TUTCH (UK) - The Battle (EP, Gargoyle, 1980)

RATING: ***

Being a NWOBHM obsessed demands more than a strong appreciation for all things Heavy Metal: it also requires a certain level of tolerance, a broad-minded approach to music, I would say. Many singles now considered to be NWOBHM collectables have not much to do with Heavy Metal at all, being more well suited to fans of progressive rock, indie music, pub rock, post-punk experimentations and so on. In some other cases, there's a fair percentage of Metal to be heard, but you will also get lots of other genres as well - which is perfectly understandable, as many outfits were trying to find a sound to call their own at the time, and there's nothing wrong about that. Most metalheads among you may find Tutch to be a bit too non-Metal for your tastes - but these British heavy rockers managed to release a 7'' EP (way back in 1980) that may be rewarding if you are open to some pinches of prog, alternative rock and Queen-ish flubdubs in your daily ration of music.

Opening song "The Battle" is quite surprising, to be fair: more than a good song, it's actually a very inventive piece of composition. It shows an unpredictable song structure with many twists and turns, and the lyrics are reasonably good as well - enhanced by a really impressive vocal performance, it must be stated. The keyboards, although a bit unusual, help to create the right atmosphere - there's no doubt you're listening to a war song, as there's a perceivable "The Bridge On River Kwai" feeling throughout, if you know what I mean! It sounds funny, even a bit naive, but also quite serious - maybe we could even say "powerful" here, although I suppose most people wouldn't immediately understand my point in using such a word. In the realm of NWOBHM comparisions, it reminds me of Clientelle, but it's not a direct similarity, "The Battle" being quite an unique composition in its own right. It's not a song for all ears, that's for sure, but the more broad-minded among you are likely to enjoy it a hell of a lot - I even get myself humming the melody of this song from time to time, which is not that easy an achievement, you know. I like it, really.

The other two songs in this 7'' are (predictably) not in the same league: both "You Don't Care" and "Round and Round" are not bad at all, but also fail to live up to the promise of the very interesting A-side. Which is not a tragedy, you know. The first song is a slightly interesting (but a bit too melodramatic) ballad with piano and harmonised vocals and all that. The huge influence of Queen is undeniable, and the singer (whoever he is) does a very good job out of it - no Freddie Mercury here, of course, but it's a respectable performance all the same. Not a memorable song as "The Battle", but it shows that Tutch was surely a band with creativity in mind. Finally, "Round and Round" is the more straightforward song of the pack - despite a strange synthetizer sound all along, it's actually a pretty generic heavy rocker like hundreds of NWOBHM done in the period in question. Not really surprising, but nothing to be ashamed of, that's for sure.

Tutch was a band trying to find their own sound, and they show great signs of promise in the songs here featured. That's actually too bad they didn't last for long, as I think they do a pretty respectable job in their sole 7''. Unfortunately, the Gargoyle label (a somewhat prolific one back in the day) didn't offer them a chance for further releases, and soon Tutch disappeared straight into oblivion - not that they were well-known contenders at any point, mind you. There's no info out there on who took part in Tutch and what they did prior or after this particular release, so if you happen to know anything about them, please don't be shy and get in touch!

Musicians unknown

01. The Battle (Truin/Cole) 4:23
02. You Don't Care (Truin) 4:58
03. Round and Round (Coote) 2:03

Thanks to Heavy Metal Rarities Forum for label scans

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!

SPLITCROW (UK) - Rockstorm (LP, Guardian, 1984)

RATING: **

The Guardian label is a name to be fondly treasured by NWOBHM collectors and enthusiasts, as it released a huge number of albums and singles at the height of the movement in question, most of it with a strong link to Heavy Metal. But it's important to make clear that Guardian, although a mostly-Metal label, also released stuff with only a tenuous connection with the genre, and also some stuff which isn't Heavy Metal at all. Splitcrow's sole LP "Rockstorm" is not a complete stranger to Heavy Metal, but I'm sure these guys weren't even trying that hard to jump the NWOBHM bandwagon, being far more at home with a blues rock approach - something that was also very popular amongst rockers in 1984.

