Well, there's another record that helped define Black Metal that came out in 1984... <Morbid Tales>
and on that reocrd would be one landmark song that would inspire the weirdos and occultists in metal for years to come:
You could point to any number of reasons why Morbid Tales was such a success. The album that instantly transformed Celtic Frost into legends in the metal underground. The album that is considered the gateway to pretty much every branch of extreme metal. Black Metal. Death Metal. Even Doom! One reason, as Tom G. Warrior (TGW), Celtic Frost's guitarist and vocalist, points out is that they played slowed-down, heavier versions of Venom songs. Before rehearsals, they would play Venom’s In The League Of Satan at 45 RPM instead of 33RPM just to make it that much heavier. And that became their goal. To sound like that.
Or as another reason, (and I just love this quote from TGW), “We weren’t good enough on our instruments at the time to emulate something more sophisticated, so punk was within the realm of the achievable”. TGW continues “…Discharge, which to me was a revolution, much like Venom. When I first heard the first two Discharge records, I was blown away. I was just starting to play an instrument, and I had no idea that you could go so far. Discharge totally opened my eyes.”
So they were heavy. And they were primitive. But, what throws Celtic Frost over the top, what makes them until this very day gods of extreme metal, were the riffs. The heaviest riffs imaginable completely on par with even the mighty Sabbath!
And of course, TGW’s creative ear. They may have changed their names from Hellhammer to Celtic Frost because they yearned to play better, but cutting to the chase, they still couldn’t really play their instruments. But, it didn’t matter! They had an ear for this shit. Like Venom before them, they were metal visionaries. They saw potential that people even with (or should I say especially with!) classical training just couldn’t see. Instead, TGW used his whammy bar and production overdubs like a weapon. Distorting notes in ways others said couldn’t work. As TGW said… “Most classical musicians would say ‘You cannot do that’ or ‘You cannot overdub that’ – just every possible denial. It was always a huge struggle to get them to do what we wanted to do, but at the end of the day everybody was always fascinated that it actually worked.” Amen to that!
I say go for it! Speaking of which, would you prefer if I just keep my thread focused on metal and then create another one for mellower stuff? I've got a couple of metal and mellow albums that have been kicking around the old brain. BUT, I really like the current metal discussion going re: 1984. <I'll probably listen to that Europe album in the next day or so, and I'm also itching to talk about Jag Panzer. Comparing Omen and Jag Panzer will be helpful to me. >
I say go for it! Speaking of which, would you prefer if I just keep my thread focused on metal and then create another one for mellower stuff? I've got a couple of metal and mellow albums that have been kicking around the old brain. BUT, I really like the current metal discussion going re: 1984. <I'll probably listen to that Europe album in the next day or so, and I'm also itching to talk about Jag Panzer. Comparing Omen and Jag Panzer will be helpful to me. >
Thanks, Gowi! <Have to watch that movie with my kids really soon. I pretty sure they'd LOVE it!>
Jag Panzer is coming!! But it won't be next. Hope to get something up Thursday night.
In the meantime, and in keeping with Black Metal and 1984, we really need to talk about <again written a couple of years back> ...
Talk about weird. Bathory got their big break because of fan mail. In 1983, a small record label was putting together a compilation entitled Scandanavian Metal Attack. A band backed out at the last minute. Quorthon talked. And talked. The label boss relented. Begrudgingly and mostly as a favor to Quorthon’s Dad who owned the record label. And then it happened. The mail poured in. Lots & lots of it. Fan mail that is. Because the tracks were brilliant. The sound itself sounds like the beginnings of one of those classic jokes. Two albums walk into a bar. Metallica’s Kill ‘EM All. Venom’s Black Metal. They got shitfaced drunk. Sloppy & reckless. Fucked right there on one of the pool tables in the back. And spawned something new. Something awesome.
For at it’s core, it’s essentially a speed metal album mixed with a heaping ton of Venom worship. (After all they're named after a Venom song, the immortal “Countess Bathory.”) And created the most extreme speed metal heard at that point. What I love about my favorite kinds of music is that it’s sooo simple when you break it right down. Especially punk rock. And this is essentially punk rock. Simple plodding beats. A couple of cool riffs. Tension and release. Frenetic. And then easing off. Which isn’t surpinging really. Because long before he become the godfather of the entire black metal scene, Quorthon was just a punk. “Oh yeah, when I was a kid I was walking around with green hair and safety pins and stuff - I was totally into it. Ha! Ha!”. Quorthon continues, “Our interests are simple - sex, horror and the exploration of the dark side of life. It's just a way for me to let off a little steam, after all, this is supposed to be fun, right?".
