed a little because I want to delve into the Hardcore releases of the coming years, as well as the Sludge and maybe even some Power metal records as well. I want to listen to early, primitive demos that point the way toward Death and Black metal as they come up chronologically. I want to listen to stuff like Crust Punk and Powerviolence and Grindcore as they come up as well. I want to listen to whatever metal or punk or metal/punk-adjacent stuff looks cool in a given year.
So… this means that the idea of startng this next phase gloriously with Kill Em All won’t happen because there are some cool demos in 1982 to circle back to (really gross stuff from Sodom, really early Metallica, the first Amebix EP etc). Then, even when we get to ’83, there are a lot of cool albums and EPs and stuff from before July. So it will be a bit before the Thrash starts raining down on this diary. Until then we have some dope stuff, it looks like.
I have my list ready and my general plan (with many, many audibles and changes-in-plans yet to come). I have not decided I guess the format or if I will grade them or rate them or rank them as I go. It seems weird to rank a classic, immaculately produced and written Mercyful Fate album alongside an absolutely gross sounding, 7-minute, unreleased demo by some future thrash luminary. So, we shall see.
I’ll be back to get rolling on all this soon. Until then, stay happy and stay safe, my friends. _________________ -Ryan
It seems weird to rank a classic, immaculately produced and written Mercyful Fate album alongside an absolutely gross sounding, 7-minute, unreleased demo by some future thrash luminary. So, we shall see.
Hey if it slaps, it slaps. That's the only scale that matters. And Mercyful Fate slaps/10. But it's definitely easier to rank similar albums, would make your life a whole lot easier. I'll follow whatever you decide to do here, keep up the good work. _________________ Overall chart Fake overall chart
The plan changed a little because I want to delve into the Hardcore releases of the coming years, as well as the Sludge and maybe even some Power metal records as well. I want to listen to early, primitive demos that point the way toward Death and Black metal as they come up chronologically. I want to listen to stuff like Crust Punk and Powerviolence and Grindcore as they come up as well. I want to listen to whatever metal or punk or metal/punk-adjacent stuff looks cool in a given year.
So… this means that the idea of startng this next phase gloriously with Kill Em All won’t happen because there are some cool demos in 1982 to circle back to (really gross stuff from Sodom, really early Metallica, the first Amebix EP etc). Then, even when we get to ’83, there are a lot of cool albums and EPs and stuff from before July. So it will be a bit before the Thrash starts raining down on this diary. Until then we have some dope stuff, it looks like.
Love your plan! Early Sodom <& Amebix!> rules!!! Here's sth I wrote a little while back to whet your appetite! ...
They were desperate. Metal. Or the coalmines. So they made metal for the mines. Scrapping together a sound borrowed from whatever was around in underground metal in 1983. Venom. Discharge. And just across the border, Hellhammer. And created a blackened, opaque monstrosity that is rightly championed as a first wave black metal classic. They would later (successfully) jettison this sound for thrash, but their first EP is purely primitive and all the better for it.
One more thing. This is a very artistic, theatrical and even grandiose album. They totally had a flair. Perhaps they couldn't play so well at this point, but like the best punk rock, that doesn't stop them from putting on one hell of a show. Plus, this is one of the first tastes of Blast Beats! On the second track - "Sepulchral Voice." Again. Them just being creative with what they had. Energy & passion!
Another thing. Like a lot of the best hardcore from this period, there's a shitload of emotional pain & frustration. Like being trapped. But Angelripper's trying his damnedest to break out.
I consider this an essential extreme music release, right up there with Hellhammer. And after checking out Hellhammer's Satanic Rites, this is next place to go for underground punk metal!
MercuryTurn your back on the pay-you-back last callProfile St. Louis
Fuck yeah! That review and write up from you sort of out that EP on my radar! Looking forward to diving back into it soon(ish).
Their gross and honestly hard to listen to Demo from ‘82 - Witching Hour - will be one of the next things I listen to again and write a very small bit about. Not even REMOTELY as cool and great as In The Sign Of Evil. But it’s fun hearing the very very beginnings of things.
Oh and Amebix is also a band I’ve really gone to like/love. Their 85 album Is pretty incredible.