The album starts fairly promising, with both "Back Door Blues" and "Nobody's Gonna Stand in My Way" being interesting, intense rockers which reminded me of none other than Bad Company, which is good enough praise in my book. From that point onwards, though, we're pretty much in usual ZZ Top territory here, with mixed results when it comes to quality and intensity. Some songs are still OK, such as "In the Heat of the Night" (strong Spider feelings here), but it's hard to use positive adjectives when refering to "Lookin' Through These Miles", "Stir Crazy" or "Sweet Darlin'", for instance - songs that will only appeal to the most undemanding ZZ Top fans out there. Never really understood what's so great about the long-bearded guys from Texas, but I guess it's only me anyway - they have millions of fans worldwide and I'm sure they deserve it. Still, I reckon most NWOBHM addicts can live a very enjoyable life without devoting too much time and effort on buying a copy of this album, as most material here included will be simply unappealing to their tastes.

I guess it's not a huge surprise for anyone that Splitcrow didn't last the distance, being seemingly disbanded at a very early stage. Still, they were quite a popular band in the North East of UK (at least one of their concerts received a review in Kerrang magazine, for instance), so it's not beyond the realms of possibility that they soldiered on for a while longer. Of the musicians involved, I guess that guitarist Johnny Dickinson had the most successful story: after trying again with Paul Lamb & The Kingsnakes, The Moonshine Boys and the bizarrely-but-funnily-named Hillbillies from Outer Space, the axeman earned a stable solo career as a folk musician. Unfortunately, he is enduring a very difficult clinical condition which has prevented him from performing for quite a few years now, so we wish him to fully recover his health and get back on music as soon as possible. Rob Davison (V/G) and Nigel Stawart (D) also kept things going with a band called Poorboys (who acts under the name Indian Hill on some of their later recordings) and also as an acoustic duo who still performs to this day. They also took part in the Hillbillies From Outer Space in the past, so perhaps it was pretty much Splitcrow under a different guise.

It's a bit difficult nowadays to see or hear the extraordinary qualities that some people saw in Splitcrow - they were good enough in their style of choice, but I think that a band needs to show more in terms of personality and/or style to really rank as a promise. Oh well, I guess it was the mood of the times - and it's hard to see things with hindsight being in the middle of it, right? As said above, their sole vinyl legacy is not one for those of you who wear bullet belts and patched denim vests while going to the grocery store in your neighbourhood, but maybe you should give it a try if you really love blues rock and you want something different (and slightly more intense) to make your day.

Rob Davison (V/G), Johnny Dickinson (G), Barry Winlow (B), Nigel Stawart (D).

1. Back Door Blues
2. Nobody's Gonna Stand in My Way
3. Another Day, Another Dollar
4. Looking Through These Miles
5. In the Heat of the Night
6. Stir Crazy
7. Bar Room Strut
8. Sweet Darlin'
9. Everybody Needs Somebody to Love
10. Come On 'n' Dance with Me

All songs written by Dickinson / Davison

Thanks to NWOBHM Knightmare for picture sleeve photos

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!  

TROBWLL (UK, Wales) - Taith (7'' single, Buwch Hapus, 1979)

RATING: ***

The amazing realm of Welsh-language rock music is never short on surprises. Most of the bands from the area are so enormously obscure that it becomes a struggle just to learn the bare details about a given release - and some singles are so elusive that it's better not to think too much about it, as the odds are stacked against us when it comes to have a chance to actually listen to it. That all said, sometimes luck is on our side - and it was awesome to finally get these very rare songs from Trobwll, a band that had quite an influence in the early 80s Welsh-language scene - although it seems they didn't really got that far in their own right.

Trobwll ("Vortex") was a going concern since the mid-70s or thereabouts, centered around the figure of Mr. Richard Morris, an enterprising individual who also ran a recording facility of its own (named Stiwdio's Bwthyn) where he produced many influent bands of the area, such as the reasonably successful Ellifant. Curiously, Trobwll's own songs were recorded somewhere else, so perhaps having his own studio was a later investment of him. Trobwll also had a very important role in the development of Crys (extensively reviewed around here), who decided to adopt Welsh (and leave behind their former guise as Salic Law) following a suggestion from Richard Morris and his cohorts. Trobwll seems to have had many different line-ups, with Richard Morris being the only constant member - and it's fair to assume he is the main creative force behind what we hear on this very unusual slice of vinyl - a conceptual 7'' single, no less, released on the funnily-named Buwch Hapus ("Happy Cow") label.

