Historical Events in Rock and Roll Children

Main objective behind writing “Rock and Roll Children” was to remind people, especially metalheads, of heavy metal history. At the time I began writing, there seemed to be a push by mainstream media to downplay the role heavy metal played in during its golden decade, the 1980s and that decade, contrary to what the media was pushing was not all Frankie Goes to Hollywood. Like it or not, heavy metal was a dominant force in the 1980s. True, it got little radio play and minimal play on MTV but the most successful bands sold millions of albums and played to packed out arenas. So, we can safely say that the 1980s was the golden age of heavy metal and I wrote “Rock and Roll Children” to bring home that point.

With all that said, the 80s for me was a busy decade and there were a lot of events, both music related and not, which took place in the time period in the book, 1984-7. That is the purpose of today’s post, to give you a history refresher of the events, (sorry, it’s the teacher in me) and by some weird hope, more of you will buy the book.

Non- Musical Events

U.S. Marines in Lebanon- In the story, Bob’s older brother, Mitch, served with the US Marines in their ‘peacekeeping’ mission in Lebanon. Although, he wasn’t there when the big tragedy happened in October 1983, some of his friends were. He is clearly effected by his experiences there, getting wounded when a grenade went off near him.

McDonald’s Mass Shooting- In the summer of 1984, a man went into a McDonald’s in California and shot and killed 22 people. Before he left, the shooter declared he was going to hunt humans. In “Rock and Roll Children,” the main characters joke that if they go to McDonald’s, they’re going to get shot.

Famine in Africa- I make reference to this in the book because it led to one of the greatest musical events of the decade, which I will mention more further down.

Ronald Reagan’s Re-election: This is briefly mentioned because Mitch is upset that the country re-elected the man who sent him to Lebanon where he was wounded.

Super Bowls XIX, XX and XXI- All three of these super bowls get mentioned.

The Bombing of Libya- When the US bombed Libya in 1986, there was concerns for the safety of Americans travelling in Europe. Jeff had been accepted to the University of London and while he wasn’t worried, some others were.

Reagan’s Contra War in Nicaragua- Bob becomes an anti- Contra Aid protester in light of events. He saw what Lebanon had done to his brother and this is what drives him here.

Arthur Fowler’s Imprisonment- When I got to England, I became engrossed in the very popular soap opera, “East Enders.” (Today it holds no interest for me.) In one episode, the character Arthur Fowler gets sent to prison for stealing money from a Christmas Club. A couple of nights later, I saw stickers at one underground station saying, “Free Arthur Fowler.”

Herald of Free Enterprise Disaster- In March, 1987, a British ferry called The Herald of Free Enterprise capsized in Zeebrugge, Belgium, killing 193 crew and passengers. This was a huge tragedy. One month after the event, Jeff and his roommate, Henry, take a ferry to France and this does worry them a little.

Music Related Events

Concerts- Every concert which takes place in the story actually happened and at the time they actually occurred.

Vince Neil’s Accident- This rocked the heavy metal community hard and gave plenty of ammunition to the anti-metal establishment. In case anyone has been living on Jupiter, Vince was more than twice over the drink-drive limit and crashed his car, injuring two people and killing Hanoi Rocks drummer, Razzle. It had an effect on the major characters in the story as after that, they made sure that they didn’t overdo it if they had to drive.

Rick Allen’s Accident- Rick’s accident happened about three weeks after Vince’s. While Rick and his girlfriend survived, Rick lost his arm as a result of the accident and the entire heavy metal world held their breath as to whether he would play the drums ever again.

Aerosmith’s Bottle Incident- The actual event happened seven years before it gets mentioned in the book, therefore, it’s told retrospectively. The character Tammy was at the concert in Philadelphia in 1979 when some moron threw a bottle on stage hitting Steve Tyler. She gives her full account of the incident and alludes to why Aerosmith seemed to holding back their best efforts when they played Philadelphia in 1986.

