Cirith Ungol - Frost and Fire (1981)

Though I was introduced to metal music at a very early age, it wasn't until The Best of Metal Blade Volume 2 cassette that I really ran across Cirith Ungol's music. I was obsessed with that entire compilation during Middle School and especially at summer camp where their Orcish anthem "Blood and Iron" really sparked off a lot of fiery inspiration in me for various D&D games. As I backtracked to the Californians' first two records, I was obviously hooked by the unforgettable Michael Whelan artwork, but truth be told I wasn't as immediately taken by the music of the debut, which existed (understandably) on a more 70s hard rock threshold and lacked a little of the ironclad threat that a record like One Foot in Hell would later muster.

Gradually, I grew to appreciate these formative albums, and looking back now it seems silly to have spent years undervaluing Frost and Fire, because the DNA is much the same, and for the time it dropped it probably delivered the same punch as I associated with the later 80s stuff. I don't think this is their most consistent offering, and it probably remains the least visited in their catalogue for me personally, but it was quite a novel epic heavy metal piece, a sound felt like a midway between AC/DC, Judas Priest and early Manowar, rooted in blues and groove and injected with a bit of prog rock adventurism through the use of the crispy acid organ synthesizers on "What Does It Take". There are a few party tracks like "Edge of a Knife" which seem like they dip a little into a Rolling Stones or Stooges vibe, but even there you get some more epic guitars in the bridge, and clearly if they hadn't already arrived at their stylistic destination, they were well underrway in most of the instrumental categories.

The most important two are how the stark, blue collar weight of the guitar riffs collides with the more adventurous phrasing and plotting, almost like a West Coast counterpart to the Budgie stuff which was so great throughout the 70s; and the grating intonations of the legendary Tim Baker, who seems like an Udo, Bon Scott or Brian Johnson if they were forged thousands of years ago in Middle Earth along with a particular set of rings. The guy just sounds downright and nasty as early as this debut, whether it's the full on metal charge of the titular opener or the dirty hard rock bar blues in "Better Off Death". There's an acid to this higher pitch which seems to drip directly into your brain and there forever remain, as melodic as it is vicious, and when you think about it in retrospect, it brought something different to what would later be known as 'doom metal' from an Ozzy or Bobby Liebling.

Elsewhere, the drums are crisp and clean, and another big feature is the bass which has a nice pop to it where it pokes out from the other instruments. The whole band is fairly clear, and though the album might lack the 'heaviness' of later outings, I think the production here is quite perfect for the time, and has an organic, boxy nature to it which sounds like you'd experience in the jam room, though they can get a lot of resonance and atmosphere where needed like the intro to the closing instrumental "Maybe That's Why" with its acoustic guitars and droning electric harmonies. Some of the mixes aren't as balanced as others, and the leads can sound a little noisy or crude. Also, it's hard not to feel that the record is front-loaded with its catchiest tunes in "Frost and Fire", "I'm Alive" and "A Little Fire", but with age I definitely find myself exploring its nether regions rather than just skipping past them. A worthwhile introduction to a formidable band, and despite how 'dated' I might have initially found this one when rubbed against the band's first 'Reckless' records offering, it ironically ages well, and deserves new life amidst all the recent exploration of proto-metal and retro-doom styles which have spawned so many tasty throwback acts.

Verdict: Win [8/10]

https://www.facebook.com/cirithungolofficial

Autothrall's Best Metal Albums of 1981

The Top 20 Metal Albums of 1981

01. Venom (UK) - Welcome to Hell
02. Iron Maiden (UK) - Killers
03. Accept (Germany) - Breaker
04. Def Leppard (UK) - High 'n' Dry
05. Riot (USA) - Fire Down Under
06. Ozzy Osbourne (UK) - Diary of a Madman
07. Demon (UK) - Night of the Demon
08. Black Sabbath (UK) - Mob Rules
09. Tygers of Pan Tang (UK) - Spellbound
10. Raven (UK) - Rock Until You Drop
11. Loudness (Japan) - The Birthday Eve
12. Saxon (UK) - Denim and Leather
13. Killer (Belgium) - Wall of Sound
14. Cirith Ungol (USA) - Frost & Fire
15. Saracen (UK) - Heroes, Saints & Fools
16. Girlschool (UK) - Hit and Run
17. Holocaust (UK) - The Nightcomers
18. Samson (UK) - Shock Tactics
19. Budgie (UK) - Nightflight
20. The Rods (USA) - The Rods

