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(...the "side story" continues from "50 - 26" entry page)
JOHN NORUM did two tours with the 'Total Control' album (released 87), but never really felt comfortable doing the solo thing. 'I just wasn't confident or mature enough to go out and be lead guitarist and vocalist. I kind of missed a band situation such as when I was in Europe', he said and torched another forest. Only kidding. He's only done it once... as far as we know. Norum would however team up with Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple, Gary Moore, Phenomena) as the Coke and Mars-Bars addict moved to Stockholm and wanted to go straight into the studio and work on the next album. Norum's record company told him that 'Total Control' was still selling and wanted him to do yet another tour. Glenn said no, or at least that's what we thought he said, since he kept chewing down Mars-bars, and went straight back to UK. It would take another four years for the album to come true (Face the Truth/1992).
Norum got a call from Don Dokken in late 88' and moved to America to do Don's first solo album. The project dragged on for years as Don first produced the XYZ debut and took forever to do stuff. "One of the slowest people I ever worked with" according to John. Two Swedish drummer? Hempo Hilden (Trash, John Norum) and Mikkey Dee (Geisha, King Diamond, Motörhead, Scorpions) would also join the project ('Up From The Ashes' was eventually released in 1990).
DALTON and vocalist Bosse Lindmark: "A great memory I have was from 1988 when we released the single 'Your Not My Lover' which led to participation on Swedish television. At that time there were just two channels and only one music related show – 'Listan'. That ignited the fuse and gave us a couple of amazing years including massive touring! I think our 80s albums have some great songs. When making an album, you push yourself forward and give it the best you got. Hopefully you end up with songs you can feel proud about, even in the future". DESTINY's album of the year, "Atomic Winter" was inspired by the situation and the cold war between the United States and the then Soviet Union. Everyone was aware of the risk of Nuclear War and people were worried about what might happen.
We asked SWEDISH EROTICA vocalist Tony Niva about influences: "There is a lot of different kinds of music that has influenced me during my youth, such as solo artists from the 60s and 70s like Elvis Presley, Sir Tom Jones and Sir Cliff Richard. I've also been marked by the rock music of the 80s like Kiss, Sweet, AC/DC and Status Quo among others. I also have to mention Swedish acts like ABBA, Europe and Roxette. These artists have affected me hugely and are also the reason why I started my musical journey in the mid 80s". Niva sang on the debut single and replaced on the album by Mats Leven (Treat, Yngwie Malmsteen).
"The music was always there to look forward to and learn from all those who wrote all the great songs" -Christer Mentzer. NORDEN LIGHT received a recording contract with GWR in England and Fast Eddie from Motörhead was going to produce. Then came the strike in 1988 if I remember correctly. Everyone was fired. The UK took care of its own. So you can only speculate. That would have been fun though. I think it could have been darn good. More raw and direct. The end.
YNGWIE MALMSTEEN's signature Fender Stratocaster guitar was released, making him and Eric Clapton the first artists to be honored by Fender. The greatest and fastest shredder of all time vs. the 'Slowhand' geezer of the past. They couldn't be further apart even if one of them moved to Mars. Arrow from Jönköping re-formed and re-named themselves Renegade. The following bands are founded this year: TIAMAT, DISMEMBER, EDGE OF SANITY (Stockholm), THERION by guitarist Christofer Johansson and Christian rocker LAUDAMUS from way up north (Piteå).
[1989] EUROPE fired manager Thomas Erdtman after it was discovered that he had swindled a lot of money from them (replaced by legend Herbie Herbert). Owing 4.6 million Swedish Kronor (590 000 US$) in taxes, the manager is a prey for the tax inspectors. Then again, Joey Tempest owes 1,200 000 US$ in taxes. ELECTRIC BOYS are signed to a world-wide deal at Polygram and hired Bob Rock to remix the album and produce a couple of new tracks. The Swedish 1988 version is superior in my humble opinion and the psychedelic funk groove is the hottest stuff at your local titty bar (as Paul Stanley would so kindly put it). Patrick "Green" Appelgren (ex-Power) the younger brother of Mikael "Äpplet" Appelgren (European table tennis champion in the late 80´s) handled all keys at Treat from then on. The secret is out! Dag Finn's biggest hero was Ronnie Petterson (RIP) and he desperately wanted to be a Formula One driver. SHA-BOOM! indeed!
TALK OF THE TOWN embark on their co/head. tour of Sweden together with the female fronted POP-act, Carmen Kane. The rather strange combo considering that TOTT's debut single, 'Free Like An Eagle' sold gold and the video topped the TV charts. Victoria Voxa is a real cutie (sexist pig!) as well as the great singer (that's more like it) and Carmen Kane with the song 'Sorry If I Broke Your Heart' was darn popular for a month or two.
BAI BANG release their debut album it was a fluffy, lightweight pop album and doesn't really sound anything like Hard Rock. We asked vocalist Diddi Kastenholt about that: "Enemy Lines was our first album, and it was much different in sound to where we are now, like a demo. The production came out way too soft. We had more guitars in the actual demo! But still there is one thing in common and it runs through every album!! Melodies and hooks! That's a keyword for Bai Bang. I'm still proud of the album however today it would have sounded very different", end quote. On the other side of the spectrum, ENTOMBED did their concert debut in Rinkeby/Stockholm on November 4th (RIP L-G Petrov).
ELECTRIC BOYS went to America to re-record and re-work on their debut. I asked Franco Santuione about producer Bob Rock. "He meant a lot when we recorded the American version of "funk o metal carpet ride" (5 songs). I could not dream of the possibility to be produced by such a well-known producer. He pushed us very hard to do our best performance out of each song in a positive way. He always said that a strong song melody with the lyrics are the most important components in a song. This is where everyone starts off from and sings along with. So, if anyone in the band comments on that percussion or some other instrument is not loud enough, I always say that as long as the song is in place, it works super. Otherwise, it was a common recording with a traditional mic set with drums/guitars/bass/vocals in a large studio room with a SSL board and a lot of funky microphones in Little Mountain Studio Vancouver. I can tell you an anecdote that I did do a break in with my credit card at a after party in Beverly Hills. We were out dining with Depeche Mode (Martin Gore, David Gahan) and Teresa who worked at Vision Management was dating David at the time but somehow, she had lost her home keys. So, I just took out my credit card and open the front door. Finally, I was able to impress and show them who I really was, a criminal Swede from Stockholm - Hornstull. It was like a scene from an American movie".