Live Aid- This was the musical event of the 80s I mentioned earlier. The concert was put on to raise money to help those in famine stricken Africa. Two concerts took place simultaneously, one in London, the other in Philadelphia. In “Rock and Roll Children,” I focused more on the two metal acts which performed that day, Black Sabbath and Judas Priest.

Farm Aid- This was a concert to raise money to help American farmers who were losing their farms. The main takeaway from that concert was Eddie Van Halen and Sammy Hagar playing together for the first time. The rest of the story is history.

Jesus Freaks at Concerts- I wrote a post about this. Starting in 1986, whenever people went to a metal concert in America, there were the Jesus freaks all there telling people they were going to hell for seeing that band. It was a great source of entertainment.

Religions War on Rock Music in 1986

Bon Jovi and Europe Being in the top 10 in the UK Charts- In November, 1986, Bon Jovi was at number nine in the UK charts with “Living on a Prayer” and Europe at number two with “The Final Countdown.” For many of us metalheads, it was a slap in the face to the mainstream music industry.

Prosecution of Jello Biafra- This made the news in England. Former Dead Kennedys singer, Jello Biafra, was prosecuted and fortunately acquitted on the charge of distributing pornographic material to minors on the DK album, “Frankenchrist.” While Jeff was reading about it on the train to the airport to return home, it gave him a wake up call about the society he was heading back to.

See, you do learn about history if you read “Rock and Roll Children.” One thing I was criticized for but make no apologies was how metalheads were discriminated against in the 1980s. Not that we let that stop us. Maybe I did over-pound the point but it was real. There were a lot of great and tragic events both musically and not throughout the 80s. I tried to bring history to life and maybe that was the problem, I wrote it too much like a history book.

To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com

Next post: Mammoth

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80smetalman Poll: Would you have liked a full album from the Dudes of Wrath?

Dudes of Wrath

I know I said that the next post would be the Nine Inch Nails but with all the things I had to do with the run up to Christmas, I haven’t been able to give their debut album my full attention. Therefore, I got to thinking and ever since I posted about the “Shocker” soundtrack a few weeks back, I have been wondering if the one band, The Dudes of Wrath, should have put out a full album. They played the opening and closing songs on the soundtrack, although the closer is a reprise from the opener. Plus they back up the strange duet between Alice Cooper and Horace Pinker. While, the duet might have been strange, the song they do play is pretty good, so, was there potential there? The stellar line up alone suggests that they should have moved forward.

Desmond Child- lead vocals

Paul Stanley- lead vocals

Vivian Campbell- guitar

Guy Mann-Dude- guitar

Rudy Sarzo- bass

Tommy Lee- drums

Kane Roberts and Michael Anthony- backing vocals

So, tell me your thoughts, good or bad. Should we have heard more from the Dudes of Wrath?

Normal service will resume after Christmas.

To buy Rock and Roll Children, it makes a nice Christmas present, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com

Great Soundtracks of 1989: Shocker

I’ve never seen the movie “Shocker.” From what I’ve read and what I remember, it received mixed reviews everywhere. I came to be in possession of the soundtrack via my sister, Dawn, who sent it to me as a Christmas present in 1989. It turned out to be a great present because no matter what is said about the film, this is an amazing soundtrack.

The first and last songs on it are from a super-group calling themselves The Dudes of Wrath. It consisted of Desmond Child and Paul Stanley on vocals, Vivian Campbell and Guy Mann-Dude on guitar, Rudy Sarzo on bass and Tommy Lee on drums. Also, Michael Anthony and Kane Roberts provide backing vocals. No argument from me about this being a super-group. They open the soundtrack with the title track and I have to say, it’s a pretty good way to open things. Paul’s vocals are quite obvious and he and all the dudes do a good job on it.

Second up is “Love Transfusion” from Iggy Pop. After the harpsichord sounding intro, the track goes proper metal. It has a strong, commanding beat and I regret to say but this was my first experience of Iggy. Let me say it was a great introduction. T

That is followed by what I guess you can call the single from the soundtrack, Megadeth’s cover of the Alice Cooper classic, “No More Mr. Nice Guy.” I remember this song getting pretty far up the UK charts in 1990 and even the metal hating UK newspaper, “The Sun,” ran a small article on the band and didn’t say anything negative about them. Still, while this is a cool cover, it wouldn’t win an “Original vs. Cover” competition, at least not in my view.