Let's all take a few moments to recite "God Save the Queen", because 1981 is all about the red coats. Yes. Again. 65% of the choices hail from the same damned islands, which is not much of a surprise since that is where the whole shebang got started, but here you were starting to see parallel developments in sound. Bands like Venom and Raven were taking things to a faster paced, dirty speed while other bands were seeking a more mainstream, refined sound like Def Leppard and Tygers of Pan Tang. At the time, I had not yet heard Welcome to Hell, so it wasn't until my teens that I became such a huge fan of their filthy Satanic follies, but in retrospect it's really the only choice for the top here and the one album on the list I consider perfect as is. Truth be told, the list might seem a little weak compared to later years, but only because there was such a limited field to play in.

UPDATED FOR 2020

Judas Priest - Point of Entry (1981)

Of all the Judas Priest records up to and including Painkiller, Point of Entry probably received the worst rep. Turbo was more of a divisive side step, clearly it had some great songs and ideas, but not all fans were on board. With Point of Entry, it was more a case that it didn't have a blazing array of hit singles like the two albums before it. The band also moved a fraction further along the axis of accessibility here, and thus there's a bit more of a laid back hard rock vibe throughout the songs, even more so than was heard on British Steel. Clearly the band wanted to write an album of broad hooks and limited aggression, fit for cruising large open spaces like the implied desert/computer paper roadway of the (US) cover, and I think to that extent it's a success. But inevitably, it resembles its predecessor in having a selection of wonderful tunes offset by some obvious filler that proved anything but inspiring, and the ratio of the latter to the former is higher here.

"Heading Out to the Highway" is the only track that most people I know play any lip service to, a straight and somewhat dirty rocker with a glorious chorus that celebrates personal initiatives in life. Motivational metal, but the riffs aren't all that heavy despite the spacious, slicing tone Downing and Tipton draw from their axes. My favorite cuts are actually those in the middle of the record, "Desert Plains" and "Solar Angels". The airy picking and resonant vocals definitely feel like a desert blues, but especially in the former I love the effects created over the chorus and Halford's loner, drifting delivery. "Solar Angels" has some riffing patterns similar to "Heading Out to the Highway", and once again they throw a brief flurry of wild electronic effects which foreshadow Turbo but add a necessary atmosphere to balance out the rather predictable riffing. Of the rest of the songs, however, the only ones I pay much attention to are "Troubleshooter" for its fun, choppy hard rock riffing and "You Say Yes" for that climactic, if silly chorus melody. Others like "Don't Go'" and "Turning Circles" are bland and would be difficult to distinguish from bands like KISS or AC/DC if not for Halford's timbre.

Sonically, this is an album that favors the convertible owner. Roll down the top and just let these songs pound off into the dusty night as you race down the dusk. Internal landscape stereotyping lends me to believe that this would be a far more effective album for a road trip in Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada or California than the band's native United Kingdom. But then, that makes sense, because they wrote and recorded this on the summery Mediterranean isle of Ibiza, and it definitely carries that seasonal aesthetic to it even if it seems better suited to larger stretches of desert than an island. Unlike the previous records, this was more of a sporadic creation of mood, and in a way it's more conceptually unified and consistent than most of their records (save the 1990 magnum opus Painkiller). The guitars and vocals are set just right in the mix, the drums solid and comfortable, the bass taking a backseat to the rest. I wasn't impressed with the leads on this disc but then neither was I all that enamored with them on British Steel. In one ear, out the opposite.

Point of Entry is indeed one of the least impressive of Priest's early offerings (about equal with Rocka Rolla in quality), but I feel like the negative reactions are often misrepresented or overinflated. It's still an enjoyable disc if you're in the proper mood or environment to experience it, even if the riffs and vocal hooks don't match up to the five albums leading up to it. Hell, I'd still take this in a heartbeat over any of the middling-to-crappy studio efforts the band released post-Painkiller, but there's no denying that around 50% of the content is stodgily average for a band who's prior ambitions launched them into the metallic stratosphere. If you're not on a desert drive, with time to kill,  then there's not much reason to visit more than a handful of the songs. The lyrics are in general quite pedestrian. I should point out too that all of the best tunes here are remastered for the Metalogy boxed set compilation (2004) where they sound superior.

