Quartz: Against all odds... again!

 

A while ago I already posted an in-depth interview with Quartz done by my friend Alexander Zhoglichev, and here we go again talking to the guitarist Mick Hopkins about the band’s fifth full-length album “On the Edge of no Tomorrow” which came out May, 20^th, 2022. The album is a true gem as always (it seems the band discovered Midas’ secret how to turn everything they touch to gold) and it’s a real tribute to the late Geoff Nicholls as there are several tracks based on his ideas and included his playing/singing. Mr. Hopkins explains how it all became possible and how they overcame technical difficulties, Covid restrictions and David Garner’s departure in the middle of the process.

Original Sin: Guilty as charged

"The golden age (of metal, literature, humanity, art, whatever) has gone forever and will never be repeated" — this idea is as old as hills. Apparently, there won't be anything like NWOBHM with its sheer rawness, over the top enthusiasm of both bands and fans, excitement, electrified atmosphere (geez, I'm ready to burst into tears!). But modern days have their own advantages. There are way more opportunities to discover the bands that were overlooked back then, there are much more labels who are into re-releasing all sorts of NWOBHM stuff from classic albums to rough demos. What did I know about Liverpool's Original Sin 10 years ago? Only what was written in Malc MacMillan's book (i. e. very little). And now we can talk to the guitarist Kevin McGinn while waiting for the release of Original Sin's demo anthology on Obscure NWOBHM Releases label. Ready for another journey down the memory lane? Here you go! 

Le Griffe: Looking back from a birds eye view

Doing interviews for quite a while now, I tend to believe that some things happen only when the time is right. I tried to do an interview with somebody from Le Griffe back in 2018, but it seemed no one was interested. When I decided to restart the blog earlier this year, I found the list of questions for Le Griffe members and decided to give it another shot. I also accidentaly found out that both Le Griffe's EPs were reissued via No Remorse Records. And you know what happened next? Robert Moseley, Le Griffe's ex-bass player and one of the founding members, came to the rescue! I tell you — timing is everything! So here we are remembering the early days of the Stock-on-Trent music scene and recording of the "Fast Bikes" EP. 

Fred Avesque (Troy, Tour de Force, Driveshaft, Farenheit): French connection

 

New Wave of British Heavy Metal adopted few musicians outside Great Britain. EF Band, who moved from Sweden to England and contributed to “Metal for Muthas” compilation, are one of them. Another one is a French man Frederic Avesque, who moved to London in the 80’s to pursue his rock and roll dream. There he played with the ex-Angel Witch sticksman Dave Dufort, Blind Fury’s singer Lou Taylor, and Driveshaft. More to that, he has worked in Shades record store and has been a manager in Music for Nation and Metal Blade Records. But enough of facts, let monsieur Avesque tell his story himself!

Stormhunters "Eye of the Storm" (2022)

 01) Lost

02) New Horizons

03) Keep Believing

04) Long Way Down

05) Don't Let Go

06) I Won't Forget You

07) Time to Take the Fall

08) Holding On

09) Overload

10) You Won't Take Me 

Night Vision: Visions of the past

Although Derbyshire’s group Night Vision were formed in 1981, they failed to catch the last train of NWOBHM, and recorded their original songs only in 1985, so the band remained relatively unknown among the fans of NWOBHM. Even Malc Macmillan’s Encyclopedia had zero information about the band. (No disrespect to Mr. Mcmillan, he did fantastic job for the pre-Internet era!) The situation changed around 2013 when Night Vision’s demo resurfaced in the Web, and people started talking about the band. I was so impressed by their music and contacted Russ Sharpe (the guitarist) immediately for a possible interview. Unfortunately he was too busy, and that lasted for a few years, until Russ unexpectedly died in 2018. But the idea of paying homage to the band kept haunting my mind, until John Towle, Night Vision’s drummer, came to the rescue.    

Tysondog "Midnight" (2022)

1) Batallion

2) It Lives

3) Hellbound

4) Defiant

5) Midnight

6) Dead Man Walking

7) Paper Cuts

8) Cold Day in Hell

9) Waiting for God

Label: From the Vaults