You're Grim Reaper, a metal band from the 80's, making a solid name for yourself among the likes of Metallica, Dio, Iron Maiden, Megadeth, Judas Priest, and so on. While you're not as popular as the others, you're still managing to hold your own. You're released two albums the peaked on the Billboard Hot 200 and have music videos in steady rotation on MTV. Then your label cuts a deal with another to release your second album. Then the problems start.
The matter surrounded RCA, who had paid Ebony considerably for the licensing rights to their second album, Fear No Evil (1985). However, Ebony would not pay anything to the band themselves. The guys would attempt to sever ties with the label, and in retaliation, stopped paying Ebony for their third album. As litigation ensued from Ebony against Grim Reaper, this halted the release of their third album, Rock You To Hell.
By the time the album sees release in 1987, the world of metal has moved on. The style of Grim Reaper's more pop oriented metal has been replaced by thrash and speed metal. To further blur the lines, hair bands have emerged as the new kings of hard rock. There's no place for Grim Reaper in all of this. It's so bad that even with major label distribution, and a popular title track music video on MTV, none of this can help. The band is yesterday's news, and the album doesn't chart.
The band has a habit of starting their albums off with the title tracks, which in retrospect, is kind of a good move. It's like showing the title before a movie. The song itself is pretty okay.
As a whole, it was a better listening experience than their sophomore released, Fear No Evil. Whereas the previous lacked many interesting tunes, Rock You To Hell provides a handful of standout tracks, Lust For Freedom, When Heaven Comes Down, and Suck It And See. Further, where songs fail to click, they still deliver massive and intriguing guitar solos which kept me engaged. Overall, it was a good, but otherwise unintended ending to the band.
Despite the lackluster reception of their third album, RCA put into production the band's fourth album, which was to be called, Nothing Whatsoever To Do With Hell. However, this momentum would be derailed when further litigation from Ebony ensued. The continued financial strain left the band no alternative but to break up in 1988.
Lead singer, Steve Grimmett, would go on to front Onslaught, replacing Sy Keeler with their 1989 album, In Search Of Sanity. However, this would be his only album with them, and he'd depart and join Lionheart. Meanwhile, lead guitarist Nick Bowcott would become a music writer, and later staff contributor, for publications like Circus and Guitar World. He would also worked with Marshall Amplification's United States division and performed in the band Barfly. Not much is known about what happened with bassist Dave Wanklin, or drummer Marc Simon.
However, in 2006, someone by the name of Eddie Trunk announced on the show, Metal Mania that the band was reuniting, sans Bowcott. Together, they performed at a series of festivals, including the infamous Play it Loud IV in Bologna, Italy. While the promoter of the event pulled out, and cancelled it, despite tickets already being sold, Grim Reaper, along with several other bands, would still show up, and provide a night of entertainment for ticketholders.
Nick Bowcott returned briefly for the band's first show int he USA since 1987 but departed shortly thereafter. Steve Gimmett's iteration of Grim Reaper would release 2016's Walking In The Shadows, and 2019's At The Gates. While a new album was announced in 2022, sadly, Grimmett passed away that August.
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