1349. Halford / Live Insurrection. 2001. 4/5

For a decade, Rob Halford had fought to keep himself relevant in a world that continued to find ways to reinvent itself through the music of the 1990’s decade. Having moved on from Judas Priest when the band was at arguably its highest peak, and all through confusion and misinformation, Halford had meddled with different styles and formats in his own musical direction. As the music of the decade began its formative and chameleonic morphing, so too Rob made his way through projects such as Fight and 2wo, a journey that saw him go through some of his own personal challenges along the way. Eventually he arrived at the dawn of the new century, and with the help of another group of musicians, including the influential Roy Z, he produced an album that brought him back to the fanbase that he had curated from his Judas Priest days with “Resurrection”, an album which you can hear all about on episode 104 of this podcast. It was the album that truly brought him back to international recognition and saw his profile back on the rise once again.
To promote the album, Halford and his band went out on the road on a tour that included Queensryche, both in support to Iron Maiden, who were touring on their reformed line up that included Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith on the back of their comeback’ album “Brave New World”. It was a big stage to be a part of, a tour that saw huge numbers flocking to see the return of Iron Maiden, but also the return of Halford. No doubt to continue riding this wave into the shore, the decision was made to record some shows and release them as a live album. As it turned out, they did far more than that. They ended up producing a double album that showcased the majority of the band’s new album, some of Fight’s best material, some great Judas Priest classics and some new studio material that included some old Priest that had never been released. It was an ambitious release, one that befit the newly reinstalled position that Rob Halford found himself in. Was it also firing a shot across the bow of his previous band, who at the time was struggling to stay relevant? Maybe yes, maybe no. All we did know at the time was that, for those of us who did not get to see the tour live, this was our chance to see if Halford could still pull off his material live like he did in the studio. And that was one of the winning factors that came our way with the release of “Live Insurrection”.

Those of you who are familiar with the Judas Priest live album “Unleashed in the East” will be aware that it has had many question marks about it over the years, involving just how much of the album is from an actual live performance and how much was re-edited and re-recorded in the studio. As an album it doesn’t affect just how amazing and influential it has been, but the fact that it is not all completely lifted from a live performance of the band does tend to annoy certain parts of the fandom. And I get that. There is cause to confront similar accusations for part of this live album as well. In particular it can be referred to the track “The One You Love to Hate”, the song on the album “Resurrection” that had Iron Maiden’s newly instituted lead singer Bruce Dickinson as dual lead vocals. The live version that appears on this album is a hybrid, it combines the live version of the song as played by Halford live on a night in London with the soundchecks of both Rob and Bruce earlier in the evening. Sure, it sounds great, but it isn’t organic it is a meshing of two or three different moments, and it makes you wonder – was it necessary? Couldn’t we just have had the version that Rob sang each night WITHOUT Bruce? That is the reality, that’s what we want from a live album. If Bruce had gotten on stage with him to sing it one night – which he did, there are bootlegs out there of him and Geoff Tate doing it – and they’d recorded it, then okay. But I think as fans we would all have been just as happy having Rob sing it himself.
Then there comes four other tracks, all of which are for all intents and purposes studio tracks that have had live crowd sounds added to them to make them sound as if they are being performed live on stage. “Light Comes Out of Black” was a song that was from the ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ movie soundtrack in 1992, on which the music was played by Pantera and had Halford as guest vocalist. “Life in Black” is a song from Rob’s Fight days from the “War of Words” album, and “Hell’s Last Survivor” and “Sad Wings” are the Japanese bonus tracks from the “Resurrection” album. None of these four songs are listed on any set lists from this tour. Indeed, only “Light Comes Out of Black” is listed as ever having been played live by Halford, on the “Crucible” tour in Anaheim on two nights. But that’s it. So again, we are left with the question, why? Why add these songs to this album in this way? Because there are three songs at the end of the double live album which are simply studio tracks, in the same way Kiss did with “Alive II”. “Screaming in the Dark” is a leftover Halford song, while both “Prisoner of Your Eyes” and “Heart of a Lion” are leftover Judas Priest tracks. Are they all good songs? Sure! Do they sound great? Yes! But why put them on this album in this way. Was it necessary to have a double live album? Could it not just have been a single album? Or a live album and a studio bonus? It is all a bit of a mystery.
But hey, let’s try and get out of the negative here and talk about what is great about this live album. Because, overall, it sounds fabulous. And the remainder of the songs come from the variety that was available at that time. Seven of the songs come from the debut album, and all sound wonderful. The opening of “Resurrection” and “Made in Hell” hits just as hard as it does on that album. “Slow Down” is given a great powerful live blast, with Halford adjusting his vocals as necessary to do it justice without blowing out his voice. I have already mentioned “The One You Love to Hate” (which sounds great despite my problems with its addition), while “Saviour” rallies the battle cry that it deserves, and “Silent Screams” offers its wonderful mix of slow moody into metal anthem perfectly in the live setting. “Cyberworld” opens the second disc in scintillating fashion to conclude the new tracks showcased here.
Rob then rejuvenates the very best of his Fight project with three awesome tracks that light up the album – the brilliant “Into the Pit”, “Nailed to the Gun” and the aforementioned “Life in Black”. Then we have the classic Judas Priest songs that Halford and his band have chosen to scatter amongst their set list, and it's a who’s-who of greatness. Let’s tick them off - “Stained Class”, “Jawbreaker”, “Running Wild”, “The Hellion-Electric Eye”, “Riding on the Wind”, “Genocide”, “Beyond the Realms of Death”, “Metal Gods”, “Breaking the Law” and “Tyrant”. Far out, that’s a concert in itself! And Rob and the band perform them with the glory they deserve, and perhaps just another little nudge to his former band to suggest that maybe there was still life in the old dog just yet.

