Blasts from the past

Welsh Phantom

Welsh Phantom

Ancient Mariner
Ok guys, I am currently sitting here feeling sorry for myself, suffering from a slipped disc (with complications, seeing a spine specialist hopefully nest week).

Point being, I have to sit down all day in a computer chair for the past few weeks .... so youtube has been my only past time. The light in the black has been that I have come across some great content which I will share here for those that are interested,

Specifically older stuff, I have entitled the thread 'Blasts from the past', so hopefully this can be a place where you can share your recommendations of bands that should have made it in your opinion, but sadly did not.

Here is my first choice: DEMON

Formed in 1979 in Staffordshire, England, and sounding similar to Dio era Rainbow, these guys should have been big in the early 80s.


And here is a full live show from 1982. I like how the singer/Demon appears from the drum platform at the start. Great idea for the time and for a small band. Love it!

Feel free to comment or input if you think of a great band who should have been recognised!
 
This is an underrated thread.

I discovered Lucifer's Friend a few years ago and was really impressed. They're like the missing link between Sabbath and Zeppelin. I guess I can see how they didn't really make it that big, but they had some good music either way.

 
I like Demon a lot, even though my feeling has always been that their sound was more mainstream than most other NWOBHM bands. They were not afraid of a more melodic approach utilising keyboards, and maybe that's why they didn't get bigger than they were - too commercial sounding for the hardcore metalheads, but too edgy for traditional rock audiences. Then again, there were so many bands emerging on the scene at the time that it was impossible for all of them to make it big, and maybe Demon just lost out. Having said that, their first two albums deserve to be treated as classics of the era.

Venturing into the NWOBHM scene, one will encounter a lot of bands that should have made it big but never did for various reasons. Many will be known from association (White Spirit as the band Janick Gers played in, Diamond Head and Blitzkrieg as bands Metallica covered, etc) and others from a hit that people still remember (Angel Witch, Holocaust, Satan), but there are some that will always remain obscure. One of my favourites of those are Cloven Hoof, a band that probably never could have made it big because of their less than accessible style, but is nevertheless worth a listen:



 
Mosh said:
This is an underrated thread.

I discovered Lucifer's Friend a few years ago and was really impressed. They're like the missing link between Sabbath and Zeppelin. I guess I can see how they didn't really make it that big, but they had some good music either way.

Click to expand...
Listening to this now (thanks for sharing!)

I like this a lot. I can definitely see what you mean as the Zep / Sabbs crossover, but it works really well. I will be giving this more time for sure. I think I prefer the singer to Plant actually .... less whiny!

Weird 6 fingered graffiti hand on the cover (I wonder if that was supposed to mean something).

Makes me wonder how much unknown good stuff is still out in the wild ;)
 
Perun said:
I like Demon a lot, even though my feeling has always been that their sound was more mainstream than most other NWOBHM bands. They were not afraid of a more melodic approach utilising keyboards, and maybe that's why they didn't get bigger than they were - too commercial sounding for the hardcore metalheads, but too edgy for traditional rock audiences. Then again, there were so many bands emerging on the scene at the time that it was impossible for all of them to make it big, and maybe Demon just lost out. Having said that, their first two albums deserve to be treated as classics of the era.

Venturing into the NWOBHM scene, one will encounter a lot of bands that should have made it big but never did for various reasons. Many will be known from association (White Spirit as the band Janick Gers played in, Diamond Head and Blitzkrieg as bands Metallica covered, etc) and others from a hit that people still remember (Angel Witch, Holocaust, Satan), but there are some that will always remain obscure. One of my favourites of those are Cloven Hoof, a band that probably never could have made it big because of their less than accessible style, but is nevertheless worth a listen:



Click to expand...

You may have a point regarding Demon struggling to sit in a clear bracket....heavy but very melodic. I am definitely gonna check their other stuff out though (I notice they have quite a discography and are still doing the rounds)

Cloven Hoof seem like a good NWOBHM band listening to these. I noticed a Priest-like drive to the guitars, and on checking I was not surprised that they were from a similar geographical area (Wolverhampton). Sort of Priest meets Angel Witch, which is no bad thing!

Nice pick ;)
 
This may be pushing it for some people, but I discovered Coven last night (the late 60s band, not the prog/thrash band)

This band are just EVIL. And it was 1969..... Society must have been in uproar!

They remind me of Ghost, in the sense that there is nice music sending you into a false sense of security if you were not paying attention to the lyrics. The lyrics deal with infant sacrifice and all manner of ungodly things. In fact the 1st song is entitled 'Black Sabbath' (with a guy called Os Osbourne on bass - not the Ozzy though) and the final track is a weird spoken Satanic Mass .... just nuts.

And boy, what a belting voice the female singer "Jinx" has. This is like Jefferson Airplane (White Rabbit era) doing Hammer Horror.

I would recommend you try and give this a listen despite the clear 60s sound.... it is truly fascinating stuff. Give it at least 10 minutes of your time.

Also, apparently they were the first band to use the Devil horns sign (long before Dio) on the album pics.

From Wiki:
The music on the album was considered underground rock; what made it distinctive was the heavy emphasis on diabolical subject matter, including songs such as "The White Witch of Rose Hall" (based on the story of Annie Palmer), "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge", and "Dignitaries of Hell". The album concluded with a 13-minute track of chanting and Satanic prayers called "Satanic Mass" (written by their producer, Bill Traut, of Dunwich Productions, and described as "the first Black Mass to be recorded, either in written words or in audio"). This Satanic Mass was also the first time Latin phrases such as "Ave Satanas" (Hail, Satan) were used in occult rock music, and later Satanic and Black Metal bands continued this innovation (see List of songs with Latin lyrics for some examples). Also included inside the album, was Coven's infamous Black Mass poster, showing members of the group displaying the sign of the horns as they prepared for a Satanic ritual over the naked altar.

I liked this so much I went straight on Amazon for the cd, then quietly backed away when I saw they go for £50 plus. (A youtube rip will suffice)

This is the debut album from 1969 - "Witchcraft destroys minds and reaps souls"



This is the only video I can find, with it being so old I guess! But what a set of lungs! (check out the 1:20 mark)

I hope this is not TOO out there for you guys ;)
 
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