Verdict: Win [7.25/10] (oh everybody breaks down sooner or later)

http://www.judaspriest.com/

Heavy Load - Metal Conquest EP (1981)

Thematically, Metal Conquest might not stray far from the 1978 Heavy Load debut Full Speed at High Power, but in terms of its sheer muscle, the EP is a far better representative of the Swedish veterans' enduring legacy upon the scene to follow them. After the embarrassing performance of their first label 'Heavy Sounds', the Wahlquist brothers decided to go the DIY route again and create their new imprint, Thunderload, a truly appropriate title when you hear the sounds the band is belting out on the five tracks. Meatier guitars, manlier vocals, and a firmer grasp of how to drive home a vocal chorus hook transported this material away from the Judas Priest and Black Sabbath comparisons of the debut towards the realm of molten girth that characterized Anvil, Manilla Road, Manowar and the almighty Thor during the dawn of the 80s.

"You've Got the Power" throws you straight into the grinder with its beefier riffs, the Load now sporting the added guitars of one Eddy Malm. Simply, mid paced mutes and swinging chords lead the track into the sheer escalation of the chorus, and gone are the scattershot vocals that dirtied up the debut. The band also had a new bassist by this point (Torbjörn Ragnesjo), and both he and Malm would remain with the band through the rest of their recordings, thus lending a sense of strength and solidarity to the music which was all but absent in the 70s. I wouldn't say that the actual guitar progressions in the music here were all that impressive, clearly ridding upon the coattails of Judas Priest, and often proving rather dull wherever the vocals cease their soaring accolades, but at least in tracks like "Dark Nights" and "Heavy Metal Heaven" they generate some atmosphere through the use of moody melodies and decent, bluesy leads. The drums don't feel so dynamic as the first album, but they do their job ably, and the deeper pump of the bass manages to retain an identity even if it's not so perky as it had been.

They continued to ramp up the Viking savagery and 'metal warrior' imagery here with the lyrics to tracks like "Heavy Metal Heaven" and especially "Heathens from the North", which is this slower moving monolith of testosterone in which the band experiments with multi-layered male chorus vocals and a desire to create this ridiculously cheesy but apt atmosphere to celebrate a cheapened version of their own ethnic history. To that extent, they clearly had the jump on New York's Manowar even if their sound wasn't quite so crushing or memorable. In the end, though, while Metal Conquest is a slightly superior, more cohesive and compulsive offering than Full Speed at High Level, it's not quite the apex of the band's songwriting or ability to drive a hook into the listener's ears harder than Mjölnir. But we wouldn't have to wait very long...

Verdict: Win [7.25/10] (got to listen to that music again)

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Heavy-Load/209514325984

Anvil - Hard 'n' Heavy (1981)

Many people were probably introduced to the Canadian mainstays Anvil and their blue collar heavy metal struggle through the Anvil: The Story of Anvil documentary in 2009, but it's quite interesting to note that aesthetically, things have not changed much in their camp since their full-length debut over 30 years ago. Hard 'n' Heavy does emerge from that hazy, hard rocking blues underworld that better known peers and predecessors like Judas Priest, Accept and Saxon all traipsed about on their respective debuts, but their mix of serious, sexual and silly lyrics is one that they'd maintain until what is now going on forever. There are only a few tracks here that I'd deem truly 'great', but as a whole the debut has that remarkable ability to feel fresh even today, when the genre as a whole has evolved to the point that some of its more extreme artisans have become the auditory equivalents to things like fifty car pileups and industrial grade blenders.

There's a particular youthfulness here that not only ties to the lyrical content, but also the reality that Steve Kudlow was only in his mid 20s when it released through Attic. Hard to believe that 'Lips' was ever a strapping young man, but here it was, and the inexperience does often show in the writing. Not that there is anything petulant or entirely immature here, but a few of the guitar riffs are so basic that even by the early 80s they felt familiar. On the other hand, Hard 'n' Heavy certainly sounds seasoned enough in the studio, with a great balance of crisp guitar tones circa both Kudlow and Dave Allison, and Robb Reiner's strong, workmanlike drumming which feels like it's coming from the room opposite you. The central focus is on Lips' vocals, which were and remain among the more unique in the heavy metal spectrum. His tone is both boisterous and fragile, manly and about to shake apart, but he deserves credit for his ability to pitch between brief shrieks, enormous chants (as in the bridge of "School Love") and the steady mid range that he generally associates with the verse lyrics.