Up and coming German band, Bonfire, are up next with their song, “Sword & Stone.” Like stereotypical Germans, Bonfire get straight down to business with a cool, straightforward metal jam. This one ticks all the boxes, cool vocals, a strong rhythm section and some excellent guitar solos. Side one ends with a very haunting but hard hitting power ballad from Saraya. Some called this band the next Heart and we will explore that more when I get to their self-titled debut album but for now, I just want to sit back and thoroughly enjoy this power ballad. That piano intro and Sandi Saraya’s vocals are just mesmerizing.

Side two opens with the return of The Dudes of Wrath, only this time, Desmond and Paul are relegated to backing vocals. “Shockdance” is a rap duet between the movie’s villain, Horace Pinker, played my Mitch Pillegi and one Alice Cooper. The track is very amusing, especially the line “And I never do the dishes.” The backing music from The Dudes make sure the rap isn’t a joke.

Like Saraya, another metal band which got some notoriety on this soundtrack is Dangerous Toys and I will be posting their 1989 album in due time. Here, they give us “Demon Bell (The Ballad of Horace Pinker)” and for me, it has 1980s hair metal all over it. Still, it’s a nice track and there was great potential with Dangerous Toys here.

The following two tracks are from bands I have only heard of on this soundtrack. First up is Voodoo X with “The Awakening.” Since, I had never heard of this band I heard this song, I can award it the hidden gem of the soundtrack. It’s a good metal song, sort of Whitesnake before they went into more ballads. It did prompt me to research them more and I can say their one and only album has been added to the list for 1989.

Maybe, like many soundtracks from the 1980s, who try to incorporate all forms of music, the people who put the “Shocker” soundtrack tried it with all forms of metal. Penultimate track, “Different Breed” from Dead On is a nice thrash/speed metal track. While there is nothing ultra spectacular about it, it is good enough for me to add their debut album to the list. The soundtrack ends with a reprise as The Dudes of Wrath takes it out singing, “We will have the power, we will have the glory.” It’s a nice way to end things.

Track Listing:

Dudes of Wrath

1. The Dudes of Wrath- Shocker

Iggy Pop

2. Iggy Pop- Love Transfusion

Megadeth

3. Megadeth- No More Mr. Nice Guy

4. Bonfire- Sword & Stone

Saraya

5. Saraya- Timeless Love

6. The Dudes of Wrath featuring Alice Cooper and Horace Pinker- Shockdance

Dangerous Toys

7. Dangerous Toys- Demon Bell (The Ballad of Horace Pinker)

Voodoo X

8. Voodoo X- The Awakening

Dead On

9. Dead On- Different Breed

10. The Dudes of Wrath- Shocker (Reprise)

Who cares about the film? I ask. This is a great forgotten soundtrack with some excellent heavy metal. Now, I know some of you will come back with “I haven’t forgotten this soundtrack” and that’s cool. In fact, pull it out and listen to it again as it’s that great.

Next post: A joint post with Mike Ladano- Our Top Ten Savatage songs.

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Great Metal Albums of 1988: Acid Reign- Moshkinstein

Acid Reign came to my attention via a heavy metal compilation album I bought in 1989. The track from that album, which I will review in due time, was the opening track on this 1988 EP, “Moshkinstein.” From the very first strike of the power chords, “Goddess” gets the blood pumping and the fists punching the air. It further has one looking for a mosh pit and possibly a stage to dive from. This song is just pure carnage, no question about it with its breakneck speed pace and swirling guitar solos and the capable vocals of H, who is now known as Howard H. Smith.

