Atom Seed - Get In Line

These Uk funk rockers kind of irritated me at the time, especially front man Sean Cunningham who pranced, cavorted and leapt his way round stage like a bad version of FNM's Mike Patton, but to their credit Atom Seed were the best of a bad bunch I guess, a sad bunch of imitators which included Scat Opera and Ignorance from the UK, alongside Scatterbrain, FFW, blah blah. Atom Seed actually offer a little bit more metallic soul than the hordes of other slap-happy idiots, 'Castles In The Sky' is quite a stirring track, but it somehow seems a little out of place alongside the rubbery 'Rebel' and cheesy 'Bitchin'. Sure, the band do rock, pouring out energetic funky grooves but it's shelf-life was certainly limited, the band finding it hard enough to make a name for themselves amongst the funk-metal fraternity whilst always struggling to become more than an indie band.

5/10

Dead Kennedys - Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables (1980)

Whilst loitering outside the metal realm, Dead Kennedy's remain one of the most influential punk acts ever. Fronted by the warbling poet Jello Biafra, and backed by some bizarre trio who slap out satirical surf groove with a metallic garage fuzz, wrapped up in politics, sarcasm, disease, death and yet freakish classic upon classic of songs. This landmark debut is considered the bands finest work, boasting the ludicrously catchy 'California Uber Alles', the sickly divine 'Holiday In Cambodia' and the mighty fuzz of 'Lets Lynch The Landlord'. Biafra has an acidic quality to his wildly intelligent lyrics, the band breezing through a tight-knit set of tracks which have such a buzz, you can see why so many bands, from thrash acts to 'grunge' bands have cited DK as heroes. 'Fresh Fruit...' exudes fun, sweat and venom, fast-paced yet high on melody, as well as incorporating an air of strangeness which even Mr Bungle would have been proud of. A stirring record that means something today and shows exactly what US punk is all about and the cover of 'Viva Las Vegas' is a blast!

8/10

Overkill -Taking Over (1985)

More crunch than a frozen lettuce, Overkill, for me anyway, have always never quite achieved and remain in a league occupied by the likes of Exodus, as gonna be's that eventually never were. Overkill will have the ability to go on thrashing forever and certainly matured in sound into the '90s even as the metal world around them altered drastically, but 'nuff respect for sticking to their guns, but it could be said that Overkill have at times over-killed! 'Taking Over' was the bands second opus, nine songs of metallic moshing, although I've never been tickled by Bobby Ellsworth's tones, certainly clear and crucial to the Overkill assault, but it's middle of the road thrash that goes nowhere. Raise a toast to the band for taking no prisoners in their style and that's what thrash is all about but by the time they discovered progression the rest of the field were already at the top of the hill casting big shadows. Still, 'Wrecking Crew' and the likes must've made for sweaty live experiences...

6.5/10

Iron Maiden - Piece Of Mind (1983)

Certainly one of the best Maiden records and one of their best sleeves also, depicting band mascot Eddie shackled by straight-jacket in padded cell Hell. 'Piece...' is also one of the bands most musically accomplished albums, Bruce Dickinson on fine form soaring high vocally, especially on the epic 'Flight Of Icarus' with its catchy chorus, but the rest of the band provide a fiery backdrop, straight from the burning realm of the classy 'Number Of The Beast', this time the five-piece drift away from the hellish domain and focus on classic metal, daubing the anthems in gothic paint, pummelling the senses with the twin guitar attack of Murray and Smith, Harris' bass as usual galloping steadfastly along. I only own three Maiden records, this being one of them and this is certainly one of their finest, only let down by 'Quest For Fire' it boasts several Maiden classics, 'Where Eagles Dare', 'Die With Your Boots On' and the timeless jaunt of 'The Trooper'. Strange that I always thought Maiden were so dark and caustic and yet once coming out of the metal bubble in the late '80s, only then did I realise that a majority of tracks were history lessons, and far removed from Satanic murmurings. Even so, Maiden were, at times, a true metal band and their imagery always gave them a head start over so many bands, but the ride for me was only a temporary one, but the magic of 'The Trooper' lives long in the memory as those chords paint pictures of dark, dusty corridors and icy crypts. And as Dickinson's set of "oh oh oh oh oh's' rise into the night, even I have to admit that 'Piece Of Mind' is important...but give me 'Number Of The Beast' anyday, the fire there is much hotter.