Not all of the tracks here have ever had the same level of impact on me, but at least it opens with a bang in "School Love", one of the more badass with a big if predictable verse rhythm and some of the band's better early licks. Especially that proto-thrash sequence in the bridge at around 1:30 which seemed a few years ahead of its time. My other favorites are "Bedroom Game" and "Ooh Baby" which both seem like pure, driving Priest worship with a dash of Deep Purple; and "Hot Child" which is loaded with these great, rocking guitar grooves that instantly hook themselves to your ears before the first verse canters into its march-like, percussive structure. This one also has a great, atmospheric chorus which carries off into the rafters. I'd like to also give some credit for Anvil's cover of the Stones' "Paint it Black". It initially fooled me into thinking it might be a cover of "Barracuda" thanks to the opening triplets, but I actually quite like how Kudlow's vocal just soars in the chorus segments, making for some mighty entertainment.

One of the problems I have with the album is that a few of the tunes feature Allison on lead vox rather than Lips. He's not got a bad presence, per se, but he immediately changes the landscape so I feel like I'm listening to something KISS or Poison would have released in the mid to late 80s. Sort of a controlled, rocking abandon that just doesn't measure up to the better tracks. A lot of these early bands suffered from a bit of an identity crisis as they were just starting to hit their strides, and for Anvil, this was that moment. "I Want You Both (With Me)" is the bigger culprit of the two Allison is fronting, but "Oh Jane" is not a whole lot better despite the stronger guitars. That said, neither is really enough to mar the album's overall quality to the point that it fails to entertain. You'll notice a difference, but neither is inferior to the heavily 70s rock inspired "At the Apartment" or the she-demon/Australian rock tribute "AC/DC", the latter of which has the most generic riff here.

Hard 'n' Heavy is a great album if you're into long summer drives to the beach or if you suffer crippling nostalgia for the late 70s and early 80s when the Trans Am was the material pinnacle achievement of masculinity. It's got songs about chicks, school, chicks, and...more than one chick at a time, so we're not dealing with the same level of variety that you'll find on later efforts like Metal on Metal or the excellent Pound for Pound. Spiritually it seems like some unsung spiritual precursor to the feel good vibes of Priest's Turbo or a whole lotta shitty 80s glam rock, but there is certainly enough of that later, harder hitting Anvil not to pass this by in your quest for classic sounds. One of those 'static' works which never seems to age, despite itself, aside from the pedestrian, but not out of place lyrics.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10] (there's more than one way to play the game)

http://www.anvilmetal.com/

Scanners (1981)

Though it's certainly one of the more 'dated' films in the David Cronenberg horror backlog, capturing its period through a number of unfortunate hair choices, computer clean rooms, mannerisms and way cool mall food court and record shop sets, Scanners remains one of my favorites from the director. It's one of the first films in memory to truly put a 'serious' spin on the entire psychic potential of the human race, and in that way it recalls traces of Bester's The Demolished Man or Silverberg's excellent Dying Inside, only with an exploding head to boot...and Michael FUCKING Ironside, in one of his defining roles, before his genius was rationed out to the B-movie circuit by directors and casting agents that simply cannot fathom or begin to utilize his talents.

***WHERE SPOILERS & GRATING SYNTHESIZERS COLLIDE***

You'd think I was joking, especially if you've seen some of the crap the guy has participated in for a mere paycheck, but I'm really not. He's a distinct actor, with a distinct look about him, and one of my favorites. As Daryl Revok, the rogue 'scanner' attempting to breed a new race to dominate mankind in this 1981 sci-fi/horror vehicle, he simply exudes menace, a magnificent demon that at one point drills a hole in his head to release some of the 'pressure' of hearing everyone's thoughts inside him. Opposite Ironside, we have Canadian painter Stephen Lack in a rare film appearance. Lack's bright blue eyes and demeanor seem perfect for the character of Cameron Vale, a vagabond Scanner who is being reserved as a foil for Revok, but the guy's acting does come off a little jilted in spot. Also appearing: Jennifer O'Neill as a female scanner, and Patrick McGoohan of The Prisoner fame (the original, not the shitty remake) as the ponderous Dr. Paul Ruth, who is responsible for the outbreak of these psychic powers.