The second track, “Suspended Sentence,” does start out slower but seems to slowly increase in speed, led by a pronounced drumbeat. You get about a minute of steady, hard pumping rhythm to bang your head to before a guitar hook brings in the vocals. Then the song just gets faster until it’s at the near breakneck speed of the first track. However, it does slow down for more vocals, the constant change of pace keeps things extremely interesting. Oh yes, there’s a cool guitar solo trade off supported by a cool bassline.

The instrumental, “Freedom of Speech,” lets you enjoy a quick breather before it goes to the best track on the album for me, “Motherly Love.” Dialogue from the movie, “Psycho” opens the track and that dialogue is also used in the chorus. In fact, the film is the theme of the song, which is sung from Norman’s point of view. It’s not fast, more Metallica “Black Album” speed but that hones in the point the song is trying to make. A steady rhythm of crashing guitars and H’s vocals are well suited to the song and the keyboard interlude in the middle adds a further dimension. The weird thing is that this is the best track despite the absence of a blistering guitar solo. Just some well placed lead guitar hooks.

Speed returns, somewhat, on the track, “Respect the Dead.” At least after a suspenseful sounding intro with the guitars. They get cracking afterwards and it results in a straight forward metal song. There is a good guitar solo, actually two blended together and I can safely say that Kev and Gaz make a good guitar combo. Closer, “Chaos (Lambs to the Slaughter),” begins in doom metal form before going full thrash. It ends the album in the same way it came in, fast and mental.

Track Listing:

1. Goddess
2. Suspended Sentence
3. Freedom of Speech
4. Motherly Love
5. Respect the Dead
6. Chaos (Lambs to the Slaughter)

H- lead and backing vocals

Kev- guitar, backing vocals

Gaz- guitar, backing vocals

Ian- bass, backing vocals

Ramsey- drums, keyboards, backing vocals

Howard changes his clothes for the finale, Acid Reign at Bloodstock, 2016

Acid Reign may be Britain’s best kept thrash metal secret. While people fawn over the likes of Motorhead and Venom (and rightly so), Acid Reign doesn’t get their fair dues. This EP is one reason why I think so.

Next post: Motorhead- No Sleep at All

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Rest in Peace Dan McCafferty

Dan McCafferty in Nazereth

It is my sad duty to post the passing of Dan McCafferty. Dan was the lead singer in the Scottish hard rock band, Nazareth, who were well known throughout the 1970s. The irony is that when I wrote my chapter “Tee-Bone Man and Superdekes’ Time Travelling Adventure,” I stated that when those in Rock and Roll Heaven decided to create heavy metal, the album “Hair of the Dog” was used as a blueprint. I still and always will believe that. The album also spawned Nazareth’s best known song, “Love Hurts.”

Nazareth

FFI: Click below:

Founding Nazareth Vocalist Dan McCafferty Passed Away

I consider this one the hidden gem from that album.

This one is one my all time favourite soundtrack.

Rest in peace, Dan McCafferty

Boy, 2022 really sucks!

Great Soundtracks of 1988: Dirty Dancing

Now, I know that officially both the film and soundtrack to “Dirty Dancing” came out in 1987 but I am quite sure that it didn’t make it’s way across the Atlantic until 1988. That’s why it’s included in the post for said year. A couple of days ago, I had someone quick to correct me on my Peaceful Rampage blog over a minute point I wasn’t accurate on, so I don’t want to be accused of getting my facts wrong here. Anyway, onto the film and the soundtrack.

What I like about this soundtrack is that since the film is set in 1962, it incorporates music from that era and what was then the modern era of the late 1980s although most of the songs were more from the earlier era. The most noted song from the album is “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes. The song was quite popular at the time and won several awards. My first wife like it a lot so when I recorded a cassette for us to have in the car, I included it. The Blow Monkeys give us a cover of a Lesley Gore number but it’s rather unspectacular. A better song is “Where Are You Tonight?” from Doobie Brothers guitarist, Tom Johnston. The second single from the soundtrack comes from Eric Carmen and is called “Hungry Eyes.” It’s an okay soft rock tune but whenever I hear the song, I will forever think of a cutaway from “Family Guy.”