As most bands singing in Welsh at the time, Trobwll operates in a musical style which owes quite a lot to the local folk music, but also tries to mix it with some modern influences - prog rock and 70's Heavy Metal, in this particular case. The song "Taith" ("Journey") runs through both sides of the 7", the first movement ("Rhan 1") being the most interesting part of it by far. It's quite a good song, to be fair - not very heavy, but reasonably dynamic and with some interesting guitar work throughout. The keyboards are intense too, and the song as a whole qualifies as a pleasant listening experience for the most open-minded among you. The second part of "Taith" ("Rhan 2", that is) sounds a bit boring in comparision, as it's an instrumental piece which recycles many musical ideas from the first part without a great sense of cohesion or direction, in my humble opinion. There's a guitar solo trying to connect the whole thing, but I don't think it really works as planned, you know. It's not enough to pale the good impression of Rhan 1, but I guess Trobwll would have done considerably better by choosing to include some other song from their repertoire.

I'm not quite sure of when Trobwll actually ceased to exist, but I suppose they didn't went that far into the 80s, never releasing any other product of their own. Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if Trobwll was not much more than a side project from Richard Morris, something to vent his creativity in a gap between other music-related activities. This 7'' single became a very sought-after collectable for NWOBHM enthusiasts, but I reckon it's only in the periphery of the genre - the music is surely no skull-crushing Metal assault, being far more attuned with the 70s than anything else, and I guess there wasn't even an active Trobwll going on when the Metal explosion took place. Still, I guess there's a fair bit of talent and musicianship on "Taith" to justify a few respectful listens - I wouldn't pay obscene ammounts of money on it, mind you, but give it a place to call home if you have the chance to do it without bankrupting in the process.

Richard Morris (V/G), Steve Lewis (B), Mel Turner (D), Mark Jones (K).

01. Taith (Rhan 1) (R. Morris / M. Jones / G. Phillips) 4:51
02. Taith (Rhan 2) (R. Morris / M. Jones) 5:35

Million thanks to NWOBHM Knightmare for sound files and picture sleeve scans!

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!

FRENZY (UK) - This is the Last Time (7") plus Blackburn Rovers (7'') plus Without You (7'') (Private, 1981)

RATING: ***

When it comes to releasing independent singles, this English version of Frenzy (from Lancashire) surely felt like they had no time to waste. Born out of the ashes of the not-really-Metal-but-still-quite-interesting group called Anniversary (hope to drop a few lines about them in the not-too-distant future), Frenzy was the second attempt of brothers Johnny (G) and  Peter Pawlowski (B) of finding fame and fortune in the cut-throat music business. Wanting to waste as little time as possible, the duo quickly assembled something of a stable line-up and jumped straight into the studio, where they seemingly laid down enough tracks for not only one, but actually three 7'' singles, all released as self-financed efforts at different periods of 1981. Not an usual approach for NWOBHM hopefuls, that's for sure, but we can say it was mildly successful, as two of the three pieces of vinyl ("This is the Last Time", the first to come out, and "Without You", the last one) sold in respectable quantities and are now well-regarded collectables that any of us will be able to locate at a reasonable price. The other one ("Blackburn Rovers", that is) is not in the same league though, and I guess that most of you good people can easily survive without a copy.

If you're looking for easy-to-understand comparisions with more well-known bands from the period in question, perhaps I could stick my head out and whisper Black Rose, as both groups had a similar ear for melody and a resourcefulness to mix some reasonably heavy riffing with memorable, catchy vocal lines. Still, I would say that Frenzy is a tad less metallic and a bit more into good old rock and roll, so it's not like you will find any "Knocked Out" or "Sucker for Your Love" in here, you know. As all three singles from Frenzy were released roughly at the same time, I guess you will forgive me for reviewing it in a single post, right?

Being released sometime in the very early months of 1981, "This is the Last Time" begins with a somewhat weird (and pointless) intro with guitar effects, but soon launches into an interesting and reasonably intense number with strong guitar work (some nice interplay indeed) and a nice, multilayered chorus. It's not skull-crushingly heavy, but it's a very upbeat composition and many of you good people will surely get a few healthy headbanging sessions out of it. Flipside "Gypsy Dancer" is a more commercially-inclined song, with that kind of 'replying' backing vocals that screams "chart-friendly" right in your face.  It doesn't work quite as well as the previous track, but there's nothing too objectionable going on here too - actually, it's a pleasant enough song that you can hear from start to finish without any real grimaces along the way (if you can fully ignore the immensely immature lyrics, that is).