Following Rob Halford after his split with Judas Priest was a given really, probably even more so because Priest themselves didn’t really get going again for seven years after the “Painkiller” album, whereas Rob was out there with Fight and even toured Australia a couple of times with them. When he too climbed aboard the Roy Z bandwagon and released his album with the Halford band, it was a revelation. And something that was welcome. The hope was that he would tour Australia but that was probably wishful thinking all round, but when this live album was released, it was a reasonable substitute.
I realise I have gone down a bit of a rabbit hole with this review, but to me they were pertinent points to bring up. When it comes to this podcast the more information I can offer in an enjoyable way makes for a more interesting episode, which I think this provides. You have the breaking down and hard line review of the album in the preceding sector. And there are parallels between this album and Priest’s live albums of their past. However, much like those Priest live albums, I adore this album. What I know to be real and what I know to be doctored merges for me in a listening experience that continues to bring me nothing but joy. Yeah yeah, those certain songs have their unreality elements about them, but when I just sit down and put this album on my stereo, everything about it sounds wonderfully awesome. And I come back to something that is becoming a more regular response on episodes about albums like this. That no matter what the circumstances, if an album brings you joy, then it doesn’t matter if it has been altered, even slightly. And in this respect, I am not including the recent trend of AI inspired or produced albums, because they aren’t ‘real’, they are based on nothing but computers playing god. Some of the tracks here may not be live as such, with the crowd added in to give it the same atmosphere as the other songs, but the album to sit down and listen to is brilliant. Musicians played their instruments to create this album, even if editing may have enhanced them.
It was an interesting time in metal. Bruce and Adrian had returned to Iron Maiden, and the band was back on top of the world. Many felt at the time, with the success Rob was having, that it was only a matter of time before Judas Priest pulled a similar trick. The fact that it took so much longer to come after 2001 allowed us to have one further chapter in the album trade off between Priest and Halford, the success (or lack thereof) for both perhaps finally bringing the scales back in order. But that is a story for another episode.

1348. Gillan / Future Shock. 1981. 3/5

Ian Gillan’s progression as a musician following his departure from Deep Purple initially took on an interesting and unexpected form, in the appearance of the Ian Gillan Band, which went down the route of progressive jazz-rock, very much a departure from the heavy rock that Deep Purple had existed on. The band released three albums, “Child in Time”, “Clear Air Turbulence” and “Scarabus”, all of which came at the periphery of the punk rock movement in the UK. Though they found some popularity in Japan, their lack of major success anywhere else led their record company to drop them. On the back of this, Gillan decided to dissolve the band. He did however retain the services of keyboardist Colin Towns, and instead decided to create a new band, this time titled simply Gillan.
Picking up John McCoy on bass guitar and Steve Byrd on guitar, the band’s debut album could only find a distributor for Japan, Australia and New Zealand, but the album sold so well in the UK as an import, backed by positive reviews, that a further distributor was found for Europe for the follow up album, which became “Mr Universe”. For this album guitarist Bernie Torme came on board for Byrd, while Gillan’s former band mate in a band called Episode Six, Mick Underwood, came in to play drums. This line up, of Gillan, Towns, Torme, McCoy and Underwood came to be the best-known formation of Gillan.
“Mr Universe” re-recorded several track from the debut album, in order to give them exposure to the European market who may have missed that album, which meant the Australasian market got a slightly different format of this album. The follow up saw the band reach its zenith with the release of “Glory Road” in 1980, and album that not only showcased the best of the individuals in the band, but it also reached #3 on the UK charts. On the strength of this the band toured the US, and despite what was described as a long and difficult tour, they were unable to crack the US charts or draw the kind of reaction that they were back at home in the UK.
Everything was moving quickly for the band. Just five months after the release of “Glory Road”, the band returned to the studio to begin work on their fourth studio album, no doubt hoping to strike while the iron was hot, at least on the home front. The result was the only 8 months after their previous album was released, Gillan came out with a new album that they no doubt hoped would continue their successful rise, one with perhaps a title that foretold of this, by the name of “Future Shock”.