Have you had a chance to listen to Holy Moses’ 1981/1982 demo Satan’s Angels? The vocals on there are the stand out. Fucking gnarly. _________________ -Ryan
YOUTUBE videos are annoying when included especially when looked at on mobile device. Sorry in advance if these videos take up all your cell phone screen. )
I wanted to start by backtracking a little. There are a couple cool punk releases I was curious about from ’78 and ’81. Also, I wanted to listen to the early EPs by a Finnish band that I heard Max Cavalero of Sepultera say he considers an all time favorite. Also, in 1982 there were several interesting demos and bootlegs released from some of the pioneers of thrash - such as Exodus, Sodom, Artillery and, of course, Metallica. So… I will touch on some of these – won’t cover them all obviously, just the ones that were most interesting to me. After that… 1-9-8-3 here we come!!!!
----- ---- --- --- ---- -----
Let’s start with the first 3 EPs by this great Finnish Hardcore punk band that I had never heard until recently.
Rock laahausta vastaan EP by Terveet Kädet
(Released 1980)
With each of these EPs the production got cleaner, the songs slightly more varied, and the length extended. Hell the 3rd EP is 3 TIMES the length of the first – so perhaps the insufferable pretentiousness increased as well. Of course this “E”P is merely 2 minutes of furious battle! Is this good? Hell yes! It’s Great! It’s 3 “songs”, 2 minutes, and it’s just so wild! The vocalist is what seems to breathe the sheer mad energy into the sound the most, but the whole band writhes and bursts and kicks ass here. A damn fine EP.
vTerveet Kädet II EP by Terveet Kädet
(Released 1981)
With their second EP, they extended their run time to nearly 4 minutes! But with all that added time they explore other sounds slightly more without letting bloat ruin it! There is even some time for an atmospheric opening to track one. But once the band gets started, it is just about as intense as their debut. This kicks ass and the vocals are still great. The guitar by this point had shortened the lead that the vocals held and now are a roaring, heavy, explosive beast. This is a good way to spend 3 to 4 minutes.
Ääretön joulu EP by Terveet Kädet
(Recorded 30 March 1982, released June 1982)
This is their most famous release and it’s a MASSIVE 6 minutes! In all seriousness though, this is where the band manages to level up slightly. Their debut and second release were stellar pieces of pure hardcore with some of the wildest and most extreme vocals of the time. But here with their 3rd EP, the sound is HEAVIER and better produced so as to really sledgehammer your wee head as you listen. The vocals are great as usual and the bass really comes in and steals the show. Maybe its just the way the producer accentuates the bass work that makes me marvel at it, but damn the low end is so active and fast and tuneful! The drums incorporate some more D beat-ish sounds and are more heavy here. This is their best EP of these 3, but not by much. They are all truly vicious, mean and glorious.
I wish I had checked these out earlier. If I had they would have ranked high on that list for sure. Finnish Hardcore may be my new fave thing. I will explore more of it and see if there are other hardcore bands that followed in Terveet Kädet’s wake and did other magical things.
Highly recommend each of these 3 EPs and I recommend stringing them together for a cohesive, awesome 12 minutes of punk rock madness.
OUT OF VOGUE EP by THE MIDDLE CLASS
(Released 1978)
Along with the Nervous Breakdown EP by Black Flag, this is considered the first “Hardcore” Punk release. I had heard the title track once on a compilation years ago and I have seen that classic cover many times, yet somehow I had never gone and listened to the full EP. I am glad I did.
This is good stuff! Not just as an essential piece of history, but just as a 5 minute beast of a record. The vocals are cool generally, but especially when they are spit out so fast they tumble on top of each other in their rush to get out. The production is really solid and clear, the low end is adequately heavy to give these short 1-minute tracks some real heft. Also, along with the opener and closer and their fast and furious punk style, the middle portion of the EP accentuates the slower, almost dreary side of cali punk. Very cool grooves and ideas sprinkled into the less ahead-of-their-time early hardcore tracks.
I wouldn’t say it is quite as great as Nervous Breakdown. Black Flag’s first EP was special as hell. But this is by no means bad or mid-level and only of note due to how influential it is. Kicks ass even in a vacuum with no other info provided about it. It’s 5 minutes, go check it out at the video link above.
