Great Metal Albums of 1986: Vyper- Afraid of the Dark

First, I hope all of you had a good new year. While most years, I say I hope people didn’t get too wrecked on New Year’s Day, this year, I have to say I hope no one got caught violating the Covid restrictions in their area. At least this year, the UK’s top metal hating newspaper, The Sun, didn’t splash pictures of young women being falling down drunk on its pages. Instead, it reported on all the lockdown violations. Anyway, let’s get to the subject at hand.

Still using the Metal Sisters’ compilation tape they sent me for Christmas in 1986, there was a song called, “Afraid of the Dark,” by a band I’d never heard of, Vyper. At the time, because there were so many good songs from other artists on the tape, it just sorted of blended in with them. Now that I’ve had a chance to listen to their 1986 EP of the same name, I realize just how good that song is. It starts with a cool guitar riff which if it didn’t totally grab my attention then, it certainly does now. This track highlights the talents of the entire band with some great guitar riffs and a cool solo in the middle, great vocals and a good bass line. Definitely the best song on this four track EP and it leaves you in hope that the others will be just as good.

“Afraid of the Dark” might have been the showcase tune for the album but “Diamonds” is the hard pounding heavy metal song on the album. No frills, just straight forward powerful metal, which is played very well by the band. The vocals remain clean and backed by some good background vocals. Then speed increases more with “Time Flies.” Definitely the fastest song on the album and though it’s not as tight as “Diamonds,” it is still a great song to headbang along to. The innuendos in the lyrics such as, “I like to sit you down, let you ride my rocket” and “Bring your girlfriend along, I like her too,” are quite amusing.

Controversial lyrics don’t end with “Time Flies.” On the closer, “Daddy’s Girl,” Vyper venture into very controversial territory. The song is about a father, who because he and mother work separate hours, uses his daughter to get his pleasure. Actually, I’m surprised there was no outcry from the fundamentalists in the US over this one. It could be why the band didn’t put out an album for an album for twenty more years. Shame though, because there is a really good guitar solo trade off on this track. This EP showed that the band had the potential to hit the big time.

Track Listing:

1. Afraid of the Dark
2. Diamonds
3. Time Flies
4. Daddy’s Girl

Vyper

Christy Black- lead vocals

Jacky Foxx- guitars

Michael Scott- drums, backing vocals

Rik Brock- bass, backing vocals

Robbie Saint- guitars

Because the EP is only 14 minutes long, I thought I’d share it in its entirety.

It’s easy to say that with so many metal bands around in 1986, that one can see why Vyper might have been overlooked. Still, it’s a shame because if more people listened to “Afraid of the Dark,” then Vyper could have risen to their full potential.

Next post: Jack Starr- Out of the Darkness

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