In the sausage party known as heavy metal, it's refreshing to come across a female rocker who can hold her own. Vocalist Doro Pesch emerged on the West Germany scene in 1980 with Michael Bastian on guitar, Frank Rittel on bass and Thomas Franke on drums, forming Snakebite. Franke was replaced by Michael Eurich and, second guitarist Peter Szigeti also joined. However, the band would soon thereafter disband.
Pesch, Szigeti and Eurich formed a new band in October 1982 with Thomas Studier on bass and guitarist Rudy Graf. It would be Graf who would come up with the name Warlock, as well as several songs. They'd bring in manager, Peter Zimmermann, who was instrumental in contributing to their early success and recognition, mainly by getting them supporting gigs with the band, Trance.
The band secured a recording deal with Mausoleum Records, after submitting a four-track demo. However, just before recording their first album, Studier would leave, being replaced by Frank Rittel. Their 1984 debut, Burning the Witches, would be recorded in just six days, and after a quick remix Rainer Assmann and Henry Staroste, was released.
That's a relatively short but sweet introduction and history of the band.
Truthfully, I didn't even know about Warlock until just recently. I stumbled across them by reading a list of "heavy metal artists of the 80's". When I first saw they only had four albums, my initial thought was, "Yeah, but they're going to be stupid expensive." This turned out to actually not be the case. I was able to get each album for around ten dollars, with this one actually being brand new / sealed.
I didn't know what to expect from Burning The Witches. I knew none of the songs. I'd never heard the vocals of Doro, or if I did, had no idea who she was, or what she sounded like. All I can say after doing so is, "Wow!" This is an amazing album! I'm an immediate fan.
Doro's voice is like Ann Wilson times ten. She has the range, but also the uniqueness that makes her stand out in a sea of female vocalists. She certainly holds her own in the heavy metal world. Graf and Szigeti create a guitar sound so familiar to that of Randy Rhodes earlier work with Ozzy Osborune that one might even think Rhodes himself was in the band. Their solos have a way of grabbing your soul, evoking an emotional feeling as the guitars howl.
This would be a wall album for me if I had it on vinyl. It's absolutely perfect from start to finish. Still, I have my favorites from it, which were Sign Of Satan, After The Bomb, Dark Fade, Without You, Metal Racer, and Holding Me. I actually want to listen to this whole album again. I may have to throw it on for my girl to get a taste, and as an excuse to play it again.
While the album was well received, bad distribution and poor financing from their label not only crippled their commercial success but severely hindered their support tour. Profoundly dissatisfied with Mausoleum, Warlock left the label, and signed with Phonogram, releasing their future albums through Vertigo Records. With little to no history in between that, I'll dive into their 1985 sophomore album, Hellbound, tomorrow.
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