The second instalment of the Frenzy series is a bit of an odd one, to be honest. "Blackburn Rovers" is a very basic rocker that pays tribute to the English football club Blackburn - one of those football-related songs that used to be (and perhaps still are) a whole niche of the market in the UK. Almost all of these recordings, though, may work reasonably well with fans of the club in question but will be virtually unbearable for anyone else on Earth. And "Blackburn Rovers" is no exception: despite Frenzy's best efforts to create a singalong effort with clapping hands, crowd noises and a let's-sing-our-lungs-out-together chorus, it just does not work. And things make even less sense when you consider that flipside "Up the Rovers" is nothing more than a rearranged "Blackburn Rovers" with pitifully few differences from the A side. I can't imagine many Blackburn fans fighting against each other to get hold of a copy of this 7'', and if wasn't for the NWOBHM collecting scene, the few remaining copies of this single would almost surely be condemned to gather dust in bargain bins for the time being. Nothing to keep you awake at night if you don't have it in your collection, believe me.

The last single to be released by Frenzy, "Without You" came out not long after the previous two and goes pretty much in the same vein of the aforementioned "This is the Last Time" single - although slightly more poppy, if truth be told. Nothing to be worried about, though - it's a good mix of energy and accessible melodies, a good enough song to stomp your feet and sing along with the catchy (albeit slightly hackneyed) chorus. Not much changes with "Thanx For Nothing", but it's fair to say that it's a tad more intense, with prominent riffing and a interesting groove thoroughout. I actually like it better than the A side, and the simple-yet-dynamic arrangements can't be faulted at all.

Frenzy didn't really last the distance, though - maybe the three self-financed releases in a row were too much for their finances, or else the response from HM fans (albeit quite positive) and record labels just wasn't enough to encourage any further efforts from the band. There's not much info on stage activities from Frenzy back in the day too, so perhaps it was more of a studio venture waiting for a encouraging feedback to become serious - something that never happened, unfortunately. Efforts are being made to locate those involved with Frenzy and as soon as some enlightening info come out of this, I'm sure to let you good people know!

Larry Lee Leyman (V), Johnny Pawlowski (G), John O'Conner (G), Peter Pawlowski (B), David Nixon (D).

01. This is the Last Time 5:08
02. Gypsy Dancer 4:03

01. Blackburn Rovers 3:55
02. Up the Rovers 3:45

01. Without You 3:12
02. Thanx for Nothing 4:45

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!

REDWOOD (UK) - Give the Indian Back His Land (7'', private, 1979)

RATING: *

I guess every Heavy Metal listener who plunges into the fascinating world of really obscure bands and releases will learn the lesson eventually: locating an ultra-rare artifact doesn't mean that your efforts will be rewarded with good music after all. OK, many impossibly obscure records are actually in the same musical league of the most well-regarded bands in the business - sometimes even better, although not as frequently as many of us aficionados would like to admit. But let's face it, once and for all: in numerous occasions, the chase is far better than the catch. Most bands never got anywhere for a reason, you know.

Redwood is a recent discovery in the amazing realm of NWOBHM - and as soon as people knew that such a band actually existed, their sole and extremely rare 7'' became one of the most sought-after singles of the entire Metal Universe. Well, perhaps it's not as elusive as Hellfire Club or Holocaust (not that one), pretty much the as-rare-as-it-gets when it comes to NWOBHM, but it's surely a slice of vinyl that gives the major players in the collecting scene a few sleepless nights. It was supposedly pressed in a microscopic run (a hundred copies at the most optimistic), so it was a safe bet to assume most of us would never have the chance to listen to it. But luck was on our side when a eBay seller offered a copy for sale and was generous enough to rip both tracks in mp3 format, as a bonus for those who wanted to know what was it all about. You know, once it's in the internet, it's potentially eternal - and now not only the lucky (and wealthy) buyer can listen to this esoteric 7'', but also those who were quick enough to download the files before the links expired.

And no, I'm not implying that Redwood's sole (and stupendously rare) single is one to throw into the blast furnace at the earliest opportunity - but don't go for it expecting any sort of undiscovered classic of NWOBHM, as you will be heading for some disappointment. The sound quality is worsened by some difficulties in transferring, as the one responsible for the rip would be the first to admit - still, the production is very poor, and I'm afraid that even the first spin from a mint copy of the vinyl would not give you much return on your money when it comes to sound quality. And the two songs here included are far from memorable too - both "Give the Indian Back His Land" and "Rock of Ages" are unspectacular rockers with some guitar freakouts thrown in to liven things up, being not really atrocious but also very distant of anything too extraordinary.