The surprise of the album comes from Patrick Swayze who also starred in the film. He sings on the song, “She’s Like the Wind” and while I didn’t take notice of it back then, listening to it again, it’s actually a pretty good power ballad. There are some power chords in it and a half decent guitar solo. Plus, Patrick isn’t a bad singer. All in all, “She’s Like the Wind” gets my vote for hidden gem. Here’s another useless point of information which proves my insanity. “Dirty Dancing” isn’t the only film Patrick Swayze and lead actress Jennifer Grey appeared in together. They were also in the 1984 movie “Red Dawn.”

Patrick Swayze leads a bunch of high schoolers against the invading Communist armies.

If the more modern songs weren’t on the soundtrack, the remainder of the tracks would make for a great early 1960s compilation album! There are quite a few classics here. The Ronettes, “Stay” by Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs and “Hey Baby” from Bruce Channel. While not as recognized, I also am impressed with “Love is Strange” by Mickey and Sylvia. However, “Yes” by Merry Clayton is a bit of a paradox. Merry sang in the 1960s and is best know for her backing vocals on the Rolling Stones classic, “Gimme Shelter” but “Yes” sounds very 1980s pop. A quick search from Google has revealed that she did record the song in 1987. It is one of those interchangeable sounding songs which would have been at home on any 80s soundtrack.

Track Listing:

1. Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes- (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life
2. The Ronettes- Be My Baby
3. Patrick Swayze- She’s Like the Wind
4. Eric Carmen- Hungry Eyes
5. Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs- Stay
6. Merry Clayton- Yes
7. The Blow Monkeys- You Don’t Own Me
8. Bruce Channel- Hey! Baby!
9. Alfie Zappacosta- Overload
10. Mickey and Sylvia- Love is Strange
11. Tom Johnston- Where Are You Tonight?
12. The Five Satins- In the Still of the Night

I will be the first to admit there are better films and definitely better soundtracks but this soundtrack has its charm. If I was going to teach young minds about the music of the early 1960s, then I would use many of these songs to do so.

Next post: Pending Approval

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Great Rock Albums of 1988: Survivor- Too Hot to Sleep

Sometimes I wonder if there is some sort of mathematical link between my liking an album and its chart success because I really like this album “Too Hot to Sleep” by Survivor. However, the album was not a successful album chart-wise. Survivor proved to me in 1984, with the “Vital Signs” album that they didn’t need the “Rocky” films to achieve success. It was further cemented with their previous album, “When Seconds Count.” So, I can’t figure for the life of me why this album did so poorly because I really like it or maybe that’s the reason.

“Too Hot to Sleep” borders on being heavy metal on some tracks. That was made clear on the opening track, “She’s a Star.” When I heard those power chords, I thought, “Wow, this is good!” Another point is the fact that Frankie Sullivan nails some really cool guitar solos on many songs, including the one already mentioned. Hell, looking at the video, he looks like he could be a metal guitarist. Actually all three members look pretty metal in that video. On the other hand, Survivor didn’t completely abandon the melodic rock formula which brought them fame. “Desperate Dreams” is living proof of that fact.

Like with their previous album, the title track is one that does it for me. It has that hauntingly cool acoustic guitar intro followed by the dependable vocals of Jimi Jamison and supported by keyboard work from Jim Peterik and of course a killer solo from Frank. He really goes mad at the end. The only thing needed was to turn up the guitars an octave or so higher.

“Didn’t Know It Was Love” stays in traditional Survivor territory. It reminds me of “High On You” from the “Vital Signs” album and I’m more than a little surprised that it didn’t make a dent in the singles charts. It’s a song meant for such things. Meanwhile, “Rhythm of the City” is a straightforward rocker with a great rhythm guitar riff. This song is definitely close to metal and out of all my blubbering about the guitar playing of Frankie, he’s at his best on this one. One way to describe this track is to think of “Burning Heart” from “Rocky IV” as a metal tune. No doubt, this one gets my vote for hidden gem. Talking about “Burning Heart,” “Here Comes Desire” is a song which is closer to that. It has a definite swagger to it, especially with Jim tinkling the ivories on it and a great guitar solo from Frankie.

