Universe Productions 1983
I don't know what the eff is going on, but I don't hate this record! I was sure it'd suck based on the band's tracks from the Holland Heavy Metal comp (even though they were better than SAD IRON... that ain't sayin' much!) and this righteously bad band photo (I can hear the guy up front now, the one who looks like Tony Orlando: "Hey guys check it out, I got this awesome goldtop Les Paul to match my gold lamé pants"). SEDUCER ain't Metal by any stretch, so if you can't stomach straight up Rock I'd move along and avoid this one. Imagine classic high octane TED NUGENT played at half time and with a quarter of the energy. Throw in a tiny bit of Southern Rock, some Russ Dwarf vocals, and a track that sounds like THE EAGLES' "Life In The Fast Lane", and you might be starting to get the picture. Yeah it's not great, but I expected much much worse.
DOWNLOAD: Seducer-Seducer.rar (60.91 MB)
SEDUCER • Seducer LP
STATORS • ...Never Too Late LP
Axe Killer Records 1985
One night at work, being beyond bored, I decided that come hell or high water I was going to solve one of Metal photo mysteries posted over at the always entertaining Test Your Metal blog. I literally spent hours researching and cross-referencing bands, photos, labels, discographies, and finally my hard work paid off... in spades! No, not really, but I did discover that the band in the cornball photo was France's own STATORS. And so it is that I felt overly acquainted with a band I'd never heard when I happened upon this record a couple of days ago. I can happily report that their wacky band photos are no indicator of the cool NWOBHM styled tracks STATORS have laid down here. I really dig the French vocal inflections (reminds me of the mighty SORTILEGE), and the well written songs are chock fulla interesting riffs and great lead breaks. I certainly did not expect to enjoy this record as much as I do. Good stuff, definitely worth a shot.
DOWNLOAD: Stators-NeverTooLate.rar (62.88 MB)
COBRA • Warriors Of The Dead LP
Criminal Response Records 1985
Technically this might not be an Ebony release, but surely Criminal Response Records was some sorta subsidiary or off-shoot, cuz this reeks of Ebony, and more specifically: it sounds like Ebony (i.e. like complete shit). However, much like they did on their Ebony debut, COBRA try their damnedest to overcome the crippling effects of a third rate production job by whipping out a serious collection of hefty, aggressive, NWOBHM killers. Manic off-the-cuff solos and loads of cool riffs are what make Warriors Of The Dead, and though lacking, the production is much better than Back From The Dead.
DOWNLOAD: Cobra-WarriorsOfTheDead.rar (54.58 MB)
DRIVE • Characters In Time LP
Rampage Records 1988
Based on the shoddy album cover, I assumed that DRIVE were gonna chauffeur me through the dim, well worn streets of generic, cliched, low-rent Metal straight to the heart Boredom Town... population: me. Thankfully messrs. Chavez et al. had no intention of treading that unfortunate path. Characters In Time may be ensconced in that abysmal cover, but the grooves contain top-notch modern Metal (by late 80s standards) that rivals OLIVER MAGNUM, bests WARRIOR, and is akin to a heavier QUEENSRYCHE. Mildly technical, highly melodic, vocally harmonized, and always engaging, DRIVE's debut may have taken the fast lane to the delete bin, but it's definitely worth a kick at the tires.
DOWNLOAD: Drive-CharactersInTime.rar (79.73 MB)
