{"id":21104,"date":"2023-01-27T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-27T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=21104"},"modified":"2023-01-27T08:01:47","modified_gmt":"2023-01-27T08:01:47","slug":"holocaust-heavy-metal-mania-h-n-e-recordings-ltd-cherry-red-records","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=21104","title":{"rendered":"Holocaust \u2013 \u2018Heavy Metal Mania\u2019 (H.N.E. Recordings Ltd\/Cherry Red Records)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cI’ve got Heavy Metal music in my blood, And I’d like to give it to you if I could.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So reads the mission statement of Edinburgh\u2019s finest (and perhaps only) exponents of the NWOBHM scene, Holocaust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Initially getting together to make music in the late ’70s, the band finally inked a deal with independent label Phoenix Record And Filmworks, who in turn released not only the legendary 1980 single from which the lyrics above were taken but also the rest of the records that come together to form this extensive 6 CD set from Cherry Red imprint H.N.E Recordings<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s the band\u2019s 1981 debut album \u2018The Nightcomers\u2019 that is without doubt their most renowned release (for reasons I\u2019ll come to in a minute), featuring vocalist Gary Lettice, guitarists John Mortimer and Ed Dudley, bassist Robin Begg, along with drummer Nicky Arkles. This 9 track album is a bonafide long lost classic from the NWOBHM age, seamlessly blending the slightly more punky edged vocal delivery of Lettice with the riff and roll metal of his bandmates. It\u2019s no surprise that the soon to be members of some band called Metallica were huge fans, in fact if you listen to the likes of \u2018Death or Glory\u2019 or the six minute plus album title track, things almost play out like an early blueprint for \u2018Kill \u2018Em All\u2019, albeit played at a much less frantic tempo. Yup, those four kookie Californian doods did more than cover Holocaust\u2019s \u2018The Small Hours\u2019 for their \u2018$5.98 E.P. – Garage Days Re-Revisited\u2019 EP that\u2019s for sure.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is surprising reading the excellent, and highly informative, 20 page John Tucker penned booklet that is included within this clamshell box set, is just how widely criticised Holocaust were by the UK music media. You can count the number of positive reviews within the booklet on two fingers, and even then, one of them is for one song, a track on the band\u2019s 1984 released \u2018No Man\u2019s Land\u2019 album. This is something I really do struggle to understand, given the fact that \u2018Smokin\u2019 Valves\u2019 the opening track from the band\u2019s debut (and their second single) is an absolute cracker of a tune and one that should have seen early 80s Friday youth club discos up and down the country packed full of spotty lads throwing their dandruff into the night air over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As it was with such apathy to their debut album via the mainstream media, I think I only ever got to hear the album a couple of times through an old mate of mine who bought pretty much anything released under the NWOBHM banner. I certainly recall him having the 1981 released \u2018Live From The Raw Loud N’ Live Tour\u2019 EP that featured 4 tracks taken from the band\u2019s long form VHS release that was available through ads in Sounds magazine for the hefty tag of \u00a329.99. Obviously at that price point back in 1981 you\u2019d have to be a very rich (or lucky) teenager to afford a copy, so its great to hear the full 80 minute soundtrack to that video included here as CD 2. Recorded at the Nite Club, Edinburgh on 10th September 1981, it\u2019s a warts \u2018n\u2019 all kind of recording, but given that fact that some of their peers (yeah, I\u2019m looking at you Diamond Head and Motorhead) were also releasing supposed live videos that actually saw them miming to album tracks, I doff my hat to the lads for having the stones to release such a raw loud n\u2019 live document.  In fact, it\u2019s a recording the band (or maybe it was their record label) must have had a lot of faith in as it\u2019s included again here in part via the 1983 released \u2018Live (Hot Curry & Wine) album.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1983 also saw ex-Holocaust guitarist Ed Dudley emerge with a new band under the Hologram banner (the LP coming complete with a sticker that bore the legend \u201cHolocaust are now Hologram\u201d) for their one and only release, the \u2018Steal The Stars\u2019 album. Totally at odds with the backs to the wall rifferama he\u2019d constructed with his former bandmates, \u2018Steal The Stars\u2019 ploughs out a more melodic rock furrow. It\u2019s an album that kind of reminds me of Diamond Head\u2019s \u2018Canterbury\u2019 album, perhaps being a step too far ahead of the time for its own good, and when he stays away from using the top end of his dog scaring vocal range Gordon Band puts in a top bluesy vocal shift here too.     <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s the aforementioned 1984 released \u2018No Mans Land\u2019 album that not only saw Holocaust finally return, but also get one and a bit positive reviews from the mainstream media. This time around the band was reduced to guitarist John Mortimer playing pretty much everything along with session drummer Steve Cowen, and to be honest it\u2019s a bit of a let-down when played alongside the band\u2019s debut record. It\u2019s okay in places but Howard Johnson was indeed right when he said \u2018Satellite City\u2019 is without doubt the best song on the album and the second side of the album is way better than the first. As such it\u2019ll probably be the CD I return to least in this set.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which is something you won\u2019t find me saying about the sixth and final CD in this set. This 13 track disc brings together the band\u2019s singles from their \u2018Heavy Metal Mania\u2019 debut from 1980 through to their 1982 12\u201d \u2018Comin Through\u2019 which features the last Lettice fronted new music the band would release.  Every track contained on this disc is designed to give you a dose of headbanger\u2019s neck just like when you were a teenager, so go dig out your junkie juice soaked cut off, clip up your bullet belt (albeit with a fair few additional bullets these days no doubt) and buckle up your studded gauntlets to fully complete the listening experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

All together now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI love to rock, I love to get down low. I love to rock…rock ‘n’ roll.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buy Here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Author: Johnny ‘Heavy Metal’ Hayward<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cI’ve got Heavy Metal music in my blood, And I’d like to give it to you if I could.\u201d So reads the mission statement of Edinburgh\u2019s finest (and perhaps only) exponents of the NWOBHM scene, Holocaust. Initially getting together to make music in the late ’70s, the band finally inked a deal with independent label […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21106,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[3031,1787,1710,1681],"class_list":["post-21104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-review","tag-cherry-red-records","tag-its-a-revolution","tag-rpm-online","tag-rpmnews1"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21104","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21104"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21104\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21107,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21104\/revisions\/21107"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/21106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}