DISSECTION, black metal band from Strömstad, is formed by guitarist/vocalist Jon Nödtveidt. Later on (18 December 1997), Nödtveidt and fellow Satanic organisation MLO member Vlad were arrested for the hatecrime murder of Josef ben Meddour. After his release, Nödtveidt reformed the band in 2004 (merely six years for murder?) and committed suicide in 2006 (all in the name of Satan) with a gun inside a circle of lit candles in his apartment in Hässelby.
TALISMAN, the one man project featuring bassist Marcel Jacob (Yngwie Malmsteen, Force, Power) are recording several great demos with different vocalists: Göran Edman (Madison, John Norum), Chris Lancelot (Grace, Dive), Thomas Vikström (Talk Of The Town). Jacob would however wait for his pal Jeff Scott Soto aka JSS (Yngwie Malmsteen) to return from the states after the work on Eyes. They are signed to Elektra and start the recording of their debut album, but Elektra went bust and the master was eventually bought by Vinyl Mania/ Airplay for the 1990 release. Regarding influences: JSS "To me, Queen! The greatest band, the best singer/performer, the most influential teachers of my career. How could I not be excited with everything and anything to do with this band" end quote.
SHOTGUN MESSIAH (Kingpin) moved to the states, I asked Zinny, any regrets from those days and did you leave or where you told to leave the band? Zinny San:"We had a great time musically and concert wise and it was a good experience to see how it really works in music business. However the tension between us were there all the time, but America was a new situation and I know that we enjoyed it very much all of us (no wonder it was our dream coming true). There are so many funny and also tragic stories around us from that time. I was told to leave Shotgun Messiah and got no reason why. Tim, Harry, and I were never close friends, we just did a great job together when we wrote music and it worked out fine, but on personal basis it really sucked so they kicked me out without a reason, but then again the reason was written in their faces all of the time".
A brand new start and 1989 was going to be the year when TREAT finally broke through to the big audience, at least that's what they all hoped for. In reality this (sadly) never came true! The new songmaterial was ready to go and the band moved down to Frankfurt again, where they spent six weeks in the Hotline studio recording the new album "Organized Crime" with producer Peter Hauke. It was mixed in Holland (Hilversum) a re-recording (new version) of "Get You On The Run" from the debut album was included and the album cover art was designed by a mighty proud Wikström. The new label (Vertigo) also released a compilation album "TREAT" the very same year with the best of (?) the previous two albums The Pleasure Principle & Dreamhunter, this would cause some problems in the future for fans and record buyers.
Organized Crime - the great record that sadly didn't sell as much as it should have. I must say that Treat seemed to have blind faith in their German manager, Block(-head?) had again some major plans for the band after the album was released in September. A long promotion tour with interviews etc. all over Europe, a big tour as opening act for a major band was scheduled (Motley Crue, Poison, Whitesnake came up) and a record contract (again) in USA with ATCO and Derek Schulman (Bon Jovi, Cinderella etc.) were almost all set to go. Out of this came... nothing!
ALIEN lived the American dream in LA. I asked Ken Sandin (Alien, Swedish Erotica) about the weird/fun US story. "One night out in LA we met Eric Singer, who I knew a bit since he was with Gary Moore (sharing both record company and manager). He's there with Ray Gillen (a fave singer, R.I.P.) and excited over the new band they'd just started. I go: who else is in the band? Jake E Lee. OMG, you just HAVE to get signed, best of luck! Next time I saw Eric, a few years later at a Randy Rhodes tribute gala in LA, he'd just joined KISS. Didn't need to wish him luck anymore". Indeed. No luck for the previous "Singer" now fake-Peter in make-up? Nah. He's a cool cat.
NASTY IDOLS release their debut "Gigolos On Parole" and I asked the great and sadly late Andy Pierce (RIP) about their background as the punk band? "Nasty Idols was never really a pure punk band, but we had the influences in the beginning. When I grew up I was into Sweet, Kiss and Alice Cooper. When Sex Pistols came along I knew I just had to play in a band. So I started out playing in different punk bands. I think the switch to more heavy type of music was the simple fact that we became better musicians". I know that many are suprised that Nasty Idols never became big in USA. Worse Glam/Sleaze bands made it over there. What's your opinion and feelings towards this? "I know that we did a lot of things to break on through back then. But I also know that we were too comfortable in what we had and which people we were working with. And now when I'm looking back, I'm certain that we could have gone all the way to the top. I say, the blame is totally on other people. I mean at some point we were a really good rock n´roll band. And as you say - there's been worse bands making it big". RIP Andy Pierce of Swedish cult Glamsters Nasty Idols as he died at the mere age of 45! December 2013.
At the turn of the decade came the 'Gothenburg' sound and a couple of years later, there is a whole new grunge generation who don't want to have a good time anymore. Who like being miserable and who can't find much worth in fun Metal or themselves. They don't want to go out and enjoy themselves and they certainly wouldn't sing-a-long to the words of Rock The Night or any other 80s tune for that matter. Break out the suicide pills and put on your lumberjack outfit. To some people life is constantly boring and miserable. But wouldn't you enjoy the happy-fun metal tune every now and then? Of course you would... no? I hate myself and I want to die? Oh my.
And what about that Poison story? Did EASY ACTION ever receive any money from the US Glam-act? They stole the song "We Go Rocking" and turned it into "I Want Action" on their debut album 'Look what the cat dragged in'. Zinny San: "Yes we finally got our money in 89. I must say that CC Deville was the only cool guy about this law suit. We actually hung out while this was going on".
Peace out! Urban 'Wally' Wallstrom (urban 'at' rockunited.com)
THE COUNTDOWN CONTINUES: entries 25 - 1... now it's the... (cue the intro!)
