WAR DANCE • A Short Sharp Shock Demo

Private/Indie 1988
I was a huge ENGLISH DOGS fan back in the day - loved "Mad Punx & English Dogs" when I was a Punk Rock kid, and loved "Where Legend Began" when I was a Metal skid. I really wanted an ED shirt, so I wrote the band, and after some delay got a reply from Graham 'Gizz' Butt himself. He informed me that the ENGLISH DOGS were no more, but that he had a new band... WAR DANCE, and that they had a demo available. We traded demos, cuz my band had just released one too (which Gizz didn't care for too much: "I like music with more melody" was his response if I remember correctly - haha), and soon the "None But The Brave" cassette showed up at my door. I didn't totally love it - I guess it's got a kinda Post-Punk feel (not that I really even know what that is), but it was cool to hear what Gizz & Co. were up too regardless. A few months later they released "A Short Sharp Shock", and this was what I was waiting for! Right off the bat there's no mistaking Gizzy's trademark guitar sound, metallic riffs and guitar harmonies. The first 2 tracks are full-on Thrash, and they make "Where Legend Began" sound puny by comparison. These are followed up by 2 tracks that lean more towards melodic Punk. They're still heavy, intricate songs, but the vocals are melodious and memorable making them slightly more accessible. "I Against I" era BAD BRAINS comes to mind a few times during these tracks, especially in the bass breakdown bit in "Hours Of Sunday". The last track "Against The Grain" successfully combines WAR DANCE's Thrash attack, with their Punk Rock leanings in a roaring conclusion to a masterful demo. When I think of all the shitty generic Thrash bands that were releasing material in the late 80's, the fact that WAR DANCE were never signed, and no one knew who the hell they were, is criminal. This demo is better than 75% of the records I own from the era.
DOWNLOAD: WarDance-AShortSharpShock.rar (42.14 MB)
PS: Oh yeah... "Giveaway" is one helluva song!