The opening of the title track is a frantic fast paced frenzy, kicking off the album on the front foot. The keys-soaked beginning that gives off a sci-fi effect to the track is hardened up by the great drum and bass guitar rhythm, which allows Bernie Torme to offer his class on the guitar to take control of the track. This is added by Gillan’s amazing vocal, doubled to add some urgency to the style at the end of each verse and into the chorus. The lyrics offer a dystopian tech-obsessed future for all, much as described in the book the album gets its name from by Alvin Toffler. At three minutes it is here and gone before you know it. “Night Ride Out of Phoenix” seems like a song lyrically at least that has its germination during the band’s US tour of the previous year before recording this album. Gillan offers his usual offbeat style of lyrical content here, mixing his descriptive pieces of the landscape with his visions of the wildlife and people taking their journey there. Though there is a blues feel to the track, Towns’ keys and synth keep it well out of that territory, and Torme’s solo is more authentical hard rock. This is followed by what has to be an autobiographical song “(The Ballad of) The Lucitania Express”. It a rollicking hard and fast paced tempo from the outset, perhaps matching the speed and bounce of the train ride being described in the lyrics. John McCoy’s bassline through the song comes through wonderfully well, offering a great context to the guitar and keys of the song. Torme riffs his solo from the hilt, almost gunslinging his way to the end of the song. This barrels along and is one of the highlights of the album.
“No Laughing in Heaven” drops things back a couple of pegs and gives off that blues barroom again in mood, piano keys and blues guitar. It also pushes Ian back to the front vocally and has him completely taking the wheel of where the song is heading, in his finest traditions of being able to tell a story in the middle of a song without skipping a beat. And lyrically it is superb. Ian tells his story over four verses – the man who ignores the warnings of living a bad life and heading to hell, to reforming to ensure he goes to heaven, to arriving in heaven and being arrested for being in the wrong place, to wanting to be having a good time in hell and not being able to get there. It is solidly tongue in cheek, skewering religious hypocrisy with humour, offering a song that is part-sermon, part stand-up routine (think George Carlin). It’s a great fun song performed in a way only Ian Gillan can. This is followed by “Sacre Bleu” with Gillan switching the story around when it comes to girl and boy and the consequential results, with another round of fast bursts of speed throughout the song. The first side of the album then concludes with “New Orleans”, a cover version of the song that was originally recorded by Gary U.S. Bonds. So this is where I question what is going on. This is an early 1960’s song, and this definitely sounds like it. And yeah, the band plays it well, and Gillan just riffs off and obviously loves the track. But I question why the band would have done so much terrific stuff here to this point in time, and then though that this was a good track to throw on here. Especially to complete side one of the album.
“Bite the Bullet” opens the second side, and returns to the rollicking style of most of the album, a tight and riff‑driven gateway. The rhythm section of Underwood and McCoy shines here, pushing the track forward with precision. Gillan’s delivery is sharp and urgent, matching the song’s theme of grit and perseverance. It moves in waves that grow and widen before crashing through the speakers. This is followed by “If I Sing Softly”, the album’s ‘as close as you can get to a ballad’ track. Slower, melodic, introspective. It barely sounds like Gillan singing in the first verses, until he breaks out into the chorus. He showcases that he still has the ability to sing this kind of track. It certainly isn’t “Child in Time”, but it differs from everything else on this album in that it offers the other side to his vocals. It’s fine, but I’ll take the faster songs on this album every day of the week.
“Don’t Want the Truth” - well, I just gave it to you, but in this case I am talking about the title of the next song – is a return to that more fabled style of music, the place where hard rock meets heavy metal with the heavy synth influence. Gillan gets forceful in trying to push away what is coming for him, and is helped along the way by that solid rhythm and Torme’s great guitar solo that is backed by the keys from Towns in a Deep Purple adjacent manner. The album then is brought to its conclusion with the atmospheric stylings of “For Your Dreams”. This acts as an attempt to draw a different mood to the closing track, one that moves through different styles, with Gillan’s vocals holding the key. It feels almost like a curtain call of a stage show. There is a progressive sound here, leaning more on the keys banging away. Perhaps it works, perhaps it doesn’t. I am still very much on the fence as to whether or not I like it or think they may have overstepped the mark.

My history with this album is, as it turns out, very short. I had known of Gillan the band, but had never really listened to them at all. I loved Ian in Deep Purple, and had his solo albums “Naked Thunder” and “Toolbox” from when he had been on exile from Deep Purple from 1989 to 1992. In fact, I had seen him live on the solo tour to promote “Toolbox” in Wollongong at Waves in February 1992 (where he played almost the entire “Toolbox” album, and also “New Orleans” from this album, which I remember to be the worst song of the night) and had even had two beers with Ian after that gig. Now that is a great story, but one for perhaps another episode. So I knew Ian Gillan and his solo albums well, but pretty much nothing of his career between his Deep Purple gigs of 1973-1983. So a little over 12 months ago I decided I should start tracking down those albums and start listening to them. Because, come on, its Ian Gillan. They can’t NOT be good! I initially found a copy of “Glory Road” at that time, and just adored it. And about six months ago, I also found this album, an original print, being sold on eBay for 20 bucks. Thank YOU!
I can therefore confirm that my history and listening numbers of this album does not correspond to the 45 years since this album was released. Trackify tells me I have listened to it 8 times at work over the last week and a half, and I know I have played the album 3 times at home in the Metal Cavern in that time period. Before that, when I bought it, I listened to it another three times. So that is 14 times in my life, all very recently. So as an album as a part of a podcast titled Music from a Lifetime, this one has been listened to less than once for every year of its existence. And to be fair, I could easily have bypassed this album on this run through, and perhaps caught up with it in five years time on its 50th anniversary (assuming this podcast is still running then). But I think this album gets a unique point of view for me, because it really is almost like a new release album. I have had only tens of listens, not hundreds, over a period of years. It is all quite fresh, without the ability for me to have my opinion fester over that time. Perhaps my opinion would change over the next five years – and maybe we’ll find out then. For now though, I like this album. Not as much as “Glory Road”, I think that is special, but for the most part, as you will have heard, this also stands up well.
More change was to come for the band following this album, another very quick follow up album, and then the journey into a new band that no one ever expected Ian Gillan to head down. But for now, Gillan was proving to be a force in the UK music world, and it gave everyone the chance to continue to hear those amazing vocals of Ian Gillan soar.