The plot is pretty simple, and we're not really insulted by some lengthy exposition. Cameron Vale is recruited by Dr. Paul Ruth to track down and defeat Revok, after the latter goes on a killing spree, eliminating a number of agents that work for ConSec, your basic corporation up to no good as you'll find in many sci-fi or cyberpunk staples. Turns out there is a greater conspiracy at work here, and Scanners throws a few minor surprises at us over the course of its 103 minutes, but the real 'horror' of the movie comes in its mere implications. What would happen if people really had these powers? Would they use them for the betterment of all man? Or attempt to destroy and replace all of us 'normals'? I feel that Scanners takes a pretty realistic approach to this, especially when considers the castigation and revenge motivation of its antagonist. Granted, the sequence of events flows along a little too easily for your average mystery based narrative, but it's still pretty cool, for two glaring reasons beyond Ironside's performance:

These would be the score, and the special effects. The score is by Howard Shore, who many of you know from blockbusters like The Lord of the Rings films. But here, he's experimenting with turbulent electric sounds and simplistic synth-waves among more standard fare, and the result here is fucking brilliant, like Kraftwerk or some other primal electronic artist overdosing on Ephemerol (the Scanner-suppressant drug central to the storyline). It may feel very much planted in the late 70s experimentation of tech-savvy Krautrock or progressive rock bands, but it's perfect for the story, the setting, and the effects. Speaking of which, these are superb here, especially the infamous 'exploding head' scene and the end fight between Vale and Revok, which is arguably one of the coolest conflicts where neither opponent does anything but glare at one another. Veins stand out, fire bursts, and eyeballs melt. It's fucking great, and exactly what I would predict a psychic battle might look like!

Scanners is a lot of fun, if you can immerse yourself into its time and place, a sense of perspective that is obviously required of any intelligent moviegoer. It's not perfect, and in retrospect it might not seem particularly scary, until you muse of the possibilities were such an accidental adaptation to occur in our real world species. The music and effects were top notch, and Michael Ironside excels in one of his earlier roles. I would love to have seen his 'method acting' between the various scenes, a Daryl Revok stalking about scaring the shit out of everyone in the cast and crew. However, I must caution the reader that all sequels for this film must be avoided! None of them involve Cronenberg. Scanners II and III are mediocre at best, and the Scanner Cop films are pathetic, without even an ironic entertainment value.

Verdict: Win [8/10]

Iron Maiden - Killers (1981)

Iron Maiden's sophomore effort Killers is such a good ole gem that I often dream of what the band's career would have been like had they held on to Paul Di'Anno (and Clive Burr) forever. Perhaps there may never have been a Powerslave or Piece of Mind that was quite the same as those that front Dickinson's powerful pipes, but it's not hard to understand why some of Maiden's fans have eventually divided into two camps: those that prefer the 80s Dickinson streak of genius, and those that believe the first two albums represent the band at its most vital. Although I clearly belong to the former camp, with almost all of my favorite albums involving Bruce's vocals, I have grown very fond of the first two albums with age. There is just no denying it...if you want to hear Maiden at their closest to the 'pack' of the raw, pure NWOBHM bands, Killers is a monumental record that was nearly without peer (if you discount a few bands like Judas Priest), which took the infectious energy and good hooks of the s/t debut to a new height. It's also the first album by the band that I actually got into as a kid...

And it is one badass album. Where later Maiden efforts howl at you through the winds of history, the realms of the imagination or the shimmering neon streets of the future, Killers takes you from the shadows of the back alley of the sprawling 80s metropolis, lunging at you with a rusted cleaver, cackling with glee. That's not to infer that it ignores the band's old penchant for lyrics based in science fiction, horror and history. But compared to an album Somewhere in Time, Killers is just low down, dirty and mean, without totally lacking that melodic kick in the pants that made this band a household name on planet Earth. I can't blame Di'Anno for any of the drug problems he may have succumbed to while helping to conceive or tour off this album, because I honestly feel like taking a snort or two myself and tracing it with a draft of something dark and lethal proof when I listen to these songs.

Don't let the short-lived majesty of "The Ides of March" deceive you, because "Wrathchild" comes storming out like Jack the Ripper posteuring as a Hendrix or Page. The riffs groove and stomp while Di'Anno weaves his old catlike sorcery like a dirty man that knows he's about to score with every whore in the pub. Mind you, I mean this only with the sincerest of compliments, because if anything, Killers is the most 'sexy' Iron Maiden album. Denim and leather, spikes and booze, this is heavy metal music and it is not ashamed. "Murders in the Rue Morgue" devours you with terse seconds of tranquility, before the sparse chords ring out. I'd almost call the fast paced verse of the song 'uplifting', considering the Edgar Allen Poe story it was based on, but regardless, it is one of the best fucking songs this band has ever played, and I've got a lawn that wants you to kindly step off if you don't agree! Flighty, fun solos and an unflinching, dark boogie to the chorus assure that this is likely a standard on every Jukebox in Hell. Do you seriously think the Devil listens to Deicide or Akercocke? Because he doesn't. He listens to this.