25. BATHORY - A Fine Day To Die (1988)
"Orgy of silence. Conspiracy of peace. Only the sound of the cold northern breeze". Truth be told. I'm not really the big a fan of early Bathory. You know, the sloppy, fast playing tracks. Poor man's Venom in my humble opinion and Quorthon (RIP) was actually fed up with the Satanic approach and topics of his lyrics. I definitely prefer the pure Viking inspired albums such as 'Blood Fire Death' and even more the following two after this one (Hammerheart/ 1990. Twilight Of The Gods/ 1991). However. 'A Fine Day To Die' is one of the best black/viking metal songs ever and you really need to hear the opening instrumental intro 'Odens Ride Over Nordland' too. Basically the sound of plenty of wild horses, horses, and even more horses. And no, it's really not that brutal rather than a pretty sweet and innocent eighties metal composition. The first couple of minutes, a sweet lullaby. The rest? a vicious masterpiece!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyYnstGB3rM
24. EASY ACTION - Talk Of The Town (1986)
The soft AOR version of the original Glam band now featuring 'Big In France' vocalist Tommy Nilsson (Horizont), guitarist Kee Marcello (Europe), Chris Lynn [aka Kristopher Lind] (guitar), and drummer Freddie Van Gerber (Noise, Rat Bat Blue, Bam Bam Boys). It's pure commercial rock served up with a true energy and hook that any Pirate would be proud of to wear and furiosly wave at their enemies. Extremely catchy and poppy stuff from the album 'That Makes One'. It wouldn't last long though as Kee would join Europe on the Final Countdown tour in December '86 and Tommy Nilsson decided to go solo (again). Pop artist Danny Saucedo did a Swedish version of the song in 2016 (Snacket På Stan) and it became a massive hit in the land of vikings. Not to mention that Easy Action has recently done the comeback and are about to release a new album. Read on to find out more about the song. Thanks to guitarist: Kee Marcello.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSEQNo8sMCk
Kee Marcello: Well, that shuffle groove was one I had wanted to use in a song for a while, and the main hook in the chorus kinda just dawned on me as I started to sing while playing the chords to the groove (on the demo programmed on my MPC-60). A lot of the times you don't know where a song will go, and how strong it will turn out to be, etc, until it's finished. But this mofo felt like it had hit potential instantly. This album (and Talk Of The Town in particular) was really the first time I wrote the songs on keyboards (as supposed to on the guitar). That changed a lot of the dynamics songwriting wise. This song is also what later would be typical for my way of arranging the guitars/keys contra the vocals - it all started here, and I'm pretty much using the same techniques/ideas today.
The lyrics (cowritten by Tommy Nilsson and Nestor Geli) are about a woman 'stuck in a nowhere town'. She's dreaming of a successful career in the entertainment industry of some sort - unclear if it's in the film or music business - but she doesn't quite seem be able to get the break (she believes) she deserves. Thus becoming the 'talk of the town'.. cause she never gives up trying. Oh yes! I would go as far as to say that it somewhat captures my songwriting style thereinafter. When I listen to it now, I can hear that the feel of the harmonies/melody of the chorus derives from my Todd Rundgren obsession. Todd inspired me a lot, both song writing and producing wise. Tommy Nilsson's amazing lead vocals obviously takes the song to another level. My thoughts about Danny Saucedo's Swedish version "Snacket på Stan"? I really liked it. Danny is a great performer in his own rights, and I think he did a very clever take on the song. Easy Action reunited for the Sweden Rock Festival 2019 and we've since started to work on some new material. Here's the video for the first song, 'DAZED!' Cheers//Kee
23. JERUSALEM - From The Bottom Of Our Heart (1985)
"Can you, can you hear them in the distance. Crying in the wilderness. Fighting for their lives. All they do is cry. All they know is hunger". Formed in the mid-70s by Ulf Christiansson and the premier Christian hard rock act from Sweden. A song only available on their live album 'In His Majesty's Service - Live In USA'. This may actually remind you of an hard rock version of U2? Giant enjoyed the sound and copied some of it on their debut. It all sounds truly convincing though as their hearts are in the right place and they were very successful because they added their own spin to the hard rock formula. They used to be slightly softer and a little more Status Quo, but they never sounded so natural great as this. Jerusalem spent over 2 months traveling all over the the states and Canada on this tour. It's genuinely great and the smashing performance by the entire band. Christiansson (vocals, guitar), Peter Carlsohn (bass), Dan Tibell (keyboards), Michael Ulvsgärd (drums).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4R1-xOP7Z4
22. LEVITICUS - Deborah and Barak (1985)
The true Heavy Metal power-trio of Björn Stigsson and the Andersson brothers (Håkan - vocals/bass. Kjell - drums) recorded their second album 'The Strongest Power' in 85 and Kerrang loved 'em. This is the powerful track that speak of the surroundings of Mount Tabor where the victory of Deborah and Barak took place in their battle against the Canaanites. Slow and heavy Doom-ish Metal with guitars down-tuned to D. The use of bass-pedals (Moog/Taurus) gave them the extra edge and power to push on through to the other side. The band turned more melodic with each and every new effort in the eighties. This is according to many fans the real sound of Leviticus and the pure energy and enthusiasm of the band is very much present on this all-time classic. In conclusion, this is a must have for any metalhead who wants to introduce him or herself to the art of FWOSHM. Read on to find out more about the song. Thanks to guitarist: Björn Stigsson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOIuzYuBgeg
Björn Stigsson: I had read the Book of Judges chapters 4 and 5 when I was inspired to write this song. A warlike song with heavy riff and heavy beat. It is about Israel once again defeating its enemies. The darkness that had afflicted them for many years, but how God used this time a woman, Deborah and her army commander Barak to liberate Israel. Most of the text comes directly from the Bible, which makes it extra strong. The message is to never give up, trust God!
21. YNGWIE MALMSTEEN - Heaven Tonight (1988)
Having devoted plenty of blood, sweat, tears, and approx one billion guitar picks and strings to revamping guitar playing in the eighties, Yngwie has now become a God-like figure to his fanatic fans and followers. Or perhaps the Jesus-like figure since he cheated death and returned from the car crash and coma, stronger, better, and faster than ever before? Indeed. The second coming included former Rainbow vocalist Joe Lynn Turner and the clash of egos would create an "Odyssey" and eventually "Eclipse" the sun and far beyond (pun intended). The original concept of bringing the neo-classical genre to the masses had been sort of lost on this particular single. It's more suited for MTV and it's blessed with a massive sing-a-long chorus. It's a marvelous little ripper and you still got a lot of shredding to look forward to. The commercial Yngwie!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCD4fCOOzlw
20. 220 VOLT - High Heels (1985)
Originally only released as the 7-single in '85 and later included on the compilation album in 1987. This top notch track toggles between subtle moments of softness and full-on headbanger's ball metal. At first you might believe this to be about girls, their tiny outfits, and watching them strut as well as try and walk around for hours in pure agony and pain? More impressionistic than narrative and hard to understand unless you're the shoe fetish? Absolutely not. It's actually the rather depressed and ever so lonely story about the big city and the small town girl. "Noone believes in poor Mary, she needs a real friend more than ever". A great vocal performance, the excellent message about high heels? and simpy just the great tune of the decade! Read on to find out more about the song. Thanks to vocalist: Joakim Lundholm and guitarist: Mats Karlsson.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3fFNUfgoYE
Jocke Lundholm: Well, it's basically a story of the quest for fame and fortune gone sour. Young girl, big city lights, glamour, hopes and dreams ending up on the Boulevard of broken dreams. The dream slowly fades away as Mary's is stuck in survival mode but come Saturday night and the dream is back, strong as ever... As far as lyrics goes. I'd say it's my typical songwriting at the time. As I evolved, I leaned more into storytelling, often with an undertone of social awareness. Not necessarily true for all songs, though, but the songs "Disappointed", "Lethal Illusion" and "The Great Escape" off the Lethal Illusion album are good examples of me trying to get a message through.