1347. Tygers of Pan Tang / Spellbound. 1981. 3.5/5

Tygers of Pan Tang is a band that always come up when the conversation turns to talk of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. They were of course one of the bands at the forefront of the movement, a part of the first wave that found their way to prominence. They had supported bands such as Iron Maiden, Scorpions and Budgie on the way to signing their first record contract, from which had come their debut album “Wild Cat” in July of 1980, album of which you can learn all about by listening to episode 112 of this podcast. This helped to raise the band’s profile even further, and along with increased touring saw their name beginning to create a success. It was during this period that they brought in a second guitarist which would help replicate the twin guitars that appeared on the album live on the stage. For this job they were able to recruit former Streetfighter guitarist John Sykes to fill the role. Yes, THAT John Sykes, the one that went on to become so influential during the 1980’s decade. His addition to the band brought on a whole new dimension, and along with his vocals gave the band a true boost to their sound. It was around this time as well that lead singer Jess Cox had a falling out with the rest of the band, and as a result he quit. In his place, the band recruited Persian Risk lead vocalist Jon Deverill. In Sykes and Deverill, the band had hit gold. Both were noted songwriters, and Deverill’s stronger and melodically controlled vocal style gave the band a real leader both in the studio and on stage, while Sykes’s added technical ability on guitar to band leader Robb Weir brought in a player who was already showing off the skills that would see him become one of the decade’s most talked about guitarists, and his serious backing vocals also brought added depth to the band.
The band once again had up and coming producer Chris Tsangarides in the studio to produce their follow up to their debut album, and with “Spellbound”, the Tygers of Pan Tang were looking to move up from their position of promising newcomers in the New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands to becoming one of the leaders. The member recruitments gave them every chance of fulfilling that promise.

Opening with a burst of energy, “Gangland” immediately showcases the band’s evolution from the debut album. The riffing of the guitars is tighter and more melodic than on “Wild Cat”, and Deverill’s vocals add a sense of urgency and style. The chorus is catchy. The jump into the solo section brings John Sykes to the fore for the first time, and it is immediately noticeable what he brings to the band in this respect. The rhythm pushes the track along and Deverill, like Sykes, showcases the improvement that he brings to the band with his presence. From this great start the album moves into “Take It”, which dials back the pace slightly but not the tempo, the rhythm locking into the groove immediately and driving it along. Deverill is sublime in coercing his vocals to meet the demand, moving easily from the range he usually deals in to dive down into an almost Bonnet/Turner vocal groove in the chorus. The trade off in the solo section between Sykes and Weir is perfect and provides the best example of why the twin guitar attack works for this band.
The short, almost superfluously separated 22 seconds of “Minotaur”, which could so easily have just been added as the start of the following track, then segues straight said next track of “Hellbound”, which opens with a cracking guitar riff and kicks off in a fast and aggressive fashion. This song contains everything that is great about the best songs of this era. While the guitars drive the track from the outset, the rhythm of drum beat and the prominent rumbling bass line keeps everything in check and running smoothly, while Deverill shows off the best of his vocals here, taking centre stage and producing the performance that proves he is the right man for this job, of promoting this band in their best light on the biggest stage. “Hellbound” captures the greatest essence of Tygers of Pan Tang – speed, melody and attitude, with more great solo play off between the dual guitars. It’s a ripper.
Just for good measure, depending on which way you look at it, they then turn things and head to the other end of the spectrum with “Mirror”, which acts as the more atmospheric and introspective of the songs here. The first half of the song is more of a quiet interlude, but halfway through Deverill really piles on the full range and power of his vocals while the guitar of Sykes offers a complex yet melodic shift, something he brought to all of his bands through the 1980’s decade. For a song that starts out as though it might head down into the power ballad territory, it ends up coming through as a surprising and importantly mature offering of the Tygers of Pan Tang puzzle. A return to upbeat, melodic metal comes with “Silver and Gold” with a riff that isn’t incredibly unlike that on “Hellbound” but at a lesser pace and a more melodic interpretation. Once again, the rhythm sets the pattern and sticks to the road ahead, offering the guitars the chance to create the drive of the track. Then “Blackjack” follows with its short sharp burst, a traditional type of track of the era but done with the flair and excellence that this band and its current line up could produce. It’s a straightforward hard rocking heavy track, with punchy riffing and great vocals from Deverill. The beauty of this track is that although it might be structurally a basic track, the energy and excellence with which it is performed is what sets it apart from others of this era.
Then comes “The Story So Far”, a song that comes out of nowhere, the style changes up to a more melodic and mainstream track, something that on initial reflections sounds and feels completely out of place. The lyrics too are very basic, and it sounds very much like a track that was written to gain radio airplay. Everything here is simplified from what has come before. It is a little like the sore thumb of the album; it stands out for the wrong reasons. “Tyger Bay” draws us back to a more level footing, the bottom end of drums and bass is back and providing the sure footing. Sykes and Weir complete the feeling of returning to normality with a trade-off of licks and solos, and the album’s standing is restored. “Don’t Stop By” then brings the album to its conclusion with another slight change up to the album’s basic tenants. There is a more melodic exchange between the guitars here and also Deverill’s vocals, both of which draw from a different well musically than they have for the majority of the album. It looks to be a mood changer, one that offers a different perspective from the style that the majority of the album offers. Does it work? Each person’s perspective will be different. For me, it makes the mistake of drifting away from what had worked on the album, the harder and faster styled tracks that gave the album its best sound. To me it weakens the impact that the band had set up along the path of this sophomore release.