Reminding you that metal is in fact just a more abusive form of rock and roll is the wailing bluesy taint that intros "Another Life", a hammering joint that features a nice echoing spin to Di'anno' vocals, and a stream of bleeding melodies over the plunking pumpkin bass of 'Arry. I was only about seven years when this damn thing came out, but even then I was jealous of what high schoolers must have done with their sweeties behind closed doors when this thing was playing, because it's hot like melted wax. "Genghis Khan" is a ripping instrumental with some savage, pumping guitar rhythms that easily transport you to the fields of conquest that its titular figure once grazed upon. And at 1:00 minute, the song becomes GO TIME, as in bang your unworthy head you sodden fuck! "Innocent Exile" finds an amazing medium between the band's hard rock blues grooves and titillating sense for raucous metal melody. Combined with the badass, on the run from the law lyrics, I cannot help but envy the outlaw, the trucker, the motorcycle man, or any other marginalized stereotype the song evokes within me.

And lo, though the album had by this point long since earned its keep, it is far from finished with you. "Killers" introduces the unforgettable, solemn and steady bass line bristling with quiet guitars before the forward trot below the harmonic debauchery, and then the chorus which is like a mighty punch in the groin that would fell a hundred Goliaths. This functions better than "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor as a psyche-up for a fight, sportlike or to the death. After this, "Prodigal Son" surprises with its river rolling, homely clean guitar tones and Di'Anno vocals that cut through the night like a a radio in a lone trucker's cab beneath some twilight, open desert. Might not be as heavy as the rest of the album, but it still kicks a severe amount of tail. "Purgatory" is a nice early speed/power metal number with a fierce and unforgettable chorus that sails across the abyss like a beautiful hell-kite, aglow with subterranean lightning, and "Drifter" features that sick, descending guitar line intro, though as much as I enjoy the song, it might be the one thing here I don't find entirely captivating or perfect.

Of course, being that I had the US release, I was also entreated to the delightful "Twilight Zone" in between "Killers" and "Prodigal Son", and what can I say...it's a perfect track with more of Di'Anno's, excellent echoed wailing, and one of my overall favorites on the disc, with guitars that burn straight past your defenses into your metal soul.

Killers is certainly a strong case for the original Maiden being every bit the contender that its next incarnation would prove to be. Proof that this is one of the few bands to easily weather periods of two distinct, excellent vocalists (but not three, sadly). But beyond that, it is one of the very best of the early 80s heavy metal offerings, with songs and production that have survived, intact, through almost three decades. I don't appreciate every waking second of the album with equivocal lust, but it's fantastic, and easily one of the band's better efforts. If by some anomaly you have yet to avail yourself of its charms, I suggest you make it so, lest you feel the burn of eternal shame as the rest of us avert our eyes from you, avoiding you like a bearer of plague.

Highlights: Perhaps the heaviest album of all time to feature the word 'cuddle'?

Verdict: Epic Win [9.5/10] (bound to destroy)

http://www.ironmaiden.com/

Venom - Welcome to Hell (1981)

You can write Venom's shock and schlock tactics off at your own risk, but there is simply no denying how raw and filthy the band's sound was in an era which was still reeling from the glam and prog rock of the 70s. Combined with a kick ass stage show and heaps of blasphemy, there was no way Cronos and crew were not going to make some ripples in a stagnant environment which was in the process of exploding with ideas. Maiden might have written about evil, but Venom WAS evil.

So why, then, does Welcome to Hell still stand so strong after nearly 30 years of increased brutality, studio wizardry and entire new genres of metal music? Because if you grasp the branches, follow them down the trunk to the roots, and then pull out those roots from the Earth, you will always arrive at the same place: Venom. So why not tap the source for some inspiration? Though it lacks the overdubs, snarls and grunts of modern extremity, Welcome to Hell still sounds excellent to these ears. Distorted bass, punk as fuck, raging rock rhythms on the drum and guitars that, frankly, sound like they are coming from someone who just learned to play the week before...and that's the appeal! Welcome to Hell is grunge, it is NWOBHM, it is black and death and thrash metal, before any of them.

Somewhere in time we were born,
And brought blood, lust, hatred and scorn,
Your sorry now you trusted me,
Now I command that you get down on your knees

It is impossible for me not to get wrapped up in nostalgia for this record, which is one non stop hard rocking beast after the next. "Sons of Satan" rivals Lemmy and his boys in the pure filth department, this is full on hellish roadkill burn. The title track reigns it back in with a classic riff, that...well...listen to the majority of speed, thrash and power metal bands of the past few decades. You will find this riff on most of their albums. "Schitzo" is good drinking, fucking and fighting metal after a hard day's work at the textile mill. "Mayhem with Mercy" is a nice acoustic tease for the brawny "Poison" to follow, and beat you with its treacherous fist.