Mats Karlsson: Nothing special inspired us to write the song, just that we thought it was a cool riff, sometimes you end up getting a song out of it, and this time we did, hehe. Well, it usually starts with a riff or a melody that sticks. In hardrock usually a good riff also surprisingly often ends up being the basis for a chorus, as it did here. I think the phrase 'High Heels' kind of stuck early on. We don't have a set formula for how we write, we just seem to carry on with the ideas that we all like. We always rehearsed everything together, and I guess we all chipped in on the arrangements of the tracks before they were finished. The record label didn't really interfere much, but I remember we had a demo of this track done with a drum machine, so the rhythm was really rigid and "stompy" so they kind of got off on that.
I know that we chose between High Heels or Young And Wild for a new single in conjunction with our support tour for AC/DC. Young and Wild wasn't released until about a year later, but both were written in 1985. I really hope we can do all cancelled gigs from last year later this year, I don't have much hope, but with a bit of luck we'll be doing some shows late this year. And by then we should perhaps have some of the new stuff out also. We've been writing on and off for about 3 years, and we have gone through many, many ideas, and we're pretty sure we have an album in that pool of songs now. Just waiting for a good opportunity to get into a studio and start working on it for real. www.220volt.se
19. BAD HABIT - Living On The Edge (1989)
Top-notch AOR at the very south of Sweden (Malmö) and very much in the style of Honeymoon Suite or Fate. Previously known as Stratus, their first single was released by CBS in 87. This is the excellent opening track from the 'After Hours' album (Virgin). It plays like Scandi Rock at its best, switching the melodic theme from challenges to an ever so bright story of opportunities. They back this up with a great anthemic chorus and flashy guitar-lines. Indeed. Classy vocals by Bax Fahling, swirling keys by Doc Pat Shannon, and singing guitar work by Hal Marabel Johnston. Uplifting, fun, extremely catchy and worthy of all your attention. Read on to find out more about the song. Thanks to guitarist: Hal Marabel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXceAU7FC3E
Hal Marabel: I wanted to write an up-tempo song that both included combined heavy and melodic guitars, elaborate drums and exciting keyboards runs. I also wanted the key to change several times throughout the song. This was before the digital era so we recorded everything on tape, which meant some extra challenges as far as effects. I started with the chorus hook melody and then the rhythmic guitar patterns in the verses. The next part was the pre-chorus, which I wanted to present a lift from the verse. I also wanted a melodic chorus to contrast the more rhythmical and intense verse. The theme of the song is about living our lives with curiosity and excitement since we never know how long we have... so the first line of the song capture that quite well I think. "Take my hand and follow me". It's about moving forward together onto new opportunities and also challenges... all to develop and grow as people.
Yes, I would say that it captured my typical songwriting style at the time... at least the way I composed back then. Today I have a more relaxed and systematic approach but back then things were more sporadic and not always so well thought through...for better and for worse I guess :) Our musical influences have always been quite distinct and diverse also back in 1989. In particular the band of the 70s vintage rock provided great inspiration. Bands like Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Jimi Hendrix, but also more mellow bands like Toto, Journey and Def Leppard. Bands like Van Halen, AC/DC and Ozzy Osbourne were also great inspiration for live performances. Back then my vision for the band and our music was quite clear... all part of fitting everything into a concept that I felt would bring out the best in us all. Our base was our very diverse musical backgrounds and the key was to make it all come together into one common style, that stood out in the very crowded melodic rock scene at the time. The goal was always to stand out as a band... mixing our influences into something unique and I think the song 'Living on the Edge' summed it up quite well and it still stands out today. :)
18. TREAT - Ride Me High (1985)
"Tryin to get away from this nine-to-five machine. Noone can stop me, I show you what I mean". Originally released on the 1985 EP and produced by Haiti-American: Jean Beauvior of The Plasmatics (Crown Of Thorns). The mohawk bassist/ singer/ producer lived in Sweden at the time and used the ABBA studio to produce his own solo albums as well as others such as The Ramones, etc. The song feature the rather strange uptempo beat and I haven't heard anything similar really, and that's on a positive note, in my personal opinion. It's like if an AOR-Army was marching up and down the road just outside your place? It's a nice stab at the commercial market and it's perhaps the most overlooked song they ever made?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdnQQkXW1Xo
17. YNGWIE MALMSTEEN - I'll See The Light Tonight (1985)
The true 'Swedish meatball Viking guitar hero' in the era of many shredders. Malmsteen's technique and virtuosity accompanied by wonderfully neo-classical themes, the winning concept of the album "Marching Out" in 1985. 'I'll See The Light, Tonight' marks the beginning of the great vocal tracks by the donut loving Swede and also the co-write by American singer Jeff Scott Soto (Talisman, Journey, Eyes, etc). Great craftsmanship and basically the introduction test to see if Soto would fit the Yngwie mould. Which he obviously did, pay attention to the speedy notes, but stay focused on the epic melody and vocals, since one thing leads to the other. They click perfectly and leads to the faster parts as well as to the bombastic refrain. Did we mention the Johansson bros and Jacob? No. Well. They are unbelievable. Not sure if it's primo legato throughout the track, however, the shredding is as always relentless, and it's the classic tune. Read on to find out more about the song. Thanks to vocalist: Jeff Scott Soto.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlSmms1LBFQ
Jeff Scott Soto: When I first heard the song? I LOVED it!! It was a home studio recording Yngwie did on I believe an 8 track reel to reel unit he had. I was not officially in the band yet as I had just met him a few days prior in the studio where he was still recording the Rising Force debut. I auditioned with 'As Above, So Below' and phase 2 was to see how we would collaborate. I went to his place and he told me this song he wants the lyric 'see the light' thrown in somehow. I took the song home with a few of his notes on the melody of the chorus and went to work. He told me to take my time and assumed I would call in a week to say I had something. I called the next day and said I would come over and lay it down! We ironed out a few of my melodies and lyrics in the verses, solidified the chorus and the song was born! I remember when I was 18 and still 'looking' for my voice, I knew the best way was to emulate the singers of the time, my faves, Dio and Dickinson!