And fun it is. What’s interesting to me is that tracks like "Necromancy" actually sound like goth rock mixed with industrial. Something that's not that far from early Skinny Puppy really. If "Necromancy" played at an industrial night at some dive-y punk club back in the mid 80s no one would have batted an eye. They would have just danced a little harder. This shit swings!
My vague memory is that I wanted to have this kind of semi-automatic delivery. I remember saying to Glenn <Tipton>, “This is what I want to do” and he said, “Then let’s do it.” That is what I love about Priest. You might have the most ridiculous sounding ideas but we never kill it. We’ve always said in Priest, “Try everything.” It doesn’t matter how absurd it might sound in discussion, you don’t know until you try it. You can talk until you’re blue in the face about an idea, but until you go through the motions and you hear it coming back through the speakers you don’t know if it is going to work or not. – Rob Halford on his cross fire vocal acrobratics on Freewheel Burning <the opening track of Defenders Of The Faith>
"Tom Allom, <Judas Priest’s producer for SEVEN studio albums> was as important to us as George Martin was to The Beatles…” - Halford
The Setting:Judas Priest were coming off their most successful album - Screaming For Vengeance. An album that appealed to newbies and lifers in equal measure. In fact, I called Screaming For Vengeance the #1 Metal album of 1982. So there was pressure. Jawbreaking pressure. How would Priest fare in the glare?!
The Listen: Welcome to the future. <Or so we thought!> Judas Priest ditches the warm sounds of the 70s and accidentally discovers a fascinating and magical meld of modern 80s Arena Rock flair to NWOBHM balls. <Def Leppard would take this even further on Hysteria <too far if you ask me, but still an admittedly glorious product.>> Sometimes a formula just needs a tweak to keep it fresh, and that’s exactly what Priest does on Defenders Of The Faith.
When I first plucked this off the rack at my local record shop back in 1984, I thought it would fall under the “If it Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It” category. It screamed sequel! From the cover art < A Sentinel instead of a Hellion> that appeared to just slap a Black & Red metallic coat on Screaming’s classic Yellow & Red. But as was the case with my first first marriage, I was wrong. Judas Priest, with the heavy hand of their massively underrated producer Tom Allom, twiddled the knobs to the point of exsanguination.
Out was Screaming's warm 70s badass biker gang feel that Skynyrd fans could appreciate on such songs as "Take These Chains" and "Pain & Pleasure" <It should be noted that the massively underrated Point Of Entry is also replete with tons of these denim & leather biker bangers too! From the obvious ones - "Heading Out To The Highway" & "Desert Plains" to the fan favorite - "Turning Circles">.
In was the crispy cold first bite of an apple. A metallic militarized-industrialized-complex scream that declared, "Winter Is Coming!" and, didn't ya hear, "Love bites!"
<It’s a really cool sound, and I’m sure it emboldened Allom & Co. to twiddle the knobs even further on Turbo with sadly lesser results. But honestly, Turbo's not quite the disaster it's made out to be. The songs "Turbo" and "Into The Cold" in particular are Priest classics. No, the production itself did NOT sink Turbo. That distinction lies solely at the feet of the lyrics that seem inspired by Twisted Sister and Halford sounding like an out of touch Dad who's just read a self help book on how to connect to his troubled teen. Published by the Episcopalians! <"Hands off, Private Property"? Really?! >. But let’s face it. They had already hinted at the idiocy to come with the Beavis & Butthead worthy "Heavy Duty" < "he said 'Duty' huh huh heh heh...">>
The Verdict: This is 80s' Arena Rock For Metalheads! <Not Mall Ratts! > And one of the great successes of 80s commercial metal. Right up there with the classics from '83 such as Pyromania and Holy Diver. It will just miss my top ten, but it’s super solid and well built. Like Maiden, Priest were master craftsman at this point in their career. And these songs reward repeat listens. Over & over & 0ver again. Especially when the night comes down!
The Rating:
Last edited by Repo on 12/17/2022 19:04; edited 1 time in total
Defenders of the Faith I believe is the most famous Priest album I for some reason have never heard. I need to get on it! Great write up.
