LONDON • Don't Cry Wolf LP

Metalhead Records 1986

The little I know about LONDON is that they were stalwarts of the Sunset Strip Glam scene in the early 80s, and pretty much everyone has been a member of the band at one time or another, including Nikki Sixx, Michael White, Blackie Lawless, Slash, Izzy Stradlin, Brian West (TKO), Fred Coury, and these are only the guys you've heard of. Don't Cry Wolf is the band's second record, and surprisingly it's quite good. Much much heavier than expected, as many of the songs plow ahead at double time and are stacked with proper Metal riffs. Speaking of which, the riffs are mildly generic and pretty much every one will remind you of another song, but at least that makes 'em memorable. The production by Kim Fowley is dated and artificially huge and the cover of "Oh Darling" is atrocious and misplaced, but these two gripes aside, Don't Cry Wolf is a solid record. Give it a shot, your friends will never know... and how bad can it really be!?!
DOWNLOAD: London-DCW (67.09 MB)

THE BROOD • The Brood LP

Profile Records 1986
Ever wonder what the 4-headed offspring of SUICIDAL TENDENCIES and RUSH might sound like? Don't worry, no one else has either... but now that the thought is in your head, let me introduce you to THE BROOD. This one slipped well under the radar back in the day, but my god it's one hell of a record! Drummer Amery Smith, who played on the first SUICIDAL record, has got some serious Peart-ness in his playing, and the guitarists are both phenomenal... Rocky George would be a proud papa. The vocals of course sound like Mike Muir, but musically THE BROOD are heading in a slight more proggy direction. Aside from Join The Army I'm not really familiar with SUICIDAL's records, but at times these guys are deadringers for their suicidal sires. To add further similarities to ST, The Brood was produced by photographer Glen E. Friedman... the same guy responsible for the first SUICIDAL record. After only one listen I'm already bummed that this is the only record THE BROOD managed to release. Uh... download!
DOWNLOAD: TheBrood-TheBrood (80.93 MB)

THUNDERFIRE • Thunderfire LP

Roadrunner Records 1983
Super early Roadrunner offering from Belgian maniacs THUNDERFIRE for y'alls here. This, their one and only release, starts out in an ominously doom laden and distinctly BLACK SABBATH-esque fashion... the intro even sounds slightly like classic Swedish Death Metal when the gargled scream enters the fray, and from there Thunderfire plows through punky proto-Thrash and metallized AC/DC riff rockers in even doses. Hard to imagine that these guys actually sought out Keith Nichol to produce their record... I always assumed that VENOM used him cuz he was the only guy in town willing to put up with their racket... but perhaps, for brief moment, he was the Andy Sneap of 1983. Regardless, he did a decent job of capturing THUNDERFIRE's raw rock'n'metal sound, and now you can capture it by following the link below.
DOWNLOAD: Thunderfire-Thunderfire.rar (62.22 MB)

RUMBLE MILITIA • Fuck Off Commercial LP

Atom-H (1987)
RUMBLE MILITIA is a band whose name has always stuck in my mind... it's got a great ring to it, and it conjures up all sorts of cool (teenage) imagery, but I'd never heard the band until dropping this here copy of Fuck Off Commercial onto the platter today. RUMBLE MILITIA play Thrash Metal with a sorta Crossover vibe, and remind me of a varied array of bands: a looser and less proggy VENDETTA comes to mind first, as does a thrashier RUNNING WILD, and the ridiculously high pitched screams smack of Schmier. A truly entertaining record, Fuck Off Commercial has exceeded all expectations and is destined to find a place in my regular rotation.
DOWNLOAD: RumbleMilitia-FuckOffCommercial.rar (66.51 MB)

WAR DANCE • Live June 24, 1989

Private/Indie 1989
OK so here it is, as promised... WAR DANCE live and in their full metallic glory. Barely recognizable as the same band that recorded Monkey See, Monkey Do a scant five months later. Marvel at Gizz Butt's guitar histrionics, and a band tighter than a gnat's ass stretched over a rain barrel. Amazing stuff... even if the cheering on the first track is obviously and laughably fake.
DOWNLOAD: WarDance-LiveJune24-1989.rar (57.41 MB)
PS: Just stumbled across this YouTube gem of the band performing O.P.D. at this very same show!

WAR DANCE • Monkey See, Monkey Do LP

Hageland Records 1989

Finally got my hands on a copy of WAR DANCE's only full length "official" release, Monkey See, Monkey Do, and I gotta admit, I was more than a little disappointed to see Gizz's name absent from the band's line-up. In fact, bassist/vocalist Andy Frantic is the only remaining member from the band's None But The Brave and A Short Sharp Shock demos... kinda weird. No matter, I forged on undeterred. Right off the bat this version of WAR DANCE is looser and punkier, the metallic edge maintained by Gizz Butt is completely absent, as are guitar solos and general advanced musicality... and unfortunately these are some of the things that I loved about the demos. Frantic's catchy songs remain, and high energy abounds, but vocalist "Sonny" Lister is a bit lacklustre and uninspired. I was honestly hoping for a the full blown Metal attack that WAR DANCE displayed live (evidence to follow), but alas Monkey See, Monkey Do is a bit of a step backward in that regard. Still, this is a cool Punk/Hardcore record, just not what I was expecting and/or hoping for.
DOWNLOAD: Wardance-MonkeySeeMonkeyDo.rar (60.62 MB)