I was just officially in the band now, I believe I turned 19 just shortly before the sessions for Marching Out and was very worried I wouldn't have a distinct enough sound to keep my spot in the band. So I blended, or thought I was anyway, the 2 grand masters of Metal into what I sang for Yngwie. Listening back now of course I sound silly because the JSS today would never sing the way the JSS of 84 did. I wouldn't say I am or was a religious guy but knowing the dark and even borderline black bible lyrical content Yngwie loved to dabble in, I kind of made the lyrics to this one the opposite of that seeing the light from the dark side. It worked perfectly because it captured the ideal of coming from a dark place but finding the light in the end. Of course I didnt tell Yngwie of this then as I know he would say take that Catholic boy stuff off my song haha.
Yngwie gave me a LOT of flexibility as he saw early on how music and theory knowledgable I was. I came up with most of my own stuff and where he wanted something else, he would amend my ideas, not replace them. The harmonies were his idea, I was happy coming from loving bands like Queen, Journey and Styx that I could add those layered stacks of voices. The arrangement was pretty much the same from the demo version to album, I believe there may have been a double chorus before the last verse but I think thats it, I might have the original home demo of it in the garage somewhere, that would be a great find! Does it capture my style of music at the time? Absolutely! I was very much into Alcatrazz so doing Yngwie's new songs was a perfect progression for me. I had much, much more to offer musically even then that I knew would never fly, that came later and in masses throughout the decades, but then it was so me and I was a happy to be part of creating with him. I have many stories from those days but most are incriminating to say the least haha. But yes, I have some amazing and funny memories that I will forever cherish. No regrets and I wouldn't change a thing! The Johansson's left an incredible impression on me as did Yngwie and Marcel. The times of my life!
16. CANDLEMASS - Dark Reflections (1989)
The dark storytelling all the way through, you can easily find yourself in the moshpit during the verse and simply grin along to the Messiah doom-dance as you hear the chorus. The takeaway is that this is genuinely fun Doom metal music, performed by musicians who are in complete control of the utter doom and gloom they're creating. Actually. Not quite as much 'gloom' on here as it's probably the most cheerful uptempo track of all the Candlemass compositions in the eighties. The guitar tone is pretty heavy indeed, the soloing is excellent and the song as a whole finishes off on a high note. Messiah, furiously spittin' out line after line of the dark refelection on life as he's desperately trying to keep up with the musicians. What's not to like? Excellent.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IjzOdg0oWY
15. SPELLBOUND - Rockin Reckless (1985)
Party rockers- Hans Fröberg (vocals) would later form The Flower Kings together with Roine Stolt and it's all progressive stuff. JJ Marsh is a simply terrific guitarist, and later teamed up for many years with Glenn Hughes. This might just remind you of NWOBHM meets Black N' Blue and loud vocal screaming over a stabbing guitarline and the truly powerful drum-beat. Recorded in UK London, it's the 'looking forward to the weekend' kind of story as Spellbound tip their hat to what's important when you're young and kind of... dumb? Sheer and utter class and we don't mind the odd bum note? This is all too real, all too fun, and we're all rockin' reckless til' the morning light! Turn up the volume! Read on to find out more about the song. Thanks to vocalist: Hasse Fröberg.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JFNW1wczO4
Hasse Fröberg: As far as I remember I wanted to write an uplifting "party sounding" song that was based on an accessible and at the same time effective and memorable riff. In this particular song, the attitude and the energy is almost as important as the melody and the vocals. I wanted to write a hymn to the weekend I guess. When it comes to the writing, Rocking Reckless doesn't differ from the other songs I wrote back then. I solely wrote them on my guitar and I more or less wrote the lyrics on the spot. No second thoughts, no grammar checking, no anything. I wanted to describe the feeling of being young and living for the weekend. Hahaha, the lyric's not much to talk about really. There's lots of metaphors in there but the song is about young people having a boring job, or are disappointed for some reason and they're living for the weekend. The opening line "I've been living with my face down in the dirt" kind of describes that in a 'nice way' me thinks. Considering I was 20 years old when I wrote the song, living for the weekend mostly meant partying.
The funny thing is that when we started the band in 1983, our influences were Deep Purple, UFO and such but it didn't take long until we got influenced by the FWOBHM and the bands from the LA area that were starting to pop up at the time. I'd say the Spellbound sound is a mix of all mentioned genres. On the song Rocking Reckless, the label had no input. Except for the remixed single version where Sonet convinced us to add some keyboards to the chorus. We recorded Rocking Reckless in London together with producer Vic Maile (Motörhead amongst others) and sound engineer Ben Matthews (Thunder). Today I'm active with my own band Hasse Fröberg Musical Companion (HFMC)hfmcband.com We have released 4 studio albums and a Live DVD/Album since 2010 and we'll release our next one now in November. I'm also a full time member of the Swedish Progrock band The Flower Kings.
14. SHOTGUN MESSIAH - Nowhere Fast (1988/KingPin)
"Crooze on down Decadencia Drive". The compressed Glam-banger with a strong heartbeat and a endless bunch of wicked notes by the underrated? Harry Cody. There is feeling in every note of this, even when there's a shipload of them delivered in a very short amount of time. Not completely sure why I always end up howling madly along to the words of "Don't tell me my hair'z a disgrace. Up yerz giddouta my face"? But me guezz it'z b'cuz it'z kool? Zinny San is the original eighties Glam-Rocker of Sweden and his lead vocals are truly nasty, obnoxious as well as vicious to the extreme. They're heading for the big city lights, unfortunately, the US streets are not always paved with gold. In search for the ultimate in Glam/Sleaze must lead them into the most darkened room at the darkest alley of the Sunset Strip. Inconclusion. The band's criminally underrated. Read on to find out more about the song. Thanks to guitarist: Harry Cody.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlToYww2qdw
Harry Cody: An attitude-packed anthem to a hedonistic, nihilistic, pedal-to-the-metal lifestyle; guitar-driven glam metal in a major key, deceptively straightforward sounding. The song was built around the main riff. Throughout the song, the guitar stays in the foreground, kicking off the verses, competing with the "Na Na" group vocal in the pre chorus, building up to the solo, adding one last, wailing hook to the outro. As always, much of the drive comes from Tim Skold’s rock solid, elegant, occasionally flashy bass playing. Zinny San gives one of his best vocal performances. The use of "Na Na" for group vocals, on this and many other Shotgun Messiah songs, is very deliberate. Most bands would opt for "Whoah-oh" - I bet there's a few of those on this very list - but I much prefer the bratty, taunting, insolent sound of "Na Na". "Whoah-oh" sounds like a raised fist, while "Na Na" sounds like a raised middle finger. "Nowhere Fast" is one of my favorite songs off the first Shotgun Messiah album. Turn it way up!