My true discovery and dive into this band did not come until well after their initial foray into the music world. There were songs that I had heard during my initial discovery of the heavy metal genre, but that was about it. In those latter days of high school and early days having escaped that institution, I would only truly find and listen to bands if friends or acquaintances also listened to those bands and had albums that they could offer to record for me on cassette. As none of my friend group had any music from Tygers of Pan Tang, they remained a band that I knew the name of, that I was aware of their influence in the early days of the 1980’s decade, but that nothing came from.
It wasn’t until many years later, when I began a quest to go back in time, and discover the bands of that bygone era, and track down their albums, and listen to them all in order to conduct my own research on the music of the time, that I finally got around to seeking out the band’s first four albums. And although I was listening to all of them at the same time, along with albums from other bands such as Angel Witch, Praying Mantis, Venom, Holocaust and Diamond Head, there was still one particular album from Tygers of Pan Tang that stood out immediately. And it was this one, “Spellbound”. And there were two main factors that made this album bounce its impact from the others, and that was the twin guitars and the vocals. The difference that both of these things make from the debut album, and indeed the next two albums as well, is calculated. Not only here is the play off between the two guitarists much brighter and more exciting, the solos and melodic pieces, it is the impact that John Sykes makes immediately on this album that is the winner. Robb Weir’s guitaring on “Wild Cat” is great, but here with Sykes added, it just makes everything better. And John Deverill’s vocals are a step above what Jess Cox offers on that first album. You can understand why and how Deverill’s career has gone the way it did on the first listen to this album.
On listening to this album again this week, nothing has changed for me. I still enjoy this album whenever I put it on, and not without a little surprise still each and every time. As a follow up to their first album it has all the improvements a band needs to double down on their first effort. And I won’t deny that two songs here still do disappoint me, but not to the overall detriment of the album itself.
While “Wild Cat” had reached #18 on the UK charts on its release, “Spellbound” topped out at #33. There had only been a nine months turnaround between the two albums, and there would be only a seven months turnaround to the follow up. Tygers of Pan Tang were in a hurry. Perhaps they knew they were on borrowed time. Whether or not this is true, “Spellbound” remains an album that offers you some of the best that this era had to offer in the metal genre.

1346. Angel Witch / Frontal Assault. 1986. 2.5/5

The journey of Angel Witch through to the release of their third studio album is one that many bands from their era had to tread. In fact, many of the bands of their ilk failed to ever reach the point where they would record a second album, let alone a third. Angel Witch’s self-titled debut album quickly became a cult hit, but this did not translate into mainstream success or big dollars for the band. The band then spent a curly four years winding its way through the potholes and pitfalls of changing band members and line up, management issues and a changing musical landscape before they finally came around to record their second album “Screamin’ n’ Bleedin’”. There is a school of thought that the band was too melodic for the underground and too dark for the mainstream. With heavy metal moving in two major directions, the commercial hair metal route and the brooding and dark thrash metal route, Angel Witch found themselves between a rock and a hard place with their more traditional heavy metal style.
The band’s second album had seen guitarist and founding member Kevin Heybourne continue as the leader of the band, with new members bass guitarist Peter Gordelier and lead vocalist Dave Tattum joining him. The replacing of Heybourne on lead vocals with Tattum had been a polarising decision, with Heybourne deciding to concentrate on his guitaring duties was the best option for the band. Tattum’s vocals after Heybourne’s beloved versions on the debut album made the second album one that met with a little resistance as a result.
Coming into the follow up, drummer Spencer Hollman came in to join this trio. Given that it had been almost five years between the band’s first and second albums, it was more than surprisingly that it took only seven months for the follow up album to appear. It was comprised of completely new material, with none of the songs brought in coming from earlier in the band’s career. Perhaps the quick turnover gave the band some momentum to work with, by bringing more new material out quickly it offered fans something to grab onto, as well as saying “we aren’t going to leave you wondering when our next album is coming out, here it is!” And now, all that had to be determined was this – given the very short turnaround between albums, was the material that the band (in essence Heybourne) had composed strong enough to make this album a better experience than the previous one? All would be revealed as Angel Witch released their third studio album titled “Frontal Assault”.

