SURFACE (UK) - Race the Night (LP, Killerwatt, 1986)

RATING: 7/10

Short version:
Yet another one of the countless good NWOBHM bands that never really got anywhere, Surface shows themselves in quite a good form in "Race the Night", a very unusual debut live album that may not hit that hard, but definitely offers some nice songwriting and a vibrant, mostly very engaging hard/heavy repertoire. If you're into the more melodic, less frantic end of the NWOBHM spectrum such as Shy, Heavy Pettin or early Chrome Molly, this might be your thing - but really, give this one a listen even if you don't, as it's definitely one that can appeal to a large array of heavy rock palates.

Extended version:
(well, not that extensive anyway, but I think these persevering heavy rockers sure deserve the courtesy of a more careful review)

I must confess it took me quite a long while to give Surface's "Race the Night" LP a proper chance. I don't know, maybe the concept of a band's debut being a live album didn't appeal that much to me, or perhaps my previous knowing of the band as a not-skull-crushingly-heavy entity would always direct them to the end of my Must-Listen queue, in favor of more immediate and/or fast-and-furious propositions. But there you have it, I finally did it, and oh well, isn't it actually a pretty good record after all? I wouldn't go as far as calling it an underrated NWOBHM classic or anything, but it's indeed a good listen, with mostly nice songs that don't sound contrived or formulaic, and from a bunch of musicians that damn sure knew how to get the job done. 

Hailing from Birmingham (a pretty promising pedigree, as we all know), Surface originally came to be sometime in 1980, as something of a merge of now long-forgotten hopefuls Xenon and Good Grief, both group failing to get anywhere but the nearest pub under their original guises. From the onset, they seem to have set their sights into a more melodic, slighty more convoluted sound than most of their contemporaries, adopting a somewhat ambitious six-piece line-up from a very early stage. Similarly, and though Surface became something of a popular local live attraction quite early in the decade, they seem to have consciously opted to hone their skills to a high level before circulating any demo tapes. Their first 4-tracker (as listed by Malc McMillan in his mighty NWOBHM Encyclopedia) came out in 1984 (not 1981 as some sources state), and though originally being fairly well distributed in and around their geographical area, seems to have been deemed unrepresentative by the band members themselves in later years (maybe they felt the reaction from promoters and record labels wasn't the warmest, who knows). A second tape would make the rounds later that year (a live recording meant to shift hands as a souvenir for the loyal fans), and a proper new studio demo came out in 1985 - a more confident collection of songs, it seems, as Killerwatt Records (a label that were home to some reasonably high profile acts such as Angel Witch and The Babysitters at the time) agreed to offer them a contract before the year was out, to which they gladly signed the dotted line. I mean, the fact that they had recently managed to book a six-week tour of France without having a single slice of vinyl to call their own probably made quite an impression on the label's executives. The later demos from 1985 are now easier to locate, thanks to a CD reissue by the Divebomb label, but the early output from Surface is still quite elusive, and I'd definitely love to give these a listen, so if you happen to have it and feel like sharing it in a way or another, please kindly get in touch.

Now, your guess about why Surface's first (and only) LP came out as a live album is as good as mine, though I tend to think that the financial side of things had a lot to do with that decision. In fact, I have a sneaking suspicion that "Race the Night" was regarded by the band (and perhaps even the label) as kind of a pre-debut, something along the lines of Stampede's "The Bootleg Album" - a record meant to introduce them to the masses and create some anticipation towards their first 'proper' studio long-player, though Stampede were surely more explicit about that if it was indeed the case. Whatever the story, the band had suffered some minor reshuffling before the tracks were commited to tape (during a hometown gig at The Railway in Birmingham, a common haunt for the lads almost since their inception), with founding guitarist Mike Chesire giving way to Loz Rabone (no previous allegiances I'm aware of), the new axeman adapting quite well to his bandmantes Gez Finnegan (V), Mark Davies (G), Dean Field (K) and brothers Ian (B) and Jamie Hawkins (D). 

