GUITAR PETE'S AXE ATTACK • Nitemare LP

Napalm Records 1986
GUITAR PETE'S AXE ATTACK has gotta be one'a the worst band names of all time. It's just so fucking stupid... AXE ATTACK is par-for-the-course for mid 80s Metal: dumb but not overly moronic, but any of the potential menace conjured up by AXE ATTACK is lost when Guitar Pete decided he should become the band's namesake. What's more, the guy ain't no guitar wizard... just yer typical axe slinger - I guarantee that on any given Friday night in 1986, you coulda thrown a rock in L'Amours and hit an equally competent guitarist. OK enough about the name. Much like Pete's guitar playing, the music on Nitemare is standard at best. Not super heavy, commercial but not overly so, just middle of the road American Metal. Nothing really jumped out at me as being spectacular or gawdawful... meh.
DOWNLOAD (only if you've got the bandwidth to spare): GuitarPetesAxeAttack-Nitemare.rar (70.37 MB)

JINGO DE LUNCH • Cursed Earth EP

Bonzen Records 1988
Wow, this record is blowing my mind! JINGO DE LUNCH really got it right... heavy, hard-assed Rock informed by Punk or maybe Hardcore. As an example of just where their heads're at, there's THIN LIZZY ("Cowboy Song") and BAD BRAINS ("Pay To Cum") covers, and there's not a tongue in cheek anywhere to be found. The sound is huge, almost SACRILEGE-ous; the drums are massive, but the female vox are much more melodic than Tam's. A couple of the more metallic riffs remind me of SACRILEGE too, which is weird, because on the surface the two bands have little in common. "Pay To Cum" is on the record at the wrong speed, so I've included a proper, 45 rpm version as well as the original... because I care. Get this!
DOWNLOAD: JingoDeLunch-CursedEarth.rar (40.66 MB)

PREDATOR • Easy Prey LP

Metal Blade Records 1985
Universally accepted as one of the worst album covers of all-time, the cover shot makes it next to impossible to take this record seriously. However... musically PREDATOR is in keeping with Metal Blade's collection of half-assed Metal bands that were only able to eke out a single release (THRUST, WITCHKILLER, 3RD STAGE ALERT, DEMON FLIGHT, BLOODLUST, etc.). That is not to say that Easy Prey is a bad record, in fact it's more than decent, and PREDATOR "mastermind" Jeff Prentice is a fantastic guitar player whose virtuosity keeps things interesting. Kinda like Chicago's THRUST, without the high-pitched vocals and hate-on for posers. More enjoyable than expected, and as far as I'm concerned, the album cover's stupidity is more endearing than off-putting, so it's win/win.
DOWNLOAD: Predator-EasyPrey.rar (81.08 MB)
PS: Sleazegrinder tracked down Jeff Prentice and conducted a great interview re: the album cover, and ramshackle nature of the band, album, and everything PREDATOR

AXTION • Look Out For The Night LP

IRD Records 1985
Within the realms of Metal, this is as diametrically opposed to BLESSED DEATH as you could possibly get, so if yer lookin' to have yer nuts crushed, this ain't the one to download... but if you're up for some middle of the road Hard Rock/commercial Metal you're in luck. Look Out For The Night starts off kinda limp wristed, but gradually develops into a pretty decent platter. Yeah it's tame and generally lightweight, but the boys get the lead out on a few tracks ("Fury Of The Tempest", "Your Number's Up", and the title track), and there's enough hard rockin' attitude and cool guitar bits to make it worthy of repeateded listens. Slightly reminiscent of SINFUL, it's sorta second rate, and a bit demo-ish in the production department, but that's never stopped me before... it ain't gonna stop me now.
DOWNLOAD: Axtion-LookOutForTheNight.rar (77.51 MB)

BLESSED DEATH • Destined For Extinction LP

Roadrunner Records 1987
I had the pleasure of seeing these dudes a couple of times in the late 80s, and I hated them! The guy's non-stop, ear-piercing wail was infuriating, their slobby biker image was irksome (at the time I prolly woulda preferred if they were in jammer shorts or some bullshit), but what I really didn't like was that they made me wait for the other bands on the bill: AT WAR... and more importantly WHIPLASH! The photo on the back of this record irritated me... in a nutshell, I disliked everything about BLESSED DEATH. Even today I debated buying this slab for all the aforementioned reasons, and many others, but I swallowed my pride and returned home with a goddamn BLESSED DEATH record. I was right about the air-raid siren screams (they never stop!!), and he seems to have little sense of time, rhythm, or song structure, but as a band BD are absolutely crushing. Thrash that is almost a precursor to Death Metal; complex, relentless, and really just heavy-as-fuck. OK... I like BLESSED DEATH... there, I said it... are you happy now?
DOWNLOAD: BlessedDeath-DestinedForExtinction.rar (62.52 MB)

