QUICK LINKS: [ 100 - 76 ] [ 75 - 51 ] [ 50 - 26 ][ 25 - 1 ] | |
(...the "side story" continues from "100-76" entry page) OVERDRIVE record their MLP 'Reflexions' and have also been over and played in England in other contexts, and got to know some guys in English groups, including Tygers of Pan Tang. It was also the intention that Overdrive would have been Tygers' opening act when they came here. But that tour was canceled because Phil Lynnot and his 'the boys are back in town' Thin Lizzy stole Tygers' lead guitarist, John Sykes. Overdrive guitarist Janne Stark regarding influences: "For me personally I grew up listening to guitarists and bands like Leslie West (Mountain), Snuffy Walden (Stray Dog), Ronnie Montrose, Pat Travers and Michael Schenker". STITCH, formed in 1980 and Ian Haugland (Trilogy/Europe) was in the band for a short period of time. After two years in the rehearsal room, they won a rock band competition in Södertälje. That resulted in the debut single 'Devils Deal' and according to the band, "That single cost us part of our reputation. So we had a day in the studio, every half hour the guy from the record company called and asked if we were ready soon, because otherwise it would be too expensive. You can hardly work under such circumstances and the mixing was bloody awful". Stitch, for a short while one of Stockholm's most in demand hard rock band, "Our boss at the record company invested everything in us and our gigs, but after a gig in Dalarna we had enough. It must have gone down in history as one of the biggest white lies of Swedish Metal. "So we went there and looked up local rag/magazine 'Dalakuriren' to see what was written about us. What a shock! The headline read 'America's biggest hard rock band for the first time in Sweden. Live snakes and massive laser light-show.' What could we do? The guy who organized the place had to say that customs had seized the light-show, and all the snakes were sick. It sort of worked, but the occasional greaser/cruiser got a little upset, and showed it by throwing stones at us and the stage. Thank goodness Bob May is American. But the rest of us are not great at sounding like Yankees, but the kids who came backstage afterwards seemed to believe us". The band would record one more 7-single in 88' (You Light My Fire/1988) before the break-up. [1983] SILVER MOUNTAIN, founded in the late 70s in Malmö by their excellent neo-classical guitarist and named after a certain song by Rainbow, release their debut album 'Shakin Brains' at Roadrunner Records (Holland) and SMS Records (Japan). The metal press from fanzines like Metal Rendezvous to the mainstream press of Kerrang! was rather impressed by its spontaneous and uncompromising delivery and that unique Swedish sound. Hard rock did not have to be British or American any more. Musically, the guitar work of Jonas Hansson bordered on pure genius, the drumming of Anders Johansson became legendary. Keyboardist Jens Johansson went bezerk behind the keys, and noone can deny the talent of bassist Per Stadin. Unfortunately, the musicians moved on and The Johansson bros. were quickly grabbed by Yngwie J. Malmsteen. Kjell Lövbom is finally reborn as "Kee Marchello" [KEE-ometer: 8] as EASY ACTION record their debut single, "We Go Rocking", a song stolen by Poison and re-worked into "I Want Action" on their debut album 'Look What The Cat Dragged In' (1986). The ultimate proof that Swedish Glam rules. Alex 'Peo' Thyren (Noice, Sha-Boom), Zinny San (King Pin, Shotgun Messiah), Freddie Von Gerber (Bam Bam Boys, Rat Bat Blue) and Danny Wilde (Roadrats) are 100% Glam/Sleaze. I believe they are the first hard rock band from Sweden signed to an American major label, Sire records (Warner Brothers) via their legendary head of A&R Seymour Stein (The Ramones, Madonna, Depeche Mode, etc). Constantly featured in Okej magazine due to their image? and Thyren, the poster boy for the 'Non-Smoking Generation'. Kee writes the music together with Alex as they call themselves 'The glittering twins', and the Stockholm incrowd are amazed at their ability to come up with material. Zinny-Zan writes the lyrics, and although they are not poetic masterpieces, they work in their context. The music is fast, hard but still has a touch of classic pop. The chorus is important, it should fit directly and be easy to sing along to. I (urban 'at' rockunited.com) asked Zinny about his background and how come he started up a band with the three former bubblegum Pop musicians of Noice (Peo, Freddie, Kee) "I started out as a drummer and played for about 7 years. The only known people I ever played with was the first trembling steps of Hanoi Rocks at that time called the Nymphomaniacs. I had just landed a record deal with Sanji Tandan for Tandan records. One night I met Peo and Kee and they had a deal with Tandan as well. They asked me if I had material for a whole album, if not they would like to co write songs with me. My thoughts of Peo at that time was not too high (since I absolutely hated his old band Noice). But Kee was such a nice guy and a hell of a guitar player to so we jammed and after a few times we said to hell with this lets make a killer Glam band". We thought 'Måndagsbörsen' (Sweden's only live music TV show) would show our video, but the editors said no. Damn weird, says Alex/Peo. Sweden is the country where there is no room for people who choose their own path, says Alex and continues: I've given everything. Music is the most important thing that exists for me. My whole situation is built around rock'n'roll. This is where I have my friends. My Life', end