"Race the Night" is quite a solid package, with solid songwriting and almost not a filler in sight. The recording is pretty good, and the mixing (by Les Hunt, once a Demon stalwart and then the sitting producer in Killerwatt) is impeckable, with every instrument being given ample room to breathe. The opening duo of "Something" and "Race the Night" is quite impressive, with a remarkably lively delivery that are miles ahead of what most like-minded contemporaries could do at the time, and though we have to survive the somewhat insipid ballad "Take the Morning" right after that, everything moves quite smoothly from that point onwards. Songs like "Night Creature", "Paris" (despite the somewhat nonsensical lyrics) and "Hideaway" are all very good, and even slightly more dated efforts like "Band Girls" work quite well within the album's flow. If you're looking for comparisons, maybe Shy, Bronz and Wildfire (at their most melodic) would be the closest you can get, which is to say Surface's sound stands in the very frontier between hard rock and heavy metal, with generous doses of melody and pretty accessible (though never overtly saccharine of radio-friendly) arrangements. Nothing to make you bang your head until your neck gets sore, that's for sure, but those who are not that much into pop-tinged rock music won't have to hide it as a guilty pleasure, and the unmistakeable '80s vibe of the whole package is actually very enjoyable, adding to the LP's strength rather than diminishing it. Well done really, and quite a good surprise when I first pressed the 'play' button. 

Unfortunately, it seems obvious that "Race the Night" didn't shift as many copies as originally expected, and the strategy of putting a live record out before launching into a full-blown studio assault turned out to make them lose momentum, rather than building it. Credit to the lads, they clearly tried their best to keep things going, and when America's JDI label decided to reissue some Killerwatt releases in the USA in early 1988, the band had already metamorphosed themselves into Beneath the Surface - a somewhat pointless move when it come to name choices, but still a clear indication they wanted to take the opportunity to the fullest and start afresh under a new moniker. There was some serious talk about booking a tour in the USA to promote the "Beneath the Surface" LP (with new logo and front cover, but the exact same recordings and running order), but I suspect these good-spirited plans unfortunately never came to fruition, though I wouldn't be surprised to learn otherwise (these gentlemen were true rock fighters, you know). The repackaged live album seems to have reached pretty modest sales at most, but still served a good purpose as a means to invigorate the band, and Beneath the Surface kept things going until 1990 at the earliest, with signs of minor activity pointing to some form of existance even after that. Jamie Hawkins joined Starfighters in the late '80s, but he kept handling the drumsticks for Beneath the Surface whenever they graced a stage, and the line-up seems to have remained remarkably stable for such a long-running entity, left alone being a six-piece in the first place. Keeping the band on the road for a full decade without making loads of money out of it is no easy feat, you know, so immense respect to them for giving their collective rock and roll dream the best shot they possibly could.

As far as I know, only Laz Rabone tried his luck with other outfits after Beneath the Surface disbanded, lending his considerable guitar skills to Felony and Merciless, none of which seems to have got further than the demo stage. I don't have the CD reissue by Divebomb just yet, so I had no access to the liner notes on such release (this is going to be corrected very soon, I promise), so I'm not aware on any further activities from the musicians involved, though singer Gez Finnegan does have a handful of engineering work to his credit, most famously for Benediction's death metal classic "The Grand Leveller". I suppose they left the limelight without any regrets or hurt feelings, having given their heart and soul to the music as long as it made sense for them, and I sincerely hope they really enjoyed whatever activities they devoted themselves to after their persevering band had fulfilled its lifespan. All in all, a good one to have in your collection if you're a NWOBHM fan, and you may even score a coveted spot in your heart if you give it a few careful listens. Thanks for the music, lads, tonight I'll toast to your health while giving this one another spin. Cheers!

Thanks a ton to Discogs for Surface's picture sleeve scans

Gez Finnegan (V), Mark Davies (G), Laz Rabone (G), Dean Field (K), Ian Hawkins (B), Jamie Hawkins (D). All songs by Field, Finnegan, Hawkins, Hawkins, Davies and Chesire.

01. Intro / Someday 3:10
02. Race the Night 3:57
03. Take the Moment 6:45
04. Paris 4:08
05. It's No Good 3:50
06. Night Creature 4:06
07. Don't Cry 3:56
08. Hideaway 2:46
09. Bad Girls 3:59
10. Story Teller 7:25

Have you been involved with any of the bands mentioned here? Have any extra info and/or corrections? Please e-mail me at drequon@gmail.com and let me know!