 
The title track “Frontal Assault” opens up the album. It jumps out of the blocks immediately without any chance to prepare for what is to come. The tempo jumps immediately into a pleasing double time and forceful style. The driving riff from Heybourne and the mostly single toned vocal line from Tattum tend to combine the darker and thematically musical tones of the band’s early work with a slightly brighter and faster pace to bring it into focus for the age the album was recorded. It acts as an excellent way to begin the album and set the focus for what is to come. This is followed by “Dream World” which begins with a great guitar riff before Tattum’s vocals join in quickly once again. The bass line from Peter on this track is excellent and nicely positioned in the mix to give it the added focus it deserves. The addition of Heybourne’s contribution to backing vocals during the chorus draws attention to the two contrasting styles of Angel Witch’s vocalists. It is an interesting decision to combine them both here in this way, given Heybourne’s higher vocal range that brings about the point of difference with Tattum’s very one tonal level throughout. Heybourne’s solo again dominates the track and gives the song the exclamation point it needs. There’s a bit of everything on this song that makes it interesting and fun with the more melodic and brighter sound.
“Rendezvous with the Blade” begins with the best sounding start to the song, inducing a real injection of energy into the music, it bounces along, continuing the desire to combine the sounds like a true Angel Witch song into a desire to bring a modernisation to the album. The strong riff and excellent solo from Heybourne bring the real strengths of the band to light here. Tattum does not over extend his vocal lines and there is a drive from the bass line and drums on the song. There is also a nice melody in the vocals during the atmospheric backing. Heybourne’s guitaring on this track is the defining quality, and offers a true dive back deep into the band’s core sound of its early days. Following this is “Religion (Born Again)”, where Heybourne leads us off again with the start of the track. A great heavy riff and drum beat elicit a bobbing of the head in time to the song. Tattum's vocals are at their best in this environment, not trying to stretch beyond what they are capable of, and in the process creating a great sounding track. Lyrically it plays out with a great solo play from Heybourne. It’s a decent song, delving into topic of the cycle of religious belief and disbelief, combining spitting lyrics with a solid musical backing to close out the first side of the album.
The second side opens up with “Straight from Hell”, where the band returns to a straighter heavy track, a great riff from the outset and Tatton again sticking mostly to his range where he sounds at his best. It’s the basics that are performed well here. You can’t argue with the great riff from Heybourne, the rhythm is doing their job by creating the bottom end of the track, and the vocals are some of the best on the album. It’s a solid punchy style that brings back the heavier aspects of the band’s music. Angel Witch head into their epic song phase with the follow up song “She Don’t Lie”, one that tells the story of a girl messing with black magic and in the process stabbing her lover to death. Well played! There is a much more melodic feel to this song as a result of the story, changing up the music and the subject matter, and creating a song where the two don’t match, but in the process creates a song worthy of what it is. It is an offbeat tragic love story mixed with dark forces, and the way the music is composed to tie in with the lyrical content suits it perfectly. Tattum’s vocals here also suit everything that surrounds him.
Back into the fiery pit we go with "Take to the Wing”, from the outset the tempo increases frantically, a great speed set by the rhythm and guitar. Angel Witch the band are at their very best on tracks like this, where the pace is brought up to the top of their game, and Heybourne’s cracking guitar solo through the middle of the song electrifies it even further. Tattum charges along on this track, taking control vocally and seemingly enjoying the ride he is taking. This breaks the mould in some facets for the band who have not always dealt in fast paced almost thrash like tendencies, but this remains one of the band’s best songs through their catalogue. That may just be because of my preference and penchant for speed in music, but I think they found a winner on this song. Immediately though on the following track “Something Wrong” we are back into the tempo and mood that Angel Witch like to surround itself with, a track with a more introspective mood, with a sense that recalls the band’s earlier work. The pacing is measured, allowing the vocals and guitar phrasing to take centre stage. Thematically, it deals with internal struggle and disillusionment while the guitar solo is one of the album’s more expressive moments, adding depth to the song’s reflective tone. If you would like me to choose between the two styles of which these last two songs have been performed, I will have “Take to the Wing” every time.
The album closes by returning to a more urgent musical and thematic focus with “Undergods”. Drawing on the core music of the debut album once again, this is a compact and intense track, with a driving rhythm and momentum. Heybourne offers even further proof of his ability to create a riff and solo that captures the ears. It gives the album a closing track that befits what has come before it.

For those of you who have an interest in the band Angel Witch, I highly recommend that you check out the podcast Feckin’ Metal Podcast, hosted by the wonderfully entertaining and informative Ferghal. In 2025 he and his guest host the equally entertaining George did a deep dive retrospective of the band over several episodes, discussing the band and all of its releases. In particular, episode 106 concentrated on this particular album, and it is more than worth your while going back and listening to – along with everything else on that podcast. It is one of the best out there.
Some years ago now, once we had come to the years of file sharing, I had set out on a quest in or to track down all of the albums of all of the bands that I had heard about from the years between 1979 and 1982 that made up what has been dubbed as the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. I wanted to not only discover some new bands and music, because those that I had been listening to now for 20 years were getting old and in some cases running out of good music to offer, and I wanted to know more about those groundbreaking years and the bands that were a part of it. One of those main ones was Angel Witch, whose debut album I discovered quickly and enjoyed immensely. That album you can listen to on this podcast on episode 174 if you are interested in its story. I then started tracking down the other albums of the catalogue, which began with the predecessor to this one, “Screamin’ n’ Bleedin’” from 1985, which you can also check out on episode 131 of this podcast. And then came this album.
It is negligible as to how much I listened to this album when I first tracked it down. During this experimentation period I got a LOT of albums I’d not heard before, and so I was trying to fit a lot in t a very short listening space that I had. So I know I listened to it a few times before moving on to the next, and that at that time it hadn’t grabbed me enough to make me want to listen to it more. A few years later though, about ten years ago when I was beginning to ferry around the kids to various after school activities, I would often have an hour or so to kill while waiting for them, and I began to recycle back through those NWoBHM albums, and THIS time, this album caught my ear. And perhaps that was surprising. But there was enough in the music here that reminded me of what I enjoy about Angel Witch, and I spent a happy few weeks of this being my go-to in the car a couple of times a week.
Finding a copy of this album that is anywhere near a price I am willing to pay to buy it has proven elusive, and it is nowhere on streaming services, so my burned CD copy remains my way to listening to the album (though like most things you can find it on YouTube). And having pulled it out again this week, I have enjoyed having it back playing in the Metal Cavern. There will always been a couple of disappointments with this album, at least until the Heybourne pulls his finger out and remasters and rereleases all of the albums from the band, because the first one is the production. Obviously, there was little money in the budget to give this the kind of polish that would really lift it. Because the songwriting overall and instrumentation is very good. The other point is that Kevin Heybourne, having been the lead vocalist on the debut album, had Dave Tattum singing here on the previous album and this album. Now he does offer some vocals on this album in places, but the chance to have both men singing on this album complementing each other is a missed opportunity. Despite this, I still enjoy this album to this day. I think it has some great material, and while the vocals may well be an acquired taste, I still think that once you listen to the album a couple of times and are used to Dave Tattum’s style they are effective enough and pleasant enough to listen to.
Angel Witch went through an interesting phase of their career following this album. Tattum was moved on shortly after the release and tour of this album, and the band played sporadically as a three piece for some time afterwards. It wasn’t until many many years later that a follow up album emerged, something that will hopefully be discussed on a much later episode of this podcast.