The track that did have some chart success is the ballad “Across the Miles.” Jimi’s vocals are the key to this one although he is backed up well by the other two. “Tell Me I Am the One” is more in the 80s pop vein but the backing vocals are good and Frankie keeps it from becoming a total pop song. Things go more rock on “Can’t Give It Up.” The band is spot on with this one with some nice little guitar hooks and you get double the prizes, a good guitar solo and the song is taken out with some keyboard wizardry from Jim. The album goes out with authority with the almost power ballad like “Burning Bridges.” Was the title a metaphor of things to come? Who knows? But it does end the album well.

Historical facts I understand these days which I couldn’t fathom back then was Survivor replaced bassist Stephen Ellis and drummer Marc Droubay with studio musicians. On the tour for “When Seconds Count,” Stephen developed a stomach ulcer and was unable to play on many of the tour dates. Marc was becoming more disillusioned with the band’s shift to more pop and was eventually dismissed from the band. That’s the strange thing, I wouldn’t call “Too Hot to Sleep” a pop album, more melodic rock inching towards melodic hard rock.

Track Listing:

1. She’s a Star
2. Desperate Dreams
3. Too Hot to Sleep
4. Didn’t Know It Was Love
5. Rhythm of the City
6. Here Comes Desire
7. Across the Miles
8. Tell Me I’m the One
9. Can’t Give It Up
10. Burning Bridges

Survivor

Jimi Jamison- lead and backing vocals

Frankie Sullivan- guitar, backing vocals

Jim Peterik- keyboards

Additional Musicians:

Peter-John Vettesse- keyboards

Bill Syniar- bass

Mickey Curry- drums

Ian Lloyd- backing vocals

Tommy Shaw- backing vocals

Rory Dodd- additional lead vocals on “Across the Miles”

Survivor would take a hiatus after “Too Hot to Sleep” although Jimi Jamison would tour under the band’s name resulting in legal disputes. It’s a damn shame this album didn’t take off because this whole album has been a hidden gem for me.

Next post: Bonfire- Fireworks

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If You Have Netflix, Then Watch This Movie!

My stepson, Teal, recommended the film, “Metal Lords,” to me and in the past few weeks, I’ve seen it twice and now I’m going to plug how good the film is here. Without spoiling the entire plot, “Metal Lords” is about two socially displaced high school kids, Hunter and Kevin. Hunter is a total metalhead who dreams of hitting the big time as a great metal guitarist. Kevin, the drummer, although not a metalhead in the traditional sense, follows Hunter’s lead because Hunter saved him from a bully in third grade. Together, they form the band, Skullfucker.

All the heavy metal cliches are in the film but the thing was, I don’t care because they are all the truth. There’s the being picked on by the jocks, singled out by teachers and late in the film, Hunter’s father has him committed to a clinic because as we all know, only insane people listen to heavy metal. In addition, Kevin gets a girlfriend, Emily, who plays the cello. With the band still not able to find a bass player, Kevin tries to pitch Emily but Hunter rejects it saying that the cello is not a metal instrument. This eventually leads to a falling out between the two friends and Kevin joining the bubble gum pop band, Mollycoddle. It all leads to what some will call a predictable ending but it’s all done a great metal form.

My strange ability to pick out the small details in films, I found it amusing that when Kevin is in Mollycoddle, he finds playing the drums to their songs a lot easier than being a metal drummer. Even if he does nail, “War Pigs.” Then there’s my favourite scene when Kevin is in the pool and about to cheat on Emily, he is visited by Scott Ian, Tom Morello, Kirk Hammett and Rob Halford who all (Rob even more so) remind Kevin what a great girl Emily is and he shouldn’t cheat on her. Then again, if those four Gods visited me, I would do anything they said. One last point, “War Pigs” sounds excellent played on the cello.

Kevin being visited by Scott, Tom, Kirk and Rob

Of course no metal film would be worth its weight if it didn’t have a killer soundtrack.