DANIEL WEST & MODERN MUSIC (USA) - 4:01 P.M. (7'' single, Present, 1981)

RATING: 7/10

I'd really wish to have more information to share with you guys and girls about Daniel West & Modern Music, you know. Such a rare gem, and one that really did set some pulses racing among NWOBHM collectors not so long ago, though now we know it's not a record anyone should really tag as part of the multiverse in question. But alas, fact is I know very little, and any info that can be provided by you people out there in the collecting-world wilderness will be greatly appreciated. I'll drop a few lines about this humble "4:01 P.M." c/w "Strategy's Fashion" 7'' anyway, hoping to be able to add significant info and personnel here sometime in the future. The music is quite nice, you know, so it's well worth the effort. 

There's no picture sleeve in sight, and very little info on the labels to help us in our quest, but I'm sure you'll be sensible to the fact that anyone naming their band as Daniel West & Modern Music are not really trying to pass themselves as a heavy metal outfit at all. Any purist NWOBHM collectors can skip the read and go straight to the next entry if you like, as it's definitely an artifact from the US, with no connections to the British scene (apart from the music contents, that is) after all. In fact, Present Records turns out to be a very small imprint from a fellow named Fela Johnson (yeah, pun intented), an L.A. resident who did release some vinyl in a synthwave/minimal vein in the early 1980's - a material that is quite well regarded by those who enjoy/collect this kind of music, incidentally. As good fella Fela is credited as producer for the Daniel West & Modern Music 7'', the connection is beyond doubt, and more than enough to keep this one away from the NWOBHM wants lists. But we still have the music, you know, and it's very decent music indeed, I tell you.

"4:01 P.M." showcases an excellent, though very simple, riffing coupled with punkish, kinda snotty vocals that bring the track closer to power pop territory - but not your usual good-time poppy punkish fare, that's for sure, as the guitar work sound remarkably heavy and commanding throughout. The bass sounds great too, loud and unrelenting, keeping the energy flowing with sheer commitment to the cause. It definitely sounds British, you know, and those more accostumed with borderline NWOBHM acts such as Baseline, Tutch and Sidewinder will catch my drift on that one. It's probably just coincidence, you know, but still it puzzles me how some young dudes from California managed to sound like working-class geezers from the East End of London... Whatever the story, and though there's nothing too complicated going on, the track as a whole is surprisingly quirky for such a simple structure, so it may take you a couple listens to get used to what the song has to offer. I love it really, and most open-minded metal fans out there will probably be hooked after giving this one a fair chance, as it kicks some serious ass, plain and simple. As for flipside "Strategy's Fashion", it's a more typical, mid-tempo hard rocking number, with a distinctive glam feeling in the guitar melodies and vocal delivery overall. Another simple, but very effective main riff carries the song along with very little effort, and (though it's fair to say it sounds like a more lively Pretty Boy Floyd or Mott the Hoople rather than anything truly metallic) anyone who enjoys the NWOBHM aesthetic will probably find very little to complaint around here. Well done really, and I would definitely love to add a physical copy of this 7'' to my collection, if it weren't for it costing half my monthly salary at least.

The label says it's a 1981 release, and there's no reason to doubt it really, as the entirety of the Present Records' catalog (two EPs from Fela Johnson, and that's it) are from roughly the same period. There's definitely more to this partnership than we know at present, as no other groups ever got their songs pressed by the label, and Fela Johnson seemed to opt for a one-man-army mentality when recording his stuff, with little (if any) accompaniment from fellow (here comes the pun again) musicians. Maybe it was a project from the man himself, using the Daniel West name as a soubriquet and with no support from a proper band? Or perhaps there is a real Daniel West after all, someone who Fela Johnson decided to tutor and/or produce as a friendly gesture? There is, in fact, a certain Daniel West still doing the rounds in Southern California with a vast number of rock, jazz and experimental projects to his credit, his more recent claim to fame being a duo named LoveyDove. It would be a bit of a stretch in terms of age (as, by my calculations, he would be like 13/14 years old by the time this "4:01 P.M." piece of wax came out), but he claims in his biography to be doing the club circuit with bands since he was 11 (and he himself also admits to be highly influenced by British rock music, mind you), so it's not beyond the realms of possibility that he is our guy after all. Let's keep an eye on this one, hopeful for some interesting new developments in the not-too-distant future. 

Million thanks to Discogs for label scans!

Musicians unknown

01. 4:01 P.M. (D. West) 3:04
02. Strategy's Fashion (D.West) 2:41

Have you been involved with any of the bands mentioned here? Have any extra info and/or corrections? Please e-mail me at drequon@gmail.com and let me know!