The Varukers came up a lot when I was listening to tons of Discharge a couple months back. They are one of the first “D-Beat” bands and I had never heard of them until recently when I was looking into other early hardcore/D Beat/extreme punk bands of the very early 80s.
This is solid. It’s aggressive and angry as fuck and up there as one of the more intensely heavy and punishing punk or metal released in 1981. While I don’t have much to say about it and can’t put my finger on any particularly striking elements in the sound (besides its sheer aggressiveness), I can say this is very cool and maybe if you like Discharge you’ll like this as well.
7/10
--- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.
Satan's Angel by Holy Moses SATAN’S ANGELS DEMO/EP by HOLY MOSES
(Recorded sometime in 1981 and released in 1982)
I have listened to this demo from German metal band Holy Moses a few times recently. Each time I enjoy it a little more.
The screeching, pained, intense black metal vocals of singer Sabina Classen are the highlight. They are reminiscent of the Venom vocals of the time, but considerably more filthy and intense. And Sabina was only 17 when she recorded this… pretty fucking wild how unique her style already was.
The production is what one might expect from a Demo EP – but outside of a few moments the production isn’t so bad that it majorly steals my attention from the hammering metal.
The intro track followed by the opening song “I’m Not A Bitch” comprise 9 minutes of, truly, incredible punk metal. The opening track is a pretty standard atmospheric, spooky sort of thing – but it does it’s job well and gets me into the attitude and vibe of this killer opening song. The song itself features a rudimentary riffs that sounds heavy and mean and is played with some really nasty attitude. The guitar work alongside the little lead guitar details, the pretty sick solo and those absolutely fucked in the head vocals makes this song just plain kick ass. It isn’t good “for it’s time” or “considering it’s a demo from a bunch of teens” or or or… It is a kick ass song full stop.
The middle part of the album before the closing 2 songs is easily it’s weakest to my ears. The drums which are always amateurish are distractingly so on track 3 “Nights In The City”. And the song itself is a solid, if forgettable, hard rocking song with almost none of the anguish and mean-ness of the “I’m Not A Bitch”. The next track, “Never Give Up” is similarly unmemorable if solid.
The way the EP closes with the title track and then the live track is almost as badass as the way the EP starts. The vocals on the title track are cold, anguished, icey, evil, devilish, etc etc. They are great is what I mean to say. The music is more roughly recorded here than anywhere else and yet it works. Honestly it sounds like a straight up late 80s/early 90s “second wave” of Black Metal track at times. The closing live tune I adore because it really is just an unhinged bastard child of Black Flag and Venom! It rocks soooo hard and is so primal and primitive! This is Venom-level heavy and extreme for it’s time.
Really I am burying the lead a little, because what kind of blows me away is this was recorded in 1981! This thing sounds like it should have dropped in 87 and been weird then. The vocals are, as far as I know, the earliest example of that shrieking insane Black Metal style and even the drum snare sound is incredibly reminiscent of BM from a decade later. There are NO tremolo picked riffs or Blast beats. Hell most of this album isn’t even that fast – rarely above mid tempo. But the vocals, drums, production “style”, and atmosphere all shout “AHEAD OF ITS TIME!”. This was released as a demo and never heard by that many and so I highly doubt it was influential to any degree. But this a prime example of a band being ahead of its time without being influential, unlike, say, Venom who was both.
Basically, of all these demos and EPs I have heard this one shocked me the most. I think those of you who love metal and metallypunkstuff from this early 80s era will find this at the very least fascinating. Like I said, I have enjoyed it slightly more each time I have heard it. Mindblowing release and recording dates aside, this is, at its best and heaviest, just a raw and badass heavy as shit heavy metal album with some slight thrash and black metal elements. Highly recommended.
Okay, so this was rough to listen to. Underneath the headache-inducing production and hiss and noise was some really ahead-of-its-time thrash/black metal stuff. But man if I’m bein’ honest, it was tough listening to this all the way through despite being only 15 or so minutes.
As a document, it’s cool to hear. Clearly there was something brewing in Germany even at this early hour and Sodom (and the rest of the good ones from there) would very soon after this release some official releases that should be considered classics. This, however, isn’t it.
Recommended for fans of thrash and black metal only as a document and a curious piece of history.