1. Skullflower- Machinery of Torment
2. Judas Priest- Metal Gods
3. Iron Maiden- The Trooper
4. Avenged Sevenfold- Hail to the King
5. Judas Priest- Painkiller
6. Metallica- For Whom the Bell Tolls
7. Black Sabbath- War Pigs
8. Mastodon- Blood and Thunder
9. Judas Priest- Grinder
10. Ozzy Osbourne- Dee
11. Motorhead- Ace of Spades
12. Metallica- One
13. Pantera- Cowboys From Hell
14. Metallica- Master of Puppets
15. Zeal & Ardor- Trust No One
16. Guns ‘N’ Roses- Since I Don’t Have You
17. Metallica- Whiplash
18. Pantera- I’m Broken

Performance of the song in the film

I urge everyone to watch “Metal Lords.” It may be a little predictable but with all of that metal, who the hell cares?

Next post: Original vs. Cover

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Great Metal Albums of 1987: Anvil- Strength of Steel

First, let me award Anvil’s “Strength of Steel” album the 80smetalman Award for “Best album of 1987 to have escaped my attention.” That’s where the paradox begins. In “Anvil, The Story of Anvil” documentary about the band, Lips laments that most fans only know of their first three albums, “Hard and Heavy,” “Metal on Metal” and “Forged in Fire” and don’t know about the albums they had released since. One of those mentioned was this album. However, while it did escape my attention at the time, “Strength of Steel” was the only Anvil album to chart in the US, hitting 191. Therefore, I must conclude that while the album is now a distant memory, it must have been fairly big at the time.

“Strength of Steel” opens with the title cut which opens with some foreboding bass and drums before the guitars come crashing down. What it does is let you know that Anvil hadn’t gone anywhere as it marks the band’s return to playing some serious metal. On my first couple of listens, I was about to confine the second track, “Concrete Jungle” to the filler heap. However, after subsequent listens, I should slap myself for even thinking of doing that. Robb Reiner’s drums open the track which is then accented by some intricate guitar work from Lipps. He lays down a nice solo and when it reaches its climax, is accompanied by some cool rhythm guitar licks. I also like how the entire band comes together to take the song out.

Robb’s drums and Lipps and Dave Allison’s guitars bring in “9-2-5” on an absolute high. Everyone can identify with a song about the daily working grind but when it’s done with a cool guitar solo, it makes it even better. Guitars introduce “I Dreamed of the End of the World” and boy does this song rock. I have decided that if I am around when the world is about to end, then this is the track I’m going to be listening to when it does. If the world hasn’t quite ended by the time the song is finished, the guitar swirling instrumental, “The Flight of the Bumble Beast” can take it the rest of the way. This could be a thrash song at that speed but the guitar solo keeps right along with it.

Here’s my one constructive criticism of the album. Songs about the working grind should be immediately followed by a party song. “Cut Loose” is about just going out and letting your hair down and with the intensity the song is at, plus the killer guitar solo, it’s my track of the album. However, it would have been better placed if it followed on right after “9-2-5.” No real biggie because it sets up the charge which is the second half of the album. “Mad Dog” leads the charge with it’s crunching guitars but the star of this track is the bass of Ian Dickson. It’s his bassline which keeps things together while the others go off on wild tangents. I do find Lipp’s little snigger at the end of the song quite amusing.

“Straight Between the Eyes” moves the heavy metal party along nicely. Loud, hard and angry, it just fits in well with the rest of the album. “Wild Eyes” is a cover of a song by The Stampeders but Anvil put their own unique spin on it and it sounds brilliant. You can’t miss Lipps’s unmistakable vocals on this one and of course, there are those angry guitars punctuated by a great guitar solo where Lipps just goes nuts and the rest of the band keep up with him really well. Then they sound like they want to go prog-metal on the intro of “Kiss of Death.” Actually, as the song gets into gear, this is more a doom metal track. The depressing sounding vocals and slow pounding guitars stress this point. Here’s my second constructive criticism of the album, this would have made a better closer than “Paper Generals.” Don’t get me wrong, “Paper Generals” is a cool track with its anti-war lyrics and if “Kiss of Death” wasn’t on the album, then it would have made the closer but I just feel the tracks should have been swapped. That would have made a great album even greater.