1345. Whitesnake / Come an' Get It. 1981. 3.5/5

The road for Whitesnake had been a difficult one since its formation in the dissolution of Deep Purple through the late 1970’s. Coming off the mega success that that band had had, it must have been a difficult thing for band leader David Coverdale to take on. There would have been high hopes that his initial foray into a solo career that then led to the creation of this new band would have quickly been able to siphon off many of the Deep Purple fan base into following this new entity. But the take up was slow, and the build of the integration of the band’s sound and makeup took some hard work. The debut album “Trouble” reached #50 on the UK charts, and its follow up “Lovehunter” made it to #29. Neither album was able to crack the US charts, something that would soon become a goal of Coverdale’s to address.
In May of 1980, the band released their third album, “Ready an’ Willing”, an album that you can discover and hear all about on Episode 64 of this podcast, and it was also an album that saw the lead off single of “Fool for Your Loving” that captured the music listening public’s attention. It reached #13 on the UK singles chart, as well as charting for the first time in the US where it reached #53. The single propelled the success of the album, which reached #6 on the UK charts, and cracked the US top 100 for the first time, reaching #90. It was a breakthrough for the band, which then saw the release of the live album in November 1980 titled “Live... in the Heart of the City”. This was a double LP showcasing two performances separated by two years, and showcased the band’s live sound to a growing audience. It reached #5 on the UK Charts, continuing to promote the band and its identity.
The band now had momentum to pay with, and had actually recorded most of their follow up album in the middle of 1980, with some extra touch ups added during January of 1981. As he had for the band’s two previous albums, Martin Birch came on as producer. The band had the same line up for its second album in a row, with three-fifths of the final Deep Purple line up of Coverdale, Jon Lord and Ian Paice joined by guitaring maestro's in Bernie Marsden and Mickey Moody and legendary bass guitarist Neil Murray. Everything seemed in place to create an album that could build on the progress they had made together as a group, and produce the next step in the band’s legacy. That step perhaps came to be a prophecy, or maybe just a hope, with the album titled “Come an’ Get It”.