(NOTE: The above portion of comment was after listening to one youtube video which was really really scratchy and nearly-unlistenable. There is another youtube video – the one I shared above – which is much cleaner. Probably there was some things done to remove some of the mess and maybe this is a less pure and primal and fucked up experience. But I enjoyed that version much more because I could hear what was happening much more clearly. Check out both if you want – they are the first 2 versions that show up when you search for “witching metal ep sodom full” …. And now I will say a few more things regarding this demo below here.)
Okay, so after hearing the cleaned-up version, my opinion has improved. This is some revolutionary stuff. I mean maybe revolutionary is too intense a word. This is certainly just about as chaotic and inaccessible as metal got at the time – filthy, fast, heavy, manic punk thrash. Not done with much skill yet, but done with shit tons of heart. They sound like teenage Venom-worshipping maniacs who took Welcome To Hell’s sound and style to a logical extreme. It sounds like they have a lot of energy and a few good ideas and then started sprinting as fast as they could, precision be damned! It’s cool. I still don’t love it, but its wild this stuff came out at basically the same time as those early Metallica demos. Metallica were better and had better songs and were almost as fast and brutal as Sodom at the same time. Sodom has the Americans beat in terms of sheer fucked up, uncontrolled aggression.
This was cool! Early Exodus when they still had Kirk Hammet, sounded like a rougher, less good, early Iron Maiden. Or, it sounded like kids who were obsessed with Killers and Maiden’s debut trying to do a similar melodic and grand and punk rock galloping version of NWOBHM. At times the tempos get FAST and the riffs get THRASHY and you can hear where the metal world was a-headin’. But mostly this is just some really really solid and melodic and at times badass heavy metal. Exodus even from the very early days, were some of the coolest mofuckers in the metal land. By the time they released their debut LP 2.5 years later, they were fully one of the absolute GODS of thrash. Anyway, that’s all.
Oh wait! No, that isn’t all – one final thing I heard when I listened to this little demo a couple more times is there are several riffs that sound quite similar to consioderably later classic tracks by Metallica. Kirk was a beast even as a wet behind the ears kid. Mustaine was great and no doubt much of Metallica’s Kill Em All was imbued with his ideas and DNA – but you can also hear hints of Hammett’s former band cropping up in songs like Leper Messiah and Master of Puppets and a few others. Not one-for-one like super duper close similarities, but they are there! Kinda fun hearing these little strings attaching all these classic Bay Area thrash bands.
With this demo, followed by No Life Til Leather, followed by Kill Em All, its fascinating listening to the same band play many of the same songs over the same 10-12 month period – and yet develop and mature so much.
No doubt as of the recording of this Power Metal demo, we are already dealing with a smoking hot badass group of metalhead musicians! These are sharply played and written songs with tons of energy. The energy level, and production quality all get increased with their next, more famous, demo EP. But shit this a solid start.
The first full-on thrash release? Maybe. I mean there are other possibly earlier thrash statements that come in short song form. But this EP (pretty meaty 24 minute EP which is cool – longer than most hardcore LPs.) just sounds so alive. Is it as good as their proper debut statement, Kill ‘Em All? Not even close! The riffs are slightly slower and much less heavy (due to less pro production I guess), there is, naturally, a demo feel here where the young uns seem to still be fully finding their style and sound and way around the songs, the vocals are STRIKINGLY thinner and more showy, less gruff here even in comparison to their debut a year later. It sounds like Hetfield had been listening to a lot of Diamond Head and was trying to emulate that style. There are other aspects that make this considerably less brilliant and overpowering than their debut. STILL, the magic is here and the consistent quality of this EP is impressive as hell. The cool punk meets NWOBHM, both halves being beefed up a bit, sound is as charming as ever.
The fact that Mustaine is still in the band and is playing these leads is also a major feature. It’s badass hearing the considerably faster and more intense leads on display on these tracks. Mustaine was a beast of a shredder even at this age. I love Kirk Hammett and think he is one of the greats. But Mustaine even at this time was clearly (to my ears) a step above in terms of talent. Also its refreshing not hearing that damned whammy pedal every 5 seconds.
Anyway, cool EP and much recommended. This is another great snapshot of this absurdly legendary band just before they came out and put the entire metal world on notice and changed the genre forever.