As for Bathory's debut, I look forward to a relisten. Recently while listening to Anti-Cimex's 1983 EP I was struck by how similar the production was to early Bathory. Very trebly lo fo and all that jazz. Its like 7 minutes long but its a doozy of an EP and I'd love to hear your thoughts on it and if you also hear a similarity if not an influence (although maybe an influence...?) with Bathory's self titled. _________________ -Ryan
Defenders of the Faith I believe is the most famous Priest album I for some reason have never heard. I need to get on it! Great write up.
As for Bathory's debut, I look forward to a relisten. Recently while listening to Anti-Cimex's 1983 EP I was struck by how similar the production was to early Bathory. Very trebly lo fo and all that jazz. Its like 7 minutes long but its a doozy of an EP and I'd love to hear your thoughts on it and if you also hear a similarity if not an influence (although maybe an influence...?) with Bathory's self titled.
Hmmm... Interesting tangent, Merc! I'll throw it on the pile!!!
Repo's '84 Pile
1. Europe's first two albums
2. Jag Panzer vs. Omen and early USPM
3. Ratt
4. Anti-Cimex and Bathory
Started Fates Warning's legacy. Prog Metal innovators. One of the greats. Highlights include Night on Brocken, The Calling, and Soldier Boy. More of a speed metal album than prog, but you still see the flashes of what they'd become.
The best Doom Metal album made in the 80s, dwarfing Candlemass, Pentagram, and others. Recently have gotten their credit, but most still don't know who they are... this is their opus.
Part of Japan's Big Three (X Japan, Anthem, and themselves). Not quite as consistent as their follow up a year later but it still rocks. Great heavy metal.
The Empress of Heavy Metal; Mari was one of the few city pop artists to transition to heavy metal. One of her stronger metal showings. You NEED to give her the flowers the white-oriented rockists that kowtow over the "canon" never did.
Actually, it’s weird now. Because it gets a lot press. People call it a classic. BUT, if you go back to the time, it came out the same month as Ride The Lightning. And it absolutely did NOT get the same reviews as Ride The Lightning. It was NOT an Album of The Month in any magazine. It was just considered your basic, good album. – Mark Briody, Jag Panzer's guitarist, on Ample Destruction’s critical reception back in 1984.
Well, that’s kind of an awkward confession. I feel his vulnerability. But, Mark’s right. Ample Destruction is not Ride The Lightning. Not even close. Nor is it Powerslave. Or Don't Break The Oath. Or any of the other albums that will eventually make my Top Ten of 1984. BUT, it’s a vey cool minor opus that certainly goes an ample enough way to giving 1984 it's peculiar charm and making it one of the best years in metal. Jag Panzer were an amalgamation of a bunch of threads that were just starting to cohere. And why they are not quite great at any of them, it's an interesting starting point. Especially when one looks backward now and sees where these threads would lead.
A couple of weeks back I wrote about how Omen's Battle Cry is really, really GOOD. BUT, it's essentially just rough & raw, underground Americanized Iron Maiden worship. Omen's passion and ferocity totally make up for it being a bit of the "Which Maiden song did they steal that riff from?" game show. And God knows we needed more bands that wanted to mine the rich NWOBHM ground of the early 80s. By 1984, most bands were all too eager to jump on either the Thrash Or Hair Metal trains, completely missing the potential that England's NWOBHM had brought to the fore. Luckily, there were just enough of these kind of bands to create a scene and the beginnings of American "Aggressive" USPM <US Power Metal> As Gowi pointed out just a couple of weeks ago, Maiden and Priest were its raw products with different bands throwing in different stuff.
What made Jag Panzer special were two things. Secret weapon Harry “The Tyrant” Conklin, who could ape BOTH Rob Halford and Bruce Dickinson <as well as having a few shades of one of my personal faves from this scene - John Arch of early Fates Warning fame.> “The Tyrant” would soon enough be plucked like a flower by the one American band who had a hand in the NWOBHM sound back in the late 70s & early 80s - Riot. Secondly, they were FUN! Demonstrative, bombastic, and even a bit ridiculous. They were just a bunch of young diehard metalheads geeking out and taking inspiration from their heroes. And that enthusiasm is infectious. Take the song "Generally Hostile” for example which foreshadows the whole Viking thing. You can just picture Harry “The Tyrant” grabbing a mead <and a dino-sized turkey leg!> and leading a hall of merry revelers in this raucous song after battle. <So grab a turkey leg!!! And go “No Mercy” on that tasty & charred little bugger!>
The Verdict: Like Anvil’s Metal on Metal or, yes, Omen’s Battle Cry, Ample Destruction fleshes out its year in metal history, but hardly defines it. Or… is that the wrong way of looking at this? Is the better, more accurate story, of metal's evolution told by the “B Movie” bands. Bands like Omen and Jag Panzer. And Anvil and Tygers Of Pan Tang in the years before them?
