Retro Spins: Grim Reaper - Rock You To Hell

  

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 The style of Grim Reaper's more pop oriented metal has been replaced by thrash and speed metal.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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Retro Spins: Grim Reaper - Fear No Evil

 

Not much appears to have been told about the origins of the English metal band, Grim Reaper. Though it's stated they started in 1979, by 1981, only Nick Bowcott remained. He would recruit Dave Wanklin on bass, Lee Harris on Drums, and Steve Grimmett on vocals, taking this lineup to a 1982 Battle Of The Bands, where they won first place against over a hundred other bands.

While the win came with studio time to record a demo, Grimmett, at the time, was also the unofficial lead singer for Chateaux, who were already signed to Darryl Johnston's Ebony Records. Grimmett handed them the demo, resulting in them getting signed to the label as well.

Their debut, See You In Hell would be released in 1983, firing up the Billboard 200 to peak at seventy-three. Despite this, the title track would go on to be ranked number thirty-eight on VH1's 40 Most Awesomely Bad Metal Songs Ever countdown.

Around this time, Lee Harris would be replaced by Adrian Jacques, who in turn would be replaced by Marc Simon in early 1985. Not much is stated in terms of why Harris left, but purportedly, Jacques departed to attend university.

Reaper's follow-up album, Fear No Evil, would be released in 1985, but fail to chart higher than their debut, stalling at one hundred eleven on the Billboard 200. Despite this, the band was starting to gain recognition for the guitar work of Bowcott, and distinct vocals of Grimmett. They'd embark on a successful world tour, which culminated in an appearance at Texxas Jam that year, performing before 20,000 attendees alongside Deep Purple, Scorpions, Night Ranger, Ted Nugent, Bon Jovi, and Victory.

Fear No Evil kicks off with the title track. Right away, I can hear a more polished production sound. The band had definitely learned a thing or two between their debut and sophomore albums.

While I want to say that in addition to the title track that Matter Of Time stood out. However, if I'm being honest, by this point in this post, which saw me reading more about their future history than actually paying attention, I don't honestly remember how that song went.

As a whole, Fear No Evil, the album, wasn't as engaging as their debut. Maybe this was simply because I literally jumped right into it, and the "something new" first impression had already worn off, but overall, I just wasn't hearing many catchy tunes. By the end of it, my thought was that it was just okay. Nothing bad nothing good, but also nothing memorable.

Though the band promptly returned to the studio to begin work on their third album, Rock You To Hell, it would not be a smooth release. Disputes over royalties would see them clashing with their label Ebony Records, and litigation would soon follow. All of that drama unfolds tomorrow.

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Retro Spins: Masters Of The Universe

I don't know about you, but when I first heard about a new Masters Of The Universe film in the works, my immediate thought was, "They'll screw it up." However, when the trailer finally dropped, my mind immediately started to change, and instead I was optimistic, thinking, "Well, maybe this won't be so bad after all.

Things only got a little more hopeful from there, when I learned Brian May of Queen was going to be contributing to Daniel Pemberton's soundtrack for the film. If nothing else, this could be pure hotness. Then came the first track, providing a little taste for everyone.

It's an interesting track, if I wanted to put it politely, and it took me a few listening sessions to really appreciate it. I think what threw me off at first was the disco like groove it was going for, followed by the choir. May's guitar does fit over it nicely, but I think the real question for me was, "Is it really necessary?" I don't know. I'm still feeling it out.

While I do think Pemberton crafts a soundtrack that captures the sound and feel of not only fantasy, but a battle background, almost reminiscent of Conan The Barbarian, I do find one major flaw in it all. That would be the consistent repeating of themes. It's as if he wrote three or four pieces, and then asked, "Okay, how can I use these thirty-five different ways?"

I don't know. Maybe I'm just spoiled by an era of John Williams, where every scene, character and faction had its own unique theme. One that allowed you to picture exactly who or what was being represented just by the musical piece. That aspect simply doesn't exist in this soundtrack. However, to be fair, that aspect hasn't existed for quite some time in any soundtrack. I immediately think back to my listening session of Solo: A Star Wars Story, where that was biggest complaint with it.

The end result is that there really isn't enough variation to make the soundtrack worthwhile. That's not to say it's all bad. The song, A Job For He-Man really scratched the nostalgic itch for me. It builds softly with a piano but quickly builds to a massive overture that had me on the edge of my seat.

The end of the soundtrack is unique, to say the least. It contains the song, Masters Of The Universe, which seeing, one would expect an epic iteration of the classic theme. A massive sendoff so to speak. Well, it's epic all right, but not in a good way.

Look, I like The Darkness. In the 2000's they ushered back in a style of music that had been forgotten since the 70's, and I dig a lot of their tunes. However, Justin Hawkins misses the mark with this one. It's as if he's channeling his inner Flash Gordon. It's so out of place in the album as a whole.

Between themes that repeat ad nauseam, and the track from The Darkness, the whole thing just feels like a mess. Yes, there are some unique themes to be found within it, but it's definitely not enough to extend into thirty-five tracks. That in and of itself just feels unnecessary.

If it's something you want to check out, it's available for digital purchase and download only. A physical release has not yet been announced. Which in and of itself is also unappealing.

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Retro Spins: Grim Reaper - See You In Hell

 

Today I'm on to a band that I was one hundred percent unfamiliar with. My co-worker swung by my office one morning, after many of talking about 80's metal, and asked, "Have you heard of Grim Reaper?" With that question, I was off to Google, and then eventually ebay.

What I learned about was a band who began in England in 1979, released three albums in the 80's, two in the 2010's, and were mocked relentlessly on Beavis and Butt-Head.

Well, the latter certainly doesn't help their cause. I mean, if Beavis and Butt-Head are mocking you, that means you're probably not as metal as you think you are. Still, I found myself intrigued, and willing to take the chance since it was coming as a recommendation.

What I noticed when tracking the three 80's entries down was that there were multiple options, and none of them necessarily cheap. First up were the Japanese pressed versions. These ranged between $20.00 and $30.00. This was followed by the 2000 remastered releases from Spitfire, which ranged between $30.00 and $50.00. The last, and the one I went with, was the Grimm Chronicles from Reaper Records.

Though not usually my go to format for collecting albums, this omnibus set contained all three albums from the 80's, each on their own disc, for $20.00. While I would have preferred to own each album separately, I simply couldn't justify the price of each separately. Frankly, I also didn't want to put in the effort of tracking them all down individually. In this case, the box set simply made the most feasible and cost-effective sense.

Who would have thought that a song called, See You In Hell, could have such a peppy chorus? It's the track that kicks everything off, and while I'm not necessarily a fan of lead singer Steve Grimmett's high pitched vocals, when he tapers this back, it does get rather enjoyable. I think for me, the standout tracks, in addition to the above opener, were Liar, The Show Must Go On, and All Hell Let Loose.

Music wise, it's 80's metal through and through. Speedy instrumentation, with a howling madman belting out the vocals. Mix in thrashing guitar solos, and of course drums that thunder across each song. To borrow from the band's Wiki page, "Since achieving mainstream success, Grim Reaper has been known for embodying every single aspect of cheese in heavy metal and going over the top with poppy hooks and edgy lyrics."

I'm actually looking quite forward to diving into their next album. For as cheesy as it is, I'm really enjoying what I'm hearing so far. When I dive into 1985's Fear No Evil tomorrow, I'll also back pedal a bit, and touch more on the band's history. Until then, that's about all I've got for this one.

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