Track Listing:

1. Strength of Steel
2. Concrete Jungle
3. 9-2-5
4. I Dreamed of the End of the World
5. The Flight of the Bumble Beast
6. Cut Loose
7. Mad Dog
8. Straight Between the Eyes
9. Wild Eyes
10. Kiss of Death
11. Paper Generals

Anvil

Steve ‘Lipps’ Kudrow- lead guitar, vocals

Dave Allison- guitar, second vocal on “Straight Between the Eyes”

Ian Dickson- bass

Robb Reiner- drums

Lips and Roberson going for it. Anvil playing in Gloucester, UK 2016

I am pretty certain that Anvil didn’t play any songs from this album when I saw them in 2016. If I had heard “Strength of Steel” before I had seen them, I would have screamed to play tracks from it. After all, when I called for them to play “Forged in Fire,” they obliged me.

Next post: KISS- Crazy Nights

To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com

To sign the petition for a knighthood for Bruce Dicksinson, (to my non- British readers, it will count if you sign it) click the link: https://www.change.org/p/special-honours-committees-for-knighthoods-a-knighthood-for-bruce-dickinson

Happy 30th Birthday Wayne’s World

Wayne and with him always is Garth

Another reason to feel really old. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the release of one of the greatest heavy metal party films of all time, “Wayne’s World.” I really can’t believe the movie has been out that long! When it came out here in Britain way back in 1992, I saw it twice in the cinema and the moment it became available on VHS a few months later, of course I grabbed a copy!

This film embraced everything I loved about heavy metal and the lifestyle associated with it. I could identify with most of the characters and those I couldn’t identify with personally, I knew of someone who could. Being a married man with two small children when the film came out, it took me back to a few years earlier when my friends and I would cruise down the road with the car stereo playing. Although in our case, it was usually the Stormtroopers of Death. I could even identify with Phil because there were some occasions where I was ‘partied out.’ I was also a bit jealous because we didn’t have a rock club as cool as The Gasworks where I lived.

For those not familiar with the history behind the movie, the concept was born out of a television segment on the US comedy series, “Saturday Night Live.” “Wayne’s World” was a ten minute spot on the show where Wayne, played by Mike Meyers and his friend Garth, played by Dana Carvey are two metalheads who have their own cable access show of the same name. They would get up to all sorts of metal related antics. Often times, they would have guests actors on as well including and my favourite episode was when Aerosmith appeared on it.

Aerosmith on Wayne’s World. I tried pasting this from Youtube but it wasn’t having it.

Obviously, the movie is taken from the TV show. The quick synopsis of the film is that Wayne’s cable access show is bought by a seedy TV executive, Benjamin, played by Rob Lowe who intends to exploit it. At the same time, Wayne’s love interest, Cassandra, (Tia Carrere) who is also lead singer and bassist in a band also catches Benjamin’s eye and plans to make a video for her band. Let’s just say, everything unravels in a hilarious way with three endings. First the tragic ending, then the Scooby-Doo ending and finally the mega-happy ending. There are appearances by Meat Loaf, Alice Cooper and Robert Patrick, who played the T-1000 robot in “Terminator 2.”

Wayne and Cassandra

Have you seen this boy?

“Wayne’s World” not only appealed to metalheads, many people who wouldn’t normally associate themselves with heavy metal said they enjoyed the film. Back in 2003, I found that a colleague at the school I was teaching at was also a big “Wayne’s World” fan and on the last day of school, agreed to show it to our classes. Other teachers scoffed calling the film dated. However, we went ahead and the students were glued to the screen. They all said they loved it.

So, happy 30th birthday “Wayne’s World!” I hope everyone will watch it again or even for the first time. I know it will be as funny now as it was then. Party on!

Next post: Overkill- Taking Over

To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com