quote. Indeed. It's the typical Glam style: a lot of leather, glitter jackets, make-up, and their wicked hairstyles require lots of spray. In addition, they use a hairdresser who is present at all gigs and at all photo sessions. DESTINY from Gothenburg was formed in the autumn of 1982 when they changed name from Hexagon to Destiny and according to bassist Stefan Björnshög: "We did our first demo in the spring of 1983 and then it was Therese Hanserot on vocals and Björn Centergran on drums. We only did one gig with that setting and it was at the legendary rock club RPM in Gårda. Other members then were the guitarists Magnus Österman with whom I formed the band and John Prodén and myself on bass. The gig was very successful but unfortunately Therese left the band shortly after the live debut". EUROPE and their self-titled debut was released on March 14, 1983. New versions of all the songs from the Rock-SM demo tape were included as well as "In the Future to Come" and new songs like "Memories" and "Words of Wisdom". The song "Rock On" had been changed completely and was now called "Farewell". Most of the music was recorded live in the studio, and the album was recorded in just a couple of weeks. For example, they only used a half hour to record the instrumental song "Boyazont". John Norum co-wrote the song with his former band leader/artist: Eddie Meduza. The greaser/naughty rocker with a special fondness for four letter words and Swedish lyrics. TRASH and their debut album 'Watch Out' did not receive much praise in Swedish media/press elite. The bands thoughts? "It's sad when music critics get hooked on trends and really have no opinion of their own. It is unforgivable to completely write down a band, everyone has something good, regardless of music style. Unfortunately, critics only look for mistakes all of the time, ok, sometimes they can be a little positive". To quote Europe, 'Words of Wisdom' from the year of 1983 and TRASH had this to say regarding the competition between Hard Rock groups in Sweden. "The bands that do well get a lot of crap on them. It would be better if we helped each other instead. All hard rock bands has something special. Why worry about other bands' success? All bands should support each other, maybe meet and jam together. You develop when you meet other talented musicians. All musicians should learn humility, that's when you succeed, not by talking s**t about your colleagues". God Bless Trash! In honor of the band, I won't put out the bin tonight. [1984] The Hard Rock and Metal Market is booming in the land of Vikings. The year of 1984, no longer 'Big Brother Is Watching' rather than 'Big Brother Is a Metalhead'. Hard Rock isn't underground anymore. Everybody wants to be a hardrocker. Everybody want to wear leather and have the backpatch and studs on their denim jackets. Why not corns or spikes from shoulder to wrist? The massive belt buckle? And there's always room for another patch or three? Badges, badges, can't get enough of tiny, shiny, badges. Gotta' show/wear your colours on the sleeves? Lovely pieced together on your denim clothes it's an artwork in progress. It's the high end outfit for the Rock N Roll lifestyle and they're meant to be worn every day for years to come. The more you wear it the better it looks and the worse the smell. There are kids out there that have no idea about the culture itself and what it means to be a Metalhead though. What does it mean? Let's ask Styrbjörn 'Runestone' Wahlqvist from HEAVY LOAD, "Hard Rock is not soft and full of a lot of insignificance, but it highlights the best in man! Strength, intelligence and power, in those who have it. Lower standing life forms such as synth pop and disco fans lack power", end quote. Thank you Styrbjörn. Back to the cave. Okej Magazine and its editor Anders Tengner was held responsible for all hard rock in general and especially W.A.S.P.'s stage performances in a historical live TV debate show 'Svar Direct' (Direct Answer). The host, Siewert Öholm, clearly not impressed with all the raw meat, chains, blades, cudpiece, and the Satanic worship? Tenger was questioned by host Siewert, "But don't you understand your moral responsibility in what you publish in the magazine? The typical mob mentality and blame it on the long-haired dude. Posh music journalists was critical and took each a swing at the dude while the studio audience was rigged from the start. The innocent 13 year old girlie read the 'God save us all from hardrock' poem at the end of the show. Blimey. There hasn't been such a one-sided affair since John Travolta decided to date women. Conclusion? Kids in Sweden bought more hard rock mags and vinyls than ever. Heavy Metal - Staying Alive! BATHORY formed in Vällingby, Stockholm, in March 1983 by Tomas "Quorthon" Forsberg (RIP) release their debut album. Named after The Venom song about the Hungarian countess Elizabeth Báthory according to original drummer Jonas Åkerlund (1983/84). Jonas is indeed the Grammy Award film director, screenwriter, and music video director for Madonna, Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Coldplay, Taylor Swift, Maroon 5, Metallica, Ozzy, etc. Bathory are pioneers of black metal and one of the most influential acts in metal as a whole. Quorthon worked part-time at the record label Tyfon Grammofon, which was owned by his father, Börje Forsberg aka The Bozz (producer of many Swedish records). To be frank or Sven? The main reason Bathory received a recording deal? His father owned the label. The first two albums are poor man's Venom in my humble opinion and not until album #3, 4, 5, 6, can you find the true sound of the band. Bathory performed live once before they stopped? UNIVERSE from Upplands-Väsby/Stockholm, the guitarist played in the band with John Norum and Tony Reno (WC) prior to Force/Europe, and SPELLBOUND, formed in Uppsala in '83 and both winners of the Ritz/Sonet Records rock competition and initially heard on the compilation album 'Swedish Metal'. Their debut albums are released by the biggest Swedish label (Sonet) and Spellbound's debut was hailed as one of the best records of the year 84 by Kerrang: "debut album embraces both colossal potential and substantial delivery". Japans leading mag 'Burrn' showed interest and the album rised on the import charts. LEVITICUS went to UK and according to Stigsson: "One of the best moments most be the first time that we played the GREENBELT festival in England (1984) We really shocked the crew-members when they found out that Kjell had 4 bass-drums! Plus all the other stuff that we had! And the audience was really ecstatic after we had played! We became the talking subject during the whole festival that lasted for 4 days. Everyone close to us got to sign autographs! This was our big break! And we had traveled to England as a small, unknown band from Sweden". That's cool! 4 bass-drums and a spare in the trunk? Gert-Inge 'Best Metal Name Ever' Gustavsson went to England around 1980 to try his luck, however, he realized that in London there wasn't much to do for a Swede who wanted to play hard rock. "I was going to audition in a completely unknown hard rock band, the waiting time was three days. Then I realized that the competition in England is really huge". He went back to Sweden and started up a band himself. The result was STEEL WINGS (1982) and at the same they recorded a demo tape that was sent around to various companies. An English company got in touch, and the result of that collaboration was that Steel Wings participated in the compilation album 'Metal Plated'. Now in 1984, American Ira Blacker liked their sound and wanted them to do a real demo. The guys have now recorded the tape at their expense and the US geezer has six months to fix a record contract for the group. The future prospects look bright with a man like Ira Blacker behind the. However, it would take another 5 years until their self-titled debut at Air Music. I recently asked Christer MENTZER about joining SILVER MOUNTAIN as he was never a permanant member of the band? : "I told Jonas Hansson that I do not want to get stuck with Silver Mountain because my band 'Norden Light' really was closest to my heart. Vera Selander who wrote at the time wanted me there. So Jonas said that they must have a singer otherwise there will be no Japan tour. So I started liking Silver Mountain and agreed to do the Universe record and the tour. The song 'Walking in the shadow' Jonas got from me as it did not fit on the Norden album. So from the Japan tour I got keyboardist Mats Olausson (Yngwie Malmsteen, Talisman, etc) with me. We first met in 83. Wrote some songs together. In a way, he was the 6th hidden member of Norden Light. But he was going to Stockholm all the time. He played for cash and that's probably one of the reasons why he decided to end his own life (RIP)". EUROPE went to Finland to play their first ever concerts abroad, at Jyväskylä Rock in Jyväskylä on June 22 and Ahvenlampi Rock Festival in Saarijärvi on June 23. The concert in Saarijärvi turned out to be the band's last concert with drummer Tony Reno. "Tony never arrived on time for rehearsal," Norum said, "Half an hour would be okay, but not two, three hours. Every now and then he didn't show up at all. Thomas Erdtman sent Tony a letter telling him he was fired. "Tony called me up and cried," Norum said, "He was devastated since we didn't notice him. 'Then I would have pulled myself together,' he said. His father would call me up to phone terrorize. He screamed that I was a idiot for letting down my friend. I had to take the blame as I had played with Tony for six years. But I was the last one to agree on firing Tony. What could I do? Including Erdtman it was four against one. I sensed the possibility to evolve as a guitarist with a more competent drummer". Håkan 'Ian' Haugland (Trilogy) joined the band in August 1984. CRYSTAL PRIDE and the maxi single "Knocked Out" is released in August and the LP the following month. It was in February this year that the band signed a contract with Mills Records. Shortly afterwards, other interested record companies heard about it, but by then it was already too late. Ove Midner at Mills says that the demo has received a very warm reception among both radio and TV people, and he has high hopes for the band. The album will also be released in Japan via King Records. Good news as the band has never done a gig outside Eskilstuna. "It's so good to play there, so why should we show up in places where there might be 30 people? We'll wait until the album is ready, then we have something to bring to the masses". Knocked out indeed. (to be continued) |
THE COUNTDOWN CONTINUES: entries 75-51 75. JOHN NORUM - Let Me Love You (1987)
74. TORCH - Runnin' Riot (1984) Ian Greg: Wow, it's been a while. Don't remember exactly how "Runnin' Riot" was created. It was probably Steve (Streaker) that came up with the riff. He came up with most of the riffs and basics to the song back then. Then the whole band would be involved in adding stuff and arranging the song. Dan (Dark) would improvise some vocals and then I would write some lyrics that would fit the structure of the improvised vocals. I think we