13. HEAVY LOAD - The King (1983)
"He'll raise his hand - He'll praise his land". Indeed. The evil King is on his way? Back in 1983, Heavy Load went for a bit stronger, more melodic and epic sound than on previous metal platter. You'd expect Viking Metal simply to be blunt and vicious like a battleaxe through your skull. However. Eddy Malm and the Wahlquist bros. take turns on songwriting and lead vocals, and it's really not merely just blunt Viking Metal rather than catchy melodic dito with a memorable shout-a-long refrain. Indeed. The Heavy Load sound, for want of a better term, with its direct and existential topic, expressive and angst-ridden lyric, echoey vocals and crunchy guitars, at its peak on 'Stronger Than Evil'. It's also their last effort of the eighties (except for the 1984 single 'Monsters of Rock'). There's a dark story behind the lyric. Read on to find out more about the song. Thanks to vocalist/guitarist: Eddy Malm.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6ArBNjwQx4
Eddy Malm: I was being kind of historik. I was not so pleased with the way our world was developing so I took a look back in time and found the perfekt konektion. I was trying to, in an easy way to find a perfekt conektion to what might happen in our future if we keep on going in the direktion we have chosen, and I think I found a good one. Germanys Adolf Hitler in my words the (evil) King. The King Adolf rose, he was on his toes and he toke over in his way, he hade a heart of stone and he was changing everything. The people believed in him and thought he would do good, so he raised his hand and promised good things. And he demanded that one and all should stand behind him and if they didn't they would die. And he brought them war b'cuz he wanted more so everyone hade to fight for him. But in the end he failed in his plan and left the world as his land was heavily destroyed. Does it capture my typical songwriting style at the time? Oh yes typical me :-) Can't really say that I used any influences from other bands, at least not consciously. Input? Not so much in my song writing, but they inspired me very much to create musik, and I'm talking about the other band members. I am of course very happy and greatful for the time I had with Heavy Load! It was a fantastik experiance which I will never forget.
12. EUROPE - Rock The Night (1985)
"You know it ain't easy running out of thrills. You know it aint easy when you don't know what you want". So what do you want? This is the original version recorded in 1985 for the Swedish Movie/commerical 'On The Loose' (also a song by Europe and the band's featured in the film), and is a lot different than the re-recorded version that appeared on The Final Countdown album in 86. A little bit rougher, tougher, and a very different production with a harder edge and background vocals. A better version in my opinion and the reminder of the great hard rock band of Europe. As far as I know the 3-track EP is the only place you can find this version and Joey Tempest actually wrote the song in anger and fear after hearing 'Too Wild' by Treat. There's always been some 'bad blood' between the acts. PS. You can also find the basically forgotten Europe/Tempest song 'Broken Dreams' on the EP.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HegBqCvd7yk
11. ELECTRIC BOYS - All Lips N Hips (1987)
Red alert! Red Alert! Where have you heard this tune before? Ehem. Stars and various body glitter and glue all over yer pants? All Lips n' Hips packs full-on swagger. The built for strip club full-on funked-up anthem opens with a short mystical eastern and George Harrison sitar inspired string arrangement before the sultry song strides straight-up into an infectious money shaker. This is the original Swedish version and single from the year of 1987, recorded as the duo of Conny Bloom and Andy Christell, it would later be re-released in 1989 and in 1990 on the Bob Rock produced version of Funk-Metal Carpet Ride. It's got that cheeky, funky, groovy, uptempo beat and tremendous sing-a-long refrain which should have you up and dancing on the tables in no time. Read on to find out more about the song. Thanks to vocalist/guitarist: Conny Bloom.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tkm3lcb1Cqs
Conny Bloom: Actually. It was one of those songs that kind of wrote itself. I was fooling around with drop-D tuning and that riff came up. It was surely the song that started the ball rolling, everybody wanted to be involved when they heard that song. We had been thinkin/ jamming /trying to find our own style for some time. Funnily enough, when "Lips" came up, I wasn't thinking at all. We realized afterwards that THIS sounds cool and it inspired us to continue with that heavy groove. It's about a stripper, you know. When we came to the states and a new town for the day, people would say "you gotta come down to this and that place, the girls are dancing to your song! It was great, they dug movin' to that rhythm so we knew we were onto something.
I remember writing "Lips" and "Psychedelic Eyes" at the same time and recorded them on my Tascam Porta studio. "Eyes" was inspired by a Cheap Trick song but I can't recall which one right now. Any personal music influences/bands that in retrospect shines through? I don't know? Some have said early Aerosmith. I know for sure I was listening a lot to Undisputed Truth. And there's always been a bit of Beatles and 60s psychedelia goin' on. None input from the label. They believed in us and it was self produced. The band always add their own playing to the songs even though some times they stay true to the demos. It varies. It's great being in this band. We reunited 2009 and have done 3 albums since then, the forth (Ups!de Down) is coming the 30th of April. We wanna start touring again so like everyone else, we're waiting for people to get vaccinated so things can go back to normal. Thanks for having us on your list! Be safe, Conny.