8/10

Warfare - Pure Filth (1984)

You have to time travel back to the Iron Age of 1984 to truly dig this slab of rusted metal, released on the Neat label, the company responsible for Venom's grim output, Warfare are another band of merry Brits who indulge in punky, oily metal that would have been considered reasonably evil during its existence. To listen to this record so long after its birth it remains a true black metal mini-masterpiece, despite its grubby production. Drummer and vocalist Evo is pure Cronos in disguise, the Venom guys even turn up for a crusty collaboration on the final assault 'Rose Petals Fall From Her Face', and any fan of Venom will love this record. The guitars of Gunnar bring to mind the early, cavernous rumbles of Bathory, only more of a deathly plod, check out the anthemic punk vomit of 'Total Armageddon', complete with war sirens, the hellish noise of 'Rabid Metal' and clanking 'Dance Of The Dead'. This is metal played for keeps, the kind of claustrophobic, fire-breathing menace black metal bands have attempted to produce since the early '90s with only Darkthrone and a handful of others succeeding. Of course, Warfare won't be looked upon as innovators of evil, but they actually should, because this is a grim as anything Venom have put out, yet more obscure, the way we like it. Note: The cover of mine is black and white, far more suited to the ominous sound within.

7.5/10

Flotsam & Jetsam - Doomsday For The Deceiver (1986)

I was always fascinated by the cover as a young metal fan, probably because I always saw it fleetingly in magazines and never got to grasp the record from a record shop. Of course, so many millions of years later the sleeve looks rather dodgy, depicting some kind of reptilian, salivating cave monster ( Flotzilla!) crushing the Devil beneath scaled feet. Sound wise, it's the only Flotsam & Jetsam album I can play without getting a migraine, and it also features the bass playing, and lyrical talents of one Jason Newstead who would go on to feature heavily in Metallica. The record itself is pacey albeit melodic thrash metal that somehow caught the eye of the critics during the thrash waves of the '80s, although I don't hear anything that enables the album to stand-out so impressively. Even so, I'm not going to castrate the opus, it's a good thrash metal record with some good guitar work courtesy of Gilbert and Carlson but the vocals tend to grate a little, Eric A.K. though must've have surely struggled with the appalling lyrics of 'Hammerhead' despite the tight musicianship, and as each track hurtles by, the peculiar love thrash melodies of 'Iron tears' to the more robust 'Metalshock', it's clear that the band had the potential to remain in the shadow of bands such as Metallica, but for me, 'Doomsday...' is the only decent output by a band who flattered to deceive.

6.5/10

Sea Hags - Sea Hags (1989)

From the opening Zeppelin chords of 'Half The Way Valley' you realise that Sea Hags, a foursome from San Francisco, may be retro-sexual but they still know how to kick out the jams. The band bring to mind the likes of Faster Pussycat and The Black Crowes, and would certainly also put them in that league despite the band never making headwaves on the scene. What makes the album stand out is the weight of the grooves, separating the album from the usual lightweight sleazers around and instead layering the record in darker tones even through the stomp of 'Doghouse', and definite Faster Pussycat strut of 'Too Much T-Bone'. At the time, despite the hype, Sea Hags would have no doubt drowned in the sea of sleaze metal as countless bands hit the scene imitating the art of Guns 'n' Roses, but thankfully, looking back on such records this debut stands head and shoulders above most. Sassy, sexy and at times sonic with a cool cover too.

7/10