Hard 20 |
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The Second Wave- 25 Years of NWOBHM The New Wave Of British Heavy Metal began twenty five years ago, giving us some of the all time great metal bands, like Iron Maiden (the greatest of all time!), Def Leppard, Diamond Head, Raven, Samson, Angel Witch, Holocaust, etc, and paved the way for heavy metal as we know it today. Many NWOBHM bands are still going today, and this CD features three of those veterans, Oliver Dawson Saxon, the Tygers Of Pan Tang, and Girlschool. All three of these groups play their music in the classic NWOBHM style, rough and gritty, with roots in 70s rock. Beginning with Oliver-Dawson Saxon, they are not to be confused with the "real" Saxon, the band Biff Byford fronts. ODSaxon features the talents of Graham Oliver and Steve Dawson (hence their name), two former members of the original Saxon. The two bands were recently were involved in a legal dispute over the use of the name, and the "real" Saxon won, so Oliver and Dawson's band will probably be going under a new moniker from now on. As for their music, well, there is no denying the talents of Steve and Graham, and they made some of the greatest metal known to man as members of the original Saxon. One can certainly not fault them for that, but their new band really just sounds like a cheap imitation of Saxon. In fact, on one song, "Raeder Aus Stahl", they take the lyrics to the Saxon classic, "Wheels Of Steel", and use them for a different (and if you ask me, far inferior) song of their own. This could be considered blasphemy! And can't they write their own lyrics? To their credit however, they do one decent song, in "Ghost", which is the heaviest, best played, and most "Saxon" song of their bunch. Next, we have the Tygers. Their contributions include renditions of two of their classics, "Love Potion # 9" and "Hellbound", a more commercial/AOR type song in "Mystical", and "Firepower", a hard rocking tune that kicks some ass! These Tygers may be getting a little "long in the fang", but they can still do it good! And finally, I've been saving the best for last! Why do we have Kittie and the Donnas? The answer-Girlschool! These chicks are the definitive all girl metal band (along maybe with the Runaways), coming out of the NWOBHM in the early 80s to show that girls can kick ass with the best of them! These babes have been going at it for over two decades, and now they're back with three forths of their original lineup. All the songs they've made for this comp are classic Girlschool all the way, rock and roll that kicks major booty, rough and raw, pulling no punches! Hats off to 'em, and to all the NWOBHM bands, for all the great music they've made over the past twenty plus years, for bringing heavy metal into the 80s and beyond, and for still rocking after all these years! Many of these bands never seem to grow old! Long may they rock! |