The vocals are uninspiring and the lyrics are quite imature, but that's not exactly a rarity when it comes to NWOBHM, so I wouldn't care too much about it if the songs could live up to their promise - something I'm not really sure about, to put it in polite terms. OK, I'll concede that "Give the Indian Back His Land" presents a reasonably good intro and a verse-that-becomes-chorus scheme that can be reasonably acceptable if you're in the right frame of mind, but I seriously doubt that "Rock of Ages" will leave fond memories (or any memories, for that matter) in any listener, as it comes and goes without capturing any level of attention.

You don't need to be a genius to assume that Redwood was a very fleeting experience for those involved - and the statement at the sleeve "thank you all for buying this record and making us Rock Stars" sounds even more ironic now than it probably already was back in the day. I assume that Mr. Phil Puckette (V/G) was the leader of the pack (he wrote both songs and I suppose he wouldn't allow anyone to picture an unknown guitarist other than himself in the front cover, you know), and I wouldn't be remotely surprised if Redwood was over soon after the single was pressed, the mainman choosing to pursuit another career in the interim. Being released in the heady days of 1979, perhaps they could have stand a better chance if they managed to stick together a while longer, improving their playing and songwriting skills just in time to join the big NWOBHM explosion. It never happened, as we all know by now, but the mind wanders anyway. Whatever the story behind this release, I would surely love to know more - so, if you ever had any connection with Redwood, even the slightest, please disregard the fact that I didn't like the songs that much (I'm a human being and therefore can commit a few misjudgements, you know) and kindly get in touch ^^

Phil Puckette (V/G), Eric Newman (B), Colin Fort-Divers (D).

01. Give the Indian Back His Land (Puckette) 2:36
02. Rock of Ages (Puckette) 2:12

Many thanks to NWOBHM Knightmare for sound files

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!

SNATCH-BACK (UK) - Eastern Lady (7'', CSS Records, 1979)

RATING: ***

A mystery band at present, Snatch-Back somehow managed to release a 7'' single at the very inception of NWOBHM (and I'm almost sure it wasn't their intention to join this particular ride after all), but left very little information to enlighten us on who they were or where they came from. In his NWOBHM Encyclopedia, Malc MacMillan suggests they were from Manchester or thereabouts, also hinting to some kind of connection with the short-lived Budgie offshot called Freez, but (as the man himself was the first to admit) the corroboratory evidences were too fragile to give us any degree of certainty. Oh well, I guess the musicians once involved with Snatch-Back are still out there somewhere, so if any of you ever get to know the slightest thing about them, please kindly get in touch, will you?

Musically speaking, the four-piece was heavy enough to fit the NWOBHM archetype well enough, but I would say they were hinting to the early 80s as much as they were rooted in the 70s, something which is perfectly understandable in those transitional times. The A-side of their one and only single, "Eastern Lady", even reminds me of even earlier influences - am I completely insane, or there's actually a few influences of none other than Cream in here? The main riff is definitively 70ish, and the solo section (albeit brief) is a complete giveaway to what type of music the guys had in mind when writing this tune. It's an OK song (even though the chorus are too-simple-for-its-own-good if you ask me), but flipside "Cryin' to the Night" is a sensive improvement - a heavier, more intense number with NWOBHM-trademark riffing and a far more interesting song structure (even the slow mid-section works quite well, believe me or not). Dedicated NWOBHM enthusiasts will surely throw some pleasant shapes to this song - no classic of the genre here, that's for sure, but it does the trick when it comes to make a metalhead happy, believe me.

Unfortunately, the sound production is very poor and the mixing was probably made in a hurry, as the listening experience is quite rough to the ears - the vocals, for instance, are sometimes so loud that your eardrums almost shout back to you, asking why in hell you're submiting it to such a torture after so many years of job well done. It's totally forgivable that most Metal fanatics will choose to live a long and healthy life without ever bothering to download this single - let's face it, buying it is not exactly straight-forward and only the most obsessive NWOBHM completists would consider paying huge sums of money for such an item. But if you're reading this humble post until the end, it surely means that NWOBHM found a cozy place in your heart and soul, not to mention your record collection - so yes, I would say that you won't be commiting any serious mistake by adding Snatch-Back to your collection, either in vinyl or digital format.