WHO’S THE ENEMY EP by AMEBIX
(Released 28 August 1982)
I thought this was cool EP. The band even at the outset sound heavier and muddier than most bands of the time. Yet in no hurry do they play their songs. Instead the tracks are a soupy, disorienting, heavy morass which creates a pretty distinct atmosphere. This is a cool mix of punk (almost post punk elements) with a savage and cold almost proto-black metal sound. This is a cool mix, for sure. But the band clearly weren’t yet fully masters of this new sound yet. They would go on to essentially create a brilliant new Crust Punk/blackened crust sound all their own. And shades of that mastery exist even here on their short intro statement. Solid as hell but not quite good enough to grab me majorly.
WE ARE THE DEAD EP by ARTILLERY
(Released December 1982)
If you liked those early Metallica and Exodus demos, then this similarly Thrashy (with a twist!) very early Artillery EP will be right up your alley! While this isn’t as sharp and groundbreaking as No Life Til Leather, there are certainly hints of what later would blossom into the sound of Thrash.
To be honest, Before scrolling RYM I had no fucking idea that Denmark’s Artillery went back this far! And I was very pleasantly surprised to find this is an accomplished and cool as hell blend of very, very early thrash/speed metal with some really heavy Sabbath-y Doom metal parts. The slowed down, chunkier bits and riffs may actually win out here. When they go full-Sabbath, they kind of kick ass.
Fair to say I wasn’t giving Artillery enough credit before. A quick look-see would have shown me these guys went back a long ways, but I had always in my head associated them with late 80s/early 90s generation of thrash.
6.7/10
--- --- --- ---- --- --- ---
Anyway, I think that’s all for this post. Which of these is your favorite? For me, that 1-2-3 punch of Terveet Kädet wins this round. Then, after that, I think for me, No Life Till Leather and Satan’s Angel were the ones I got the most fun out of between all these demos.
I think this is really, TRULY the last time I cover 1982 releases. Now I move on to 1983 punk and metal and there are some dope albums coming up. I am looking forward to exploring Japanese hardcore, more early thrash (Pre-Kill Em All), and some really brutal Crust Punk stuff. I made a list and if I stick to this planned list of 1983 albums, we have about 50 releases to cover on this diary for 1983 alone! It may be awhile yet before I get even to July 1983 when Kill Em All officially launches Thrash – not to mention how long before I wrap up all 1983 goodies. Repo, you are safely ahead of me chronologically! ?
Until next time, let me know your thoughts on these punk and metal releases and let me know if I turned you on to anything you’d not heard before.
Listened to the whole Out of Vogue: The Early Material comp which has songs from Out of Vogue EP, T&N Sessions, Scavanged Luxury EP and Early Demos. Impressive stuff for the late 70s. Think I've heard of The Middle Class before, but I'm not sure. In any case, it's a cool band. Terveet Kädet and Holy Moses are great finds as well, Merc! The 80s are a treasure trove of insanely cool lofi punk and metal. _________________ Overall chart Fake overall chart
Listened to the whole Out of Vogue: The Early Material comp which has songs from Out of Vogue EP, T&N Sessions, Scavanged Luxury EP and Early Demos. Impressive stuff for the late 70s. Think I've heard of The Middle Class before, but I'm not sure. In any case, it's a cool band. Terveet Kädet and Holy Moses are great finds as well, Merc! The 80s are a treasure trove of insanely cool lofi punk and metal.
That The Middle Class compilation sounds fascinating and thanks for the heads up! Agreed they were pretty cool for 1978.
And yeah I loved my experiences with Holy Moses and Terveet Kadet. Holy Moses releasing that demo in 1982 and recording it in 1981 and it not being at least a bit more famous is surprising to me. I figured it should have some sort of cult following. They didn't make much of a splash even later on when they embraced the Thrash movement and sound. Odd career and path that band has had.
Repo wrote:
OMG!!! What a great resource, Merc! Psyched to go through these one by one! :twisted:
Coming from you, this is huge! I sort of assume at this point you've heard every metal and punk album released in this era. You so consistently write about albums I have never heard on your diary. As always, thanks for kind words! Not sure if you got my PM about that Holy Moses demo a couple weeks ago? Let me know what you think when you give it a listen. _________________ -Ryan
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
Repo
Mercury
LedZep