10. EUROPE - Open Your Heart (1984)
"Days filled with joy and days filled with sorrow". The song that opened a lot of doors. Originally recorded on the Wings Of Tomorrow album and re-recorded on Out Of This World in 1988. We prefer the first original version and so did White Lion? as they surely took notice as well as notes while penning down their Broken Heart hit in 1985. They also recorded their song twice on two different albums by the way. Joey Tempest on the other hand was strongly inspired by Scorpions and their power ballads as he wrote the song. It caused people in New York to react, and producer Dieter Dierks contacted the band after he heard the song to say that he wanted to work with Europe. It never happened though. The great semi-ballad and just a sunny Europe, indulging into acoustic meets electric guitar arrangements and welding them onto poppier metal and the catchy hook. What's not to like?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWyZVC-aoyo
9. TREAT - World Of Promises (1987)
"They come from a land where the Sun don't shine". The singing guitar intro 'ala the refrain set the entire pace and standard of this little Treat. From the 'Dreamhunter' album and it's Anders Wikström (guitars) and Robert Englund (vocals) at the top of their songwriting. Kicks off like a moody teenager in search of the cheap thrill and accelerates towards and across the finish line with a really catchy refrain. Arguably at their best when bringing to mind the singing melodies of Sweden, with flurries of razor sharp hooks through a kiddie friendly beat and story. World Of Promises is the very definition of Treat and repeated listening and analysis will merely provide the listener with its simple fact that simplicity rules. In Flames did a rather strange and weird sounding cover version? All together now, "Living in a world of promises. Living in a world of dreams and hopes".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TI3KzNfZzO0
8. YNGWIE MALMSTEEN - I Am A Viking (1985)
"I am a Viking I'm going out to war and I've got death upon my mind". Yngwie who? Yngwie Friggin' Malmsteen, that's who. Don't forget the "J", you must never forget the J. You know, in case there would ever turn up another bloke with the name of Yngwie Malmsteen? Fat chance. The Viking metal masterpiece from his second album. Slower and heavier than his standard material, it never devolves into pure Doom though. Special credit to vocalist Jeff Scott Soto and of course the eternal starshine of Yngwie's guitar work. He spent his entire childhood/ youth in the basement doing horrible things to his poor six-string. This song is another reason why people started chanting words such as 'Yngwie is God' and he believed it too by the way. Lightyears ahead of its time and it's amazing what you can achieve if you practise 24-7. You may refer to him as the original Zlatan Ibrahimovic... with a Fender guitar. "I am a slayer and you will taste my steel".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcwcxBf_fTE
7. JERUSALEM - Dancing on The Head of The Serpent (1987)
"He sits on a thorne with an arrogant smile, thinking he's going to stay there forever, but the King of Saints is mounting his steps. There is a judgement to settle". The title track from their 1987 release rely heavily on keyboards and it's the powerful, rapid paced, keyboard-based anthem. Clearly inspired by Europe as they would start and finish their concerts with this very tune. However. This is a lot more fun that Final Countdown and feature the more "aggressive" approach of their singer Ulf Christiansson. The record sleeve depicted jeans and boots-clad person jumping on a person's head who appears to be half human/half lizard. This radical image proved too shocking as record stores banned the album, while others still stocked the album, but sold it under the counter. The proper hard rock anthem featuring strong and powerful vocals and message. Excellent. Read on to find out more about the song. Thanks to vocalist/guitarist: Ulf Christiansson.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGFR1nI6blo
Ulf Christiansson: In the 80's there were a lot of songs in the metal scene with an aggressive synth-hook mixed with heavy guitars. "Dancing on the head of the serpent" was no exception. That was just the style most rockbands had. We contacted an artist in Norway who painted the artwork on the albumcover. Inspired by a bible verse in Romans 16:20 "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet." So he painted the picture, and we thought it was really cool and reproduced exactly what we wanted to say.
We just had brought new studio equipment, shipped from Britain, with a new console and a 24 track tape recorder. From there we started to record the album. By that time we lived in Uppsala. That was before we moved back to Gothenburg and did "Prophet". On "Dancing on the head of the serpent" I did write all the songs but later when we did "Prophet" we all just went into the studio and started to jam the songs right there from scratch. And it shows a very different album from "Dancing". The lyrics though has always been my part on all the Jerusalem albums through the years. But the church was upset about cover and didn't want to show it (in book stores) upfront but did hide it under the counter desk. Jerusalem was hard to ignore so in some way they had to sell it. The reaction was really harsh and that was also why we were boycotted by the church in most parts of Sweden. The whole record was from a "sound" (a way of saying) saying we have to wake up! We mean you must know who you are dealing with! But that was not well recieved mostly because we as church never really been synchronized with the time we're living in.
It has always been very hard for the church to be right in the middle of what is going on, and it is in my view crucial if we want to be taken seriously. There's always exceptions from that mentality of course. I myself have had some of those experiences through the years, some of the band members as well. I must say from my heart that all darkness and satanic powers, whatever, who ever, are defeated. Actually I am right now helping a guy who has been deeply involved in a magic cult. And who was on the edge of killing himself. This is real stuff. But to be more exact I think the fact that a lot of the music in the 80's were glorifying darkness, fallen angels, including satan, really challenged us. It really triggered us to be honest. I even had an encounter with Ronnie James Dio in those days regarding his involvement in this. He was a great singer no doubt about that, I wrote about this in my biography "Det var värt alltsammans"!
We toured quite much during the 80's specially in Europe and Germany. Germany was almost invaded by bands who did this, and even if I think most of this was more from trying to be cool, or on a level of not understanding the reality of this, I also know some really were hardcore satan worshippers. It was not unusual for us to meet kids who were involved in this. And because we ourselves were not unfamiliar with experiences like that we just got tired of it. To be real honest I think I was more inspired or triggered by the fact of seeing satan being glorified than us being inspired of any Metal-hard rock band or artist out there. We've always been very radical and clear about this. Well... you asked for the reason why we did "Dancing on the head of the serpent" and here it is! The lyrics are talking about demonic powers, principalities, ruling over us from an unseen spiritual world, very real in their effort to bring us into destruction. At the end of the song they are falling from high places of rulership, manipulation and pride. The funny thing is that it was only in Sweden that the albumcover was banned. Not in the rest of Europe or America, not even in the rest of the Scandinavian countries. In the US the song went #1 on the CCM shart. "Plunder hell and populate heaven" and "Rebels of JC" also did well in the US. The songs had a lot of exposure on radio as well....