QUICK CHANGE • Circus Of Death LP

Roadrunner Records 1988
Yet another band I don't remember ever hearing about back in the day... but based on the band photo it's easy to understand why someone might ignore, or attempt to expunge all memory of QUICK CHANGE. Said photo had me convinced that this record would truly suck, but thankfully my expectations weren't met. Circus Of Death is fairly typical of what was happening in late-80s Thrash, there's a bit of a skateboard/Crossover vibe (maybe it's just that goddamn flipped up hat) and a distinct Bay Area influence... kinda like a less manic, less intense VIO-LENCE, with vocals that are not unlike Sean Killian's or Russ from FORBIDDEN. Lots of Thrash bands, INDESTRUCTIBLE NOISE COMMAND for instance, were unable to write songs that didn't bore the shit outta the listener with 500 generic riffs strung together for interminable amounts of time - not so with QUICK CHANGE. The songs are concise, heavy, and surprisingly good. A Neo-Thrash fan's dream!
DOWNLOAD: QuickChange-CircusOfDeath.rar (72.58 MB)

TOX • Prince Of Darkness LP

Samel Records 1985
Although the album title, cover art, and even band name, all exude a certain aura of heaviness, Prince Of Darkness is, not surprisingly, not the heaviest slab of molten balls-to-the-wall Metal ever made. A quick glance at the song titles made that abundantly clear, but it certainly didn't stop me from from giving TOX a chance... and I'm glad it didn't. What TOX lack in heaviness is made up for in classy Hard Rock hooks and memorable NWOBHM-style jaunts... think DEEP PURPLE or THIN LIZZY-ish 70s Rock melded with ANGEL WITCH and the mild Prog tendencies of NIGHTWING. The somewhat cheeseball, yet oddly spooky title track is a stonecold classic, and begs to be covered by THE DEVIL'S BLOOD. Welcome to the sorcery!
DOWNLOAD: Tox-PrinceOfDarkness.rar (70.11 MB)

THOR • Only The Strong LP

Viper Records 1985
In keeping with HEAVY LOAD's viking heritage, artwork, and whole "Heathens From The North" vibe, I've decided to post a record by someone who thought he was a viking. He's definitely from the north, but he got the hemisphere wrong, and I dunno how his buxom bedmate, Pantera, fits into the whole Norse pantheon, but whatever... that's just splitting hairs. He thought he was a viking god and who am I to say he's not - it's totally possible that Thor is Thor, and in the mid-80s he came down from Valhalla to rock we wee mortals. Surprisingly (to me at least) he did a bang up job. Only The Strong may be the most clichéd Metal record of all time, but it's a hard rockin' good time, and "Thunder On The Tundra" is as majestic a Metal anthem as you're ever likely to hear.
DOWNLOAD: Thor-OnlyTheStrong.rar (70.36 MB)

HEAVY LOAD • Metal Conquest EP

Thunderload Records 1981
OK, so I'm showing up to the party a little late... but I partially blame you, dear reader. I bought this record in April '08, and, like some kinda jerk-off, let it sit in amongst all the crappy records I've amassed (and posted), and you.... you just sat by and let it happen. A simple email or comment: "Hey dipshit, post that HEAVY LOAD record" woulda sufficed, but nothing. And so it is that you're complicit in my negligence and ignorance regarding Sweden's mighty HEAVY LOAD. If you have even a passing interest in Metal, I'm confident that you're gonna drop a heavy load of yer own whilst checking out Metal Conquest.
DOWNLOAD: HeavyLoad-MetalConquest.rar (37.72 MB)

TANK • Crazy Horses 7"

Kamaflage Records 1982
TANK are, in my opinion, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the greatest band of the NWOBHM era. I hesitate to lump them in with the masses of NWOBHM bands, as they undoubtly transcended the limitations of the genre and the scene... that is until the Brabbs bros. left and everything went to Hell in a hand-basket, but during their early days (read: first 2 records) they were untouchable! "Crazy Horses" is an alternate version of the Osmonds' classic (?) found on TANK's sophomore outing Power Of The Hunter, and the phenomenally titled "Filth Bitch Boogie" is a non-LP b-side. These have probably been tacked onto the end of CD re-issues, but in case they haven't, here they are in their infinite glory. Hold on to your toupees!
DOWNLOAD: Tank-CrazyHorses.rar (13.31 MB)