“Come an’ Get It” offered a glimpse of the hard working ethic and drive that Whitesnake had during this first phase of their career, given that it was the band’s fourth studio album they had released in a period of 2.5 years, as well as the live album. Five releases in 2.5 years. That is an incredible achievement, backing up a constant touring schedule and writing regime as a result. In this instance, given the rising sales of the band’s releases, it seems like a pertinent move.
One of the things to consider with the band’s sound overall and certainly this album in particular, as it is the one we are concentrating on for this episode, is that it is very different from other music that was being produced in the UK at the time. The punk and disco genres had reached an impasse, the New Wave of British Heavy Metal had exploded but was quickly retreating back into itself, and new wave was the sound that was generating itself into chart success. Whitesnake however continued on their course, a blues rock background driven into a harder core on occasions, attempting to channel those glory days of Deep Purple.
The album opens with the title track “Come an’ Get It”, a solid blues based track that sits straight into the mid tempo that the band made their own during this time, a riff that struts its purpose and the rhythm locking in immediately with Paice’s drums and Murray’s bass line taking the main stage. Coverdale tracks in with his vocals in their best low key attitude, while Lord’s organ sound offers the final warming touches. This is followed by “Hot Stuff” that lifts the tempo and energy from the opener, Paice’s double time drumming driving the song to greater heights and performing the platform along with Murray and Lord that gives this song a bigger attitude throughout. Coverdale’s vocals are more energised and in the picture, while Lord’s classic organ solo brings back great memories of albums past. The guitars of Moody and Marsden almost channel that old Purple sound as well. “Hot Stuff” by name and by nature. This is tracked on by the beautiful moody Whitesnake standard “Don’t Break My Heart Again”, again purposefully started and composed by the drums, bass and organ, before being joined by the guitar riff and eventually Coverdale’s classic vocal lines. Those vocals are at their very finest here, that moody bluesy smooth singing that send shudders down the spine when listening to him in this capacity. The backing from Marsden and Moody through the bridge and chorus brings it all together. The solo through the back half of the track matches the mood of the track perfectly. This was the first single released from the album, reaching #17 in the UK, but most importantly, it is the very mold of the great Whitesnake songs of this era of the band. It doesn’t rise or fall out of the boundaries that has been set for it, no one overstates their place here, and everything just fits together like a snug puzzle. This showcases the best of everyone’s talents in one track.
“Lonely Days, Lonely Nights” remains in the album’s general tempo and mood, channelling the blues rock that this version and period of the band produced so well. Both Marsden and Moody on guitars excel during this song with their flourishes being the mainstay of the track, some great licks and riffs that keep the interest up with the rhythm stuck solidly in the lower tempo the track has been composed in. Side A is closed out by the blues track of the piano variety, with Lord’s organ moved aside for the more traditional piano keyboard style. “Wine, Women an’ Song” eventually develops into a modern sounding blues backed track after the opening, and the duelling guitars in the middle give Marsden and Moody a chance to shine. There is more bar-room rock to this song than blues, but the sewing together of the two traditions here offers a n upbeat conclusion to the first half of the album.
It is Coverdale’s vocals on “Child of Babylon” that proves the winning point of the opener to side two, as the mood and tempo sit back again, and give the lead vocalist the chance to emote into a higher and more passionate range. The bouncier style of the band returns with “Would I Lie to You”, with a slightly (very slightly) faster tempo, and the bright melodic chorus that, to be fair, pretty much just repeats the name of the song. There is nothing outstanding offered here by the band, the song just acts as you hear it, a chance for Coverdale to lather his honey vocals over some simplified lyrics and give a simplified chorus the opportunity to be sung along with by the listener, even if it isn’t the most exciting track available. And, as it turns out, the same could almost be washed, rinsed and repeated with “Girl”, which performs a similar role to “Lonely Days, Lonely Nights” musically, and “Would I Lie to You” lyrically. Again musically, the song gets stuck in sort of a rut, where the band seem to sit in the same tempo and play the same thing for the four minutes of the song. They all sound great, but they are almost all superfluous, they could have played eight bars and then put it on a loop.
“Hit an’ Run” starts off at a faster clip, but soon devolves back into the basic rhythm tempo of the album. There is more punch to this song, a more determined drum beat and guitar riff that pushes it along when it is in danger of stalling. Then comes the final song, “Till the Day I Die”. Opening with the clear and acoustic guitar backed by Lord’s organ, this song soothes along in its quiet demeanour until just after the two minute mark, at which point it crashes into life with the addition of the harder riffing guitars and beating drums, and the mood changes swiftly. Lord is offered another opportunity to produce an organ solo from his salad days in the latter part of the track, as the song plays out with emphasis and fades to complete the album on a dose of energy.

Like many of my generation, my first experience of the Whitesnake phenomenon was with their seminal album “1987”, one that contained all of the glitz and glitter of the enveloping heavy genre that it was aimed at on its release, the commercial exploration that David Coverdale was looking for, and which was exactly the kind of thing I was looking for at the time as well. When it came to all of the Whitesnake albums prior to this, that was more of a journey. It was just a matter of getting down the road to doing it. I went through the Deep Purple discography prior to that, and in doing so discovered each of “Burn, “Stormbringer” and “Come Taste the Band” that are in some ways a forgotten branch of music and yet are so wonderful in their own right, and of course are the forerunner to this band. So when I came to discover the early Whitesnake albums, I wasn’t as underprepared as I could have been when it came to their sound. Well... that’s partly true.
When discovering the band’s early discography, it was inevitably “Slide it in” that I came to first, followed by “Saints and Sinners”. Both are very good albums (in my opinion), and having experienced those two first, when I then came to this album I was better prepared for what it offered. And I guess when I first heard it, having heard the two albums that come after its release, I guess I was expecting something different. Something perhaps a bit more revelationary. And it took me a while to work out why I didn’t think that was the case. Eventually – some years later as it turned out, once I realised that these albums were all composed and released in very quick succession – I came to the conclusion that there were similar focuses on the music hear because they were happy with their direction and their increasing success, so don’t try and muck around with the formula too much. And that’s why I think that there is a slight stall on this album. One that was rectified over those next two albums.
Flash forward to the present day, and my CD goes into the stereo, and although I get similar vibes initially, I find that on closer inspection there is a bit more here than perhaps I have given this album credit for in the past. “Don’t Break My Heart Again” in particular is a song that I enjoyed in the past but didn’t give much more thought to, but over this past little bit I have been indoctrinated as to the beauty and craftsmanship of the track itself and its performance. Beyond that, it has been the performers themselves who I now hear play an enormous part on this album. It is easy to name Paice, Lord and Murray because their work is always sublime and special. But truly, Ian Paice is a master craftsman on the drums. And he is exceptional on this album once again, almost the star as far as I am concerned. How he continues to play so brilliantly every album is beyond me. His combination here, firstly with Jon Lord and his organ, is particularly good – and Lord is offered a couple of nice places to showcase some of his amazing talent – and also with Neil Murray’s bass is sensational. These three create the foundations of the album, that give Bernie Marsden and Mickey Moody the chance to do what they do best. And Coverdale of course is as wonderful as always.
Overall, this is another good solid album from this version and line up of the band. I will once again state for the record that I like this album, I just don’t love it. It is great to listen to, and it has several excellent songs. Here endeth the episode.