Musicians unknown

01. Eastern Lady 2:58
02. Cryin' to the Night 4:16

Many thanks to NWOBHM Knightmare for sound files. Also thanks to Collector's Frenzy for label scans!

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!

STAMPEDE (II) (UK) - A Notch on Your Gun (EP, Punchbowl, 1980)

RATING: *

The seemingly never-ending search on obscure heavy music from a bygone age is often rewarding, although sometimes it gets quite frustrating, you know. When it comes to Stampede's "A Notch on Your Gun" EP from 1980, though, the feeling is kinda mixed - it's not like I was expecting anything out of the ordinary here (and it's surely not a case of a positive surprise in any sense), but I must admit the contents surprised me a little in this particular case. Although every detail in this 7'' transpires the amauterish spirit of the whole venture, there seems to have been some sort of intentionality in it - like they were not just throwing things together, like they actually had a plan, but were just too young and/or unexperienced to put it effectively into practice. I reckon they were only on the periphery of the NWOBHM genre, but still it's worth to drop a few lines about their music for history's sake.

There's not much info around on this particular Stampede (I guess you already know at this point that I'm not refering to the resonably well-known Stampede of "Hurricane Town" and "Official Bootleg"), seemingly based somewhere in the West Midlands (UK) and formed by musicians that, as far as we know, never took part in any other bands of note in later years - and you can rest assured that axeman Chris Barnes never resurfaced as a Death Metal singer in USA! Released by Punchbowl Records (whoever they were), this EP shows the four-piece to be a very unexperienced bunch of musicians, and the kinda ramshackle nature of the three songs featured are more than representative of their lack of songwriting skills. Still, it seems they were actually trying to create a solid Wild West imagery for their band - not only with the (undeniably ugly and poorly-done) artwork, but also on the lyrical contents and even in the music itself, that (at least to my humble and charitable ears) sometimes show more than a glimpse of country music. Am I completely insane? Well, I don't know.

The almost-title-track "Notch On Your Gun" is an attempt to recreate the feeling of a gun-toting Western duel into music, with extremely simple vocal lines and lyrics that doesn't make much sense at all. It's an extremely simple song with an undeniable pub rock feel to it, but still it drags on for quite a while, with a nonsensical instrumental mid-section that threatens to completely fall apart at any moment. Not the most exciting song ever recorded, I'm afraid. To be fair, things improve slightly on the flipside, with both "On My Way" and "The Simple Life" being more accomplished songs than its very poor predecessor. Not that this is a major achievement, mind you, as "On My Way" is a slightly folky, semi-acoustic soft rocker that will almost surely leave no lasting impression on any listener. "The Simple Life", to its credit, is the best song of the whole EP, with a (slightly) heavier riff and a song structure that immediately reminded me (and I fully agree with Malc McMillan's "NWOBHM Encyclopedia" in it) of Panza Division's "The Day Delta 4 Played Mars". Nothing to set the world ablaze, that's for sure, but it at least gives Stampede a modicum of musical revelance. They didn't really suceeded in creating something of a personality, but at least they tried, you know.

No other releases of any kind are known from this particular band, and I wouldn't be surprised if they never went as far as this only recording session, perhaps never even making out of the rehearsing room for any gigs at all. They also seem to have been very young at the time (the "thanks to mum and dad" note on the sleeve is hard to ignore, you know) and I imagine that the whole band was centered around the Evans brothers, Stampede as a whole being disbanded as soon as the lads decided to devote themselves to school and/or get a proper job. Still, this little vinyl curiosity survived the years, becoming a collectable for obsessive NWOBHM completists - something that I guess would come as a shock for the band members, could they be located. Most headbangers will find little joy on "A Notch On Your Gun", to be point-blank honest here - but I'm a good-hearted person and I like to thing that the handful of surviving copies will all find nice NWOBHM collections to call home.

Norman Evans (V/G), Chris Barnes (G), Dave Anderson (B), Brian Evans (V/D).

01. Notch On Your Gun 5:52
02. On My Way 3:20
03. The Simple Life 4:06

Many thanks to NWOBHM Knightmare for sound files and scans!

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!