|
Artist: Roxxcalibur |
|
|
When it comes to iconic era’s
in the world of Heavy Metal, one that has remained the mainstay of
inspiration for many a metal band is The New Wave Of British
Heavy Metal or NWoBHM as is became known. Bands like Metallica have
openly admitted taking their early influences from NWoBHM and even some of
the bands best-known songs like 'Blitzkreig' and 'Am I Evil' are mere covers of
some of the finest NWoBHM bands songs. And one band that has taken
its love of the era is Roxxcalibur, whom even take their name from the 30th
Anniversary Compilation Roxxcalibur in 2007. The band are Alexx
Stahl - Vocals (Viron, Child In Time), Kalli - Guitars (Abandoned), Roger
Dequis - Guitars (Viron, ex- Economist), Mario Long - Bass (ex-Hateforce
One, ex-Mass Grave) and Neudi - Drums (Viron, Kokoon, Child in Time,
ex-Economist,) Together
they have not only captured the spirit of the original bands but have gone
that one
step further and chosen songs that are perhaps not as well known as some,
simply because
of their origins being that they were only available as 7’ single’s
(ahh the single!). So even the diehard fans of the genre will find
this an interesting addition to their collection. The
band recorded the songs live in the true spirit of the scene and have
managed to capture the raw edge that we older fans will remember so well. The
tracks that have been picked out are a just a great reminder of the day with
the likes of Jaguar, ARC, Cloven Hoof and Grim Reaper, mixed in with some of
the lesser known bands of the day like Bleak House, Radiant and Trident,
who became underground legends themselves. With
the vocals of Stahl
especially sounding very much the NWoBHM frontman as he and the rest of
the band bring out the best in some great tracks like Jaguar’s ‘Axe
Crazy’, an excellent rendition of the classic Witchfinder
General’s song ‘Witchfinder
General’, and the out-right highlight on the album for me being Grim Reaper’s ‘See You
In Hell’. Which I can confirm remains a firm favourite of Steve's
in his live set's even today and a song that always rocks the house loud
and proud. To
cover a single band and become one of the many tribute acts around is the
norm, but to cover a whole style of music such as NWoBHM is a mighty task,
but that's just what Roxxcalibur have done and they've more than done it justice.
Hopefully this will be the first of many
albums because there is so many great bands and songs from that particular
era that they
could continue down this path for quite some time. It would be a great collection that
I'm sure many would
follow and would make you dig out your old vinyl's and relive the glory days
when Britain paved the way for Heavy Metal worldwide. |
|
|
Tracklisting:
1. Big Ben |
|
|
All content copyright of The Mayfair Mall Zine unless otherwise stated. |
|