Sitting close beside me,
Hand upon my zip,
Don't bother to take it down, honey,
It's about to rip,
She's mammy's little virgin,
Her daddy's all in pride,
But she welcomed me with opened legs,
Kept me satisfied.

A timeless anthem of misogyny? In 1981, that was just good fun. "Live Like an Angel, Die Like a Devil" is a roiling, noisy mass of black hysteria, with Cronos almost losing his voice in his crumbling cracker vocals. "Witching Hour" is rugged and raw, and one of my personal faves on this album, as if I could pick one, but listen to those noisy drums...what a racket! And it does not end there, with "1000 Days in Sodom" and the fist fighting "Angel Dust". "In League With Satan" still sounds brilliant, dark and troubled even after albums like Reign in Blood and In the Nightside Eclipse have come into existence. And the album saves one of its best for last, the spiteful "Red Light District". That is, unless you have the fantastic bonus tracks "In Nomine Satanas" and "Burstin' Out", both of which are great.

Welcome to Hell was a vortex of creativity that spawned countless impersonations. This is pretty much where it all came to a head...the theatrical misanthropy of black metal taking its queues from KISS and running with it as far as possible. Venom has always been controversial and polarizing, but they opened their career with two of the best metal albums in the history of this, or any genre.

Highlights: none of them. all of them.

Verdict: Epic Win [10/10] (I need a girl to set my venom free)

http://www.venomslegions.com/

Cannibal Ferox (1981)

Cannibalism is a truly terrifying prospect. Sure, some of us eat the flesh of animals (arguably lesser or greater beasts) on a regular basis, but so few of us do the killing ourselves. It is hard to project lives and relationships onto nameless livestock. Not so with other humans. Imagine watching a grisly feast after a human, with a life, family and storied past, is slain in gruesome fashion. Imagine the passive look on the dying victim as its organs are removed, and it relinquishes itself to this dire fate...as lunch. This sort of imagery has the enormous potential to create memorable and terrifying scenes.

But Cannibal Ferox (also known as Make Them Die Slowly, for the White Zombie freaks) doesn't do that.

Umberto Lenzi is no stranger to Italian film fans. He has crafted a great many horror and exploitation flicks, some of which are quite entertaining. He's also arguably the creator of this cannibal subgenre that persisted through the late 70s-80s, as he released The Man from Deep River in 1972. Unlike the previous Eaten Alive, which had various re-used scenes and wound up a jumbled mess of crap (lame rape scenes, and only glimpses of horrible cannibalism), Cannibal Ferox is comprised of footage unique to the film. The film has a plot, but who in the hell cares? The only reason to watch such a film is because you want to be shocked by the violence and perversion on screen.

1. Woman no longer believes cannibals exist in the wild.
2. Woman and a few companions travel to the Amazon Jungle.
3. They encounter a pair of criminals on the run, who perform horrible deeds to local Indians.
4. The Indians belong to a cannibal tribe.
5. This will not end well (and yet it does, for one character).
6. It's a wonderful commentary on the endless cycle of human nature, violence and revenge!

Sold! Let's film this thing!

Truly, all that matters here are the scenes of gore, and we really don't get that much. Like other films of its type, it was apparently filmed to shock PETA members, as there are scenes of animals killing other animals, none of which are any good, mind you. It was the intent of these films to shock the audience, but since you never really feel immersed in any of the action on screen, it has little but an unpleasant effect. You get a few scenes of castration. A dick gets eaten, and eyeball removed, a woman gets hooks through her breasts, and a man gets his scalp hacked off and a bit of fake brain matter eaten. And that's really it...

The film is stocked with attractive young actors, like softcore porn magnate Robert Kerman (who appears in a number of similar films), Giovanni Lombardo Radice, and Zora Kerova. The natives stand around bored through much of the film, waiting for their check to be handed to them. Much like I sat around bored through much of the film realizing I would not actually get a check or any other reward for this waste of time.

Cannibal Ferox sucks, even moreso than Eaten Alive. The only really good options for a cannibal exploitation film are 1980's Cannibal Holocaust, which is actually and extremely harrowing movie, difficult to unglue your eyes from; and perhaps 1977's Ultimo Mondo Cannibale. And, for fuck's sake, do not watch Cannibal Ferox II. It's a crappy action film with little in common to this aside from a few short scenes.

