- Nov 24, 2002
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Yesterday I was lucky to find Blind Fury only album on the net (just to discover that has finally benn reissued in CD), so I felt compelled to make this thread.
I want to make this thread a tribute and a point of discussion for two musicians which I believe never had been recognized to the full extend of their quality.
Along with Brian Ross (v) , Sean Taylor (dr) and Russ Tippins (g) they founded Satan one of the best NWOBHM bands ever. Their debut "Court In The Act" (1983) is a gem of metal revered by many up to this day.
Sadly their name conspire against them to bring them more "space" in the music business and the band went into some changes.
Trying to make a project with Angel Witch founder Kevin Haybourne the band find themeselves turned into Blind Fury and with Lou Taylor on vocals (Haybourne actually never recorded). The album "Out Of Reach" (1985) is somewhat tamer than Satan music and the band didn't felt confortable with it, reverting to Satan with a new vocalist Michael Jackson (no, not wacko jacko
).
1986 and the "Into The Future" EP marked what I considered a good streak for the band. Jackson is a great vocalist too and "Suspended Sentence" (1987) show the band potential to move form their NWOBHM roots into the speed/thrash realm with ease. Still the moniker hanged heavily upon the band so they changed to Pariah making two awsome (IMO) albums "The Kindred" (1988) and "Blaze Of Obscurity" (1989).
For reasons I don't understand the band couldn't made it the way they should, and the more I hear Pariah the less I understand why they didn't made it.
Pariah split giving Ramsey (g) and English (b) a chance to make a project with former Sabbat vocalist Martin Walkyier. Thus Skyclad was born.
Skyclad is maybe one of the freshest ideas in metal history. From a thrash base they incorporated some folk elements (along with a violin) and made a sound like no other before.
Time passed by quickly and Skyclad was cimented into a well conceived outfit, being Ramsey/English the composers of the music and Walkyier the lyricist. Some violin changes (Fritha Jenkins, Catherine Howell, Georgina Biddle) and many drum changes past while the producer Kevin Ridley saw the band transform more and more into a great folk/metal act.
"The Silent Whales Of Lunar Sea" was the turning point for seeing vocals transform from harsh to soft melodic. The compositions never lost interest and the lyrics went clever and clever.
In 1997 Ramsey and English teamed up again with Tippins, plus a new drummer and vocalist to make a last Pariah album as a proper goodbye to the band. "Unity" is an album that fits perfectly as the follow up to BOS, those 8 years felt like nothing, and the album is a fine change from Skyclad work.
Eventually 2002 saw the departure of Martin Walkyier and Kevin Ridley taking both the vocals and the second guitar. Against most predictions Skyclad survived while Ramsey/English retain all their composition skills.
So > 20 years since Satan debut this two musicians has spanned four bands (in a sense) a lots of great music. I hope those who agree with me take a time to think on the virtue of these guys, and those who haven't heard the bands feel incline to do so now.
I want to make this thread a tribute and a point of discussion for two musicians which I believe never had been recognized to the full extend of their quality.
Along with Brian Ross (v) , Sean Taylor (dr) and Russ Tippins (g) they founded Satan one of the best NWOBHM bands ever. Their debut "Court In The Act" (1983) is a gem of metal revered by many up to this day.
Sadly their name conspire against them to bring them more "space" in the music business and the band went into some changes.
Trying to make a project with Angel Witch founder Kevin Haybourne the band find themeselves turned into Blind Fury and with Lou Taylor on vocals (Haybourne actually never recorded). The album "Out Of Reach" (1985) is somewhat tamer than Satan music and the band didn't felt confortable with it, reverting to Satan with a new vocalist Michael Jackson (no, not wacko jacko
).1986 and the "Into The Future" EP marked what I considered a good streak for the band. Jackson is a great vocalist too and "Suspended Sentence" (1987) show the band potential to move form their NWOBHM roots into the speed/thrash realm with ease. Still the moniker hanged heavily upon the band so they changed to Pariah making two awsome (IMO) albums "The Kindred" (1988) and "Blaze Of Obscurity" (1989).
For reasons I don't understand the band couldn't made it the way they should, and the more I hear Pariah the less I understand why they didn't made it.
Pariah split giving Ramsey (g) and English (b) a chance to make a project with former Sabbat vocalist Martin Walkyier. Thus Skyclad was born.
Skyclad is maybe one of the freshest ideas in metal history. From a thrash base they incorporated some folk elements (along with a violin) and made a sound like no other before.
Time passed by quickly and Skyclad was cimented into a well conceived outfit, being Ramsey/English the composers of the music and Walkyier the lyricist. Some violin changes (Fritha Jenkins, Catherine Howell, Georgina Biddle) and many drum changes past while the producer Kevin Ridley saw the band transform more and more into a great folk/metal act.
"The Silent Whales Of Lunar Sea" was the turning point for seeing vocals transform from harsh to soft melodic. The compositions never lost interest and the lyrics went clever and clever.
In 1997 Ramsey and English teamed up again with Tippins, plus a new drummer and vocalist to make a last Pariah album as a proper goodbye to the band. "Unity" is an album that fits perfectly as the follow up to BOS, those 8 years felt like nothing, and the album is a fine change from Skyclad work.
Eventually 2002 saw the departure of Martin Walkyier and Kevin Ridley taking both the vocals and the second guitar. Against most predictions Skyclad survived while Ramsey/English retain all their composition skills.
So > 20 years since Satan debut this two musicians has spanned four bands (in a sense) a lots of great music. I hope those who agree with me take a time to think on the virtue of these guys, and those who haven't heard the bands feel incline to do so now.