There's a fallen angel on a throne in every capitol city
Ruling with "wisdom" that manipulates the children of this century
Pulling the kings like puppets on strings bowing their knees to him
Dancing on the head of the serpent
Dancing on the head of the serpent
but I'm His name is lust, his name is pride his name is deceptive knowledge
But still he has a nail in his eye he can't buy the saints in the city
He tries and he tries but they won't compromise
they show him no mercy no pity And that's alright, that's alright
and we're Dancing on the head of the serpent
He sits on a throne with an arrogant smile thinking he's gonna stay there forever
But the King of the Saints is mounting His steps there is a judgement to settle
And in a short moment his face turns surprised before he is thrown to the ground
That's alright, that's alright,
but we are Dancing on the head of the serpent
Dancing on the head of the serpent
6. CANDLEMASS - At the Gallows End (1988)
"Ring brother, ring for me. Ring the bells of hope and faith. Ring for my damnation I am at the gallows end". To say Candlemass wore bleakness, despair, and doom on their sleeves is in itself an vast understatement. Slow and Sabbath-ish arrangement and topped off with a haunting presence and the Messiah-like vocal performance. This is a song built to last, comprised of complicated moves and enough in its brilliance to become the instant classic. They broke the roof, rewrote the book, and became billionaires... wait.. no? The pipes of Eddie Messiah Marcolin actually saved the record on a couple of occasions, when things get a little too outlandish and strange. This is however highly ranked among their contemporaries, it's also highly ranked at the top-100.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnFJJfwiwb4
5. TREAT - Get You On The Run (1985)
"Woke up this morning all alone. First time I'm on my own. We were so close but all of a sudden, you were gone". This is unquestionably the starting point of all the Treat, all the members were still young-ish when the recording sessions took place over at Sonet Studio 3 and seemingly up for the 'Scratch and Bite' -all nite. The first singles had been produced by vocalist Robert Ernlund's brother Göran (Sprängdeg) and this is evident with the blissful energy and naive and quivering sounds of the eighties. It kicks off with an angelic choir in the background, acoustic guitar, and the mellow introduction before the song structure slip into semi/mid tempo and owing something to Pyromania (not to be confused with the pyromaniac aka John Norum) and Def Leppard, in addition to its eclectic nods to American Arena Rock. Generally serving as the atmospheric enhancement, the guitar vs. soft keyboard work is magnificent. In conclusion a Swedish hard rock classic and you're now officially a King without a crown. The re-recording (Organized Crime/1989) is simply not as good though. Excellent. Read on to find out more about the song. Thanks to guitarist: Anders Wikström.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgg_StyqFos
Anders Wikström: Get You On The Run was original called "Catch you on the run" and I / We wrote it prior to our first 5 song demo that we did at the end of 1983 and shopped around to all the record companies/labels in Stockholm. I was quite inspired by the whole Pyromania record with Def Leppard at the time, so the quiet acoustic guitar intro with our sampled choirs was probably a direct result of that. I had the chorus from before and it felt strong from the beginning and I dare say that Peo Berghagen at Polygram really liked it and understood the band's potential quite immediately when he heard it. The song also became a radio hit in Sweden and was also made as a cover by a Japanese artist when it was released in 1985. It is very much still a big live favorite and given at every Treat concert! Thank you for giving me this opportunity and Good luck!
4. EUROPE - Scream of Anger (1984)
The Force (pre-Europe) song from the year of 1981 and originally entitled "Black Journey Through My Soul", it's co-written by Joey Tempest and Marcel Jacob (Talisman, Yngwie Malmsteen). John Leven joined Yngwie's band and Jacob spent three months and played merely two concerts with Force before the two bassists returned to their original acts. This is pure FWOSHM and the major points in favour of this track are that it gives Europe room to reveal the excellent force (pun intended) of Norum's guitar work as well as a versatile vocal performance by Tempest. The rhythm section is great, kickin' double-bass drum work by Tony Reno, the pace is darn right frantic, and you truly believe in every single word as sung by the Tempest. And according to Yoda, 'The Force is strong in Europe'. FWOSHM! "I see a place, an evil place coming my way. What can I do? Where can I run? I'm gonna die anyway".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-e82PK8wfM
3. SHOTGUN MESSIAH - Don't Care Bout Nothin' (1988/Kingpin)
"Wake up, time 2 go 2 school, where teecherz make the rulez, but rulez R just 4 foolz". Originally formed by the dangerous duo of Harry Kody (guitar) and Tim-Tim Sköld (bass). Vocalist Zinny Zan was sacked from Easy Action and joined the band later on just prior to the recording of this all-time classic Swedish tune of the 80s. This is a marvelous slezy/glam rocker with just the right amount of power and guts. The classic riff, and a lot better than 99% of the US Sunset Strip acts. They moved to the states in late '88 and Relativity records re-issued the Kingpin album 'Welcome To Bop City' under the bands' new moniker: Shotgun Messiah. "They push me round, they put me down. They treat me like a fool. Don't care 2 much bout right or wrong, still I'm the 1 who's kool". Perfect Glam/Sleaze. Read on to find out more about the song. Thanks to guitarist: Harry Cody.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3ctVbfMbJI
Harry Cody: It was 1985, and I was having second thoughts about the direction of the metal band I had co-founded. The material we had written up to that point sounded old and tired to me. We needed adrenaline, attitude and hooks. We had to evolve. The very first riff I wrote after my epiphany was "Don't Care Bout Nothin". The chorus - melody and lyrics - immediately sprang to mind, effortlessly. The key change into the verse, the tapping under the vocals, the spoken parts, secondary riffs - they practically wrote themselves. In a perfect world, all songs should come that easy. A good song should hook you from the start, so a catchy opening line helps. Having the singer exclaim "Wake Up!" grabs your attention immediately, and sticks in your memory - mission accomplished. The specific theme of the lyric was less important, as long as it mirrored the feel of the music - youthful, hedonistic, rebellious. "Don't Care Bout Nothin" with its drive, urgency and attitude set the new bar for our sound, and colored the music we were to write for the next few years.
2. EUROPE - Stormwind (1984)
"I like to sit beside the fire when the light is going down. I like to hear the wild wind blow outside my door. I have so much left to remember I have so much left to forget. And I know I don't have to search for more". The really underrated hard rock/metal song as well as the opening track on Europe's best album of the eighties, Wings Of Tomorrow. The fantasy themed effort speak of Kings and Queens and you'll find yourself in Skyrim once again? 'I honor my Lord by destroying you'! Excellent guitarwork by John Norum and music in the style and sound you'd wish the band would do nowadays. Definitely FWOSHM and I know that some of you would rather have The Final Countdown? All I can say is that if this is the calm before the fanfare, it's also a proper Stormwind and great on any day. The song somehow flows easier than previous efforts while still giving the same kind of FWOSHM vibe. Excellent!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skuSBWWmqrw
1. YNGWIE MALMSTEEN - Far Beyond The Sun (1984)
Technically, perhaps not his most advanced number? But, the melody and wicked arrangement is darn catchy and his debut was an album that completely changed the face of the guitar metal world. After spending 4 months in the band Steeler (one album) and a year at Alcatrazz (two albums), Yngwie rewrote the book with his lightning fast fury as he took the Neo-Classical style once created by Paganini to the next level and beyond. Sure, he overdid things on many of his compositions. This is however the perfect mix of metal, classical, and Swedish folk melodies. Speedy fingers running up and down the neck of his strato and all the metal guitarists, all around the world, lost their marbles while listening to the viking. Pure class as each and every note is located perfectly and sounds brilliant. Keyboardist Jens Johansson does a highly complex solo of his own, and thus the start of all guitar/keys interludes and speedy duals done by different acts such as Dream Theater or Stratovarius. THE very definition of Swedish Metal in the 80s.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eK0rvReE-4c
Special Thanks (again) to all the musicians. People. Bands/artists are always welcome to give feedback or send in more information about the songs. Contact info: Urban Wally Wallstrom [email: urban 'at' rockunited.com /replace at with @ or simply search my name at facebook/messenger].
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