<ps: Ok. If I had to choose between Battle Cry or Ample Destruction, I'd definitely take Omen's Battle Cry. This should NOT be surprising. I mean it's essentially Maiden's Killers dosed with some Speed Metal! Yum!!! >
“Back then, Eddie <Van Halen> was sort of the apex of a new direction for guitarists of my generation. If you were just getting in the game like me, he was the guy to look up to. He made it all seem so exciting. Everybody wanted to play like him, and every band wanted to hit it big like Van Halen.” – Warren DeMartini, lead guitarist of Ratt
Look in the mirror
You’re too good for yourself - The Morning After
The Setting: What could be better?! We’re driving down the highway in our rented Ford Mustang convertible <top down, of course!>, the three of us belting out the lyrics to Ratt’s "Wanted Man". Pumping our fists up into the hot Floridian sun as we accelerate around the curves on the palm lined road. We’re on our way to Grandmother's house, BUT there's not a wolf in sight! The REAL Tilly pays the album we're spinning – Ratt’s Out Of The Cellar – the highest compliment she can think of... “This is just as good as Def Leppard, Dad! Maybe even Ozzy!” Gotta love it when your teen daughter is turning into a metalhead, right? <”I couldn’t be prouder!” , beams Pappa Repo!>
Out Of The Cellar did just that for Ratt back in 1984. They had been toiling away in the gutter of the Sunset Strip for pretty much a decade by then. The basics were already there, as one listen to Ratt’s EP (1983)penned by longtime Mickey Ratt club members, vocalist Stephen Pearcy & rhythm guitarist Robbin Crosby, would tell you. They were close. So close. But, back then you needed an Eddie or Randy <Rhoades> to close the deal. You needed a guitar hero to bring down the lightning. <Glitter glam power, activated!> Enter teenaged DeMartini, the hand-picked successor to Jake E Lee, on his departure from Ratt to join the Ozzman himself. Would DeMartini elevate RattOut Of The..."
The Listen: Sometimes you just want music to kiss & flirt too. Nothing heavy. Just something fun to get the party going and those Bartles & Jaymes flowing <"Thanks for your support"!> And just Outside Providence, hair metal was just da thing to get those wine coolers tilted back & perpendicular! Back in '84, Ratt was the band that all the bad girls <that good guys loved!> had on their party mixtapes. Just the right amount of danger while keeping it sugary sweet. Delicious crunchy-chewy riffs like a Twix’s candy bar. This was music for walking to the mall too. <Boombox firmly affixed to shoulder, of course!>. When I throw this on, I can almost taste the hairspray!
The Verdict: A shiny & polished update of Motley Crue's sleazetastic masterpiece from 1981 - Too Fast For Love <and a million times better than Motley Crue's own, at times, vomit inducing Theatre of Pain (1985), Ratt captures the Hair Metal crown in 1984 despite stiff competition from Dokken's Tooth & Nail. <Don't worry! I'll cover Dokken in 1985!> It's not a total success as the songwriting can get a bit generic at times and the commercial production robs these Ratts of their balls. It lacks that rough & raw dimension that made Too Fast For Love an instant classic. (Plus Tommy Lee’s drumming is just on another level <or TWO!>) But, it’s certainly the equal of the Crue's fantastic Shout At The Devil (1983). Ratt's Out Of The Cellar could easily jump start a party on its own lonesome back in 1984, and that’s no small feat. And they weren't done! Ratt's Invasion Of Your Privacy (1985) is every bit as good as the debut. And I’m telling ya', you coulda' created a Greatest Hits mixtape form those first two Ratt albums alone! <Pretty sure I did! lol. >
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<Have to watch that movie with my kids really soon. I pretty sure they'd LOVE it!>
> And one of the great successes of 80s commercial metal. Right up there with the classics from '83 such as 
>
