Kreator-"Coma Of Souls"-1990
After a couple of decent, but not great albums, This German powerhouse unleashed THIS upon the world! With the addition of Frank Godzik [late of Sodom] on guitar, "Coma Of Souls" is probably the bands collective best work. The patented Kreator ferocity coupled with high quality production made this album one of the HEAVIEST released that year! Thick, chunky riffs, high speed drums of DEATH, all weave through out tunes like "When The Sun Burns Red", "Terror Zone", "People Of The Lie", and the title track with wild abandon, yet the songs are melodic AND brutal at the same time! Yet another of those "Perfect Moments" in Metal music. Two years later, they released the industrial-tinged [!?] "Renewal", which just plain SUCKED! They`ve been on a downward spiral ever since. WHEN will these bands ever LEARN?
Raven-"All For One"-1983
Raven! One of the GREATEST bands to come out of the fabled NWOBHM. To be honest [which I always am!], I missed that whole scene by a couple of years. THIS was my first exposure to the band [Mark Gallagher, guitar, his brother John on bass/vox, and Rob "Wacko" Hunter on drums], and "All For One" is really their best. The first song I ever heard from them was "Take Control"; I was HOOKED! The guitar sound was amazing, just totally floored 18 year old me at the time. The title track, "Mind Over Metal", "Break The Chain", Metal just the way you like it! More successful here in the States than in their native England, Raven hooked up with Metallica for the legendary "Kill `Em All For One" tour. Yep, the bands` future looked rosey indeed! Then in 1984, they inked a deal with Atlantic and adopted a more commercial sound! It was a disasterous career decision, one that Raven never recovered from. Between `84 and `87 they released 4 albums of commercial slop that effectively neutered their career, as well as ensuring that they would never again be troubled by rabid fans, `cause they didn`t have many left! Hunter jumped ship, as well and in 1988 Raven enlisted drummer Joey Hasselvander and released "Nothing Exceeds Like Excess", which marked a return to their pounding Metallic sound of old. But the damage was done, and despite releasing some very good [and very HEAVY!] albums since then, Raven has never risen above their barely attained cult status, and probably never will! Weep for lost glory.....