Verdict: Fail [3/10] (Oh God, please let her die soon. Oh, let her die soon. And let me die soon too, please.)

Riot - Fire Down Under (1981)

Fewer bands have gone on as long for as little credit as New York's Riot. Formed in 1976, the band is now 33 years deep into its career and still producing classic heavy metal music. To put it simply: the UK had the NWOBHM (a myriad of legendary bands and a few thousand lesser knowns). We had Riot.

And you know something? It's a pretty fair trade off. While I generally think of 1988's power metal platter Thundersteel as the best of this band's albums, they have a pretty standout discography, especially their early offerings. Fire Down Under is Riot's third full-length, and a damn good one. I'd describe the band as Rush-like with an injection of classic British metal ala Judas Priest. Hard rocking rhythms and a great singer. Guy Speranza was the original vocalist and he's got a smooth, high tone without ever going off into the Halfordsphere.

"Don't Look Back" is an energetic array of triplets, big bluesy solos, and a great echo to the chorus, excellent night driving music for the highway. "Altar of the King" offers an acoustic intro before another swinging bar metal fest of groovy, Zeppelin-inspired rhythms. "Outlaw" is immensely kickass, one of the most memorable tracks of Riot's entire back log. Who could forget that guitar lick? Listen, you will know the one. "Swords & Tequila" also smites some tail. "No Lies" is a decent rocker feeling very much like Rush. "Run for Your Life" is another high speed (well, for 1981) racer to burn asphalt to.

Fire Down Under boasts another of those timeless mixes which will sound just as good in the year 2081 as 1981. Pure 70s vibrant energy, direct tone, shuffling drum, and vocals doused in just enough reverb to capitalize on Speranza's power, while easily reproducible live. The solo work on this record is bluesy and burning, and no song runs too long. It's a great heavy metal disc, a classic that any collector will proudly claim. Yeah, so we had only Riot and a few other bands here worth a damn during that early metal explosion. They delivered, and this is one of their best.

Verdict: Win [8.5/10] (spend some electric nights on the danger line)

http://www.riotsweb.com/

The Evil Dead (1981)

In 1981 Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell and several other very little known actors, as well as a tiny and inexperienced crew, set off into the woods of Tennessee to make a horror unlike anything anyone had ever seen.

On a shoestring budget of $120,000 they produced a splatter flick with one of the most basic horror movie premises imaginable: college students vacation to an isolated cabin, only to be confronted by a nearly unstoppable demonic force.

Although the film wasn't released until 1983, but went on to be a modest success at the box office despite almost non-existent promotion, helped along only by word of mouth.

The film gained cult status as it reached VHS and was an unquestionable influence on horror directors everywhere. It's visceral. It's terrifying. It's unforgettable. It's a fantastic achievement of imagination, considering what the director and modest crew had to work with.

The film's setting, the isolated cabin, was found to be in a near-dilapidated state by the cast and crew upon arriving in Tennessee. Animal shit literally covered the floor, and was dutifully shoveled out by none other than Bruce Campbell before repairs by actors and crew themselves went on to bring the place into shape.

From there the cabin was reluctantly a home for everyone involved with the picture. Actors underwent grueling conditions for the duration of the shoot. The cabin lacked heat and electricity. Special effects makeup methods, specifically makeup which was paint specifically not meant to be applied to skin, were crude, and when "possessed" the large and painful contacts to white out the eyes of the actors effectively blinded them.

During the long shoot the only actor of the film to remain on for the duration was Bruce Campbell, others leaving after they had fulfilled their contracts, only to be replaced by local folks as stand-ins when they were required in a shot. Nobody worked harder on this film than Bruce, and since he's become somewhat of a legend in the film industry for his tenacity on the shoot of The Evil Dead -- not to mention a hunky, charming cult movie star that we all love.

All this makes for an interesting story surrounding the film, but the really special thing is what it became. There is plenty of dark humor and originality, as well as shocking, gruesome scenes. They certainly don't make horror films of this caliber on this kind of budget anymore, and perhaps the only thing preventing me from calling this the very best horror movie of its kind is simply the fact that the special effects are crude enough to occasionally distract.

Nonetheless, check this out, if you dare! A perfect Halloween flick, to be sure.

Verdict: Epic Win (we can't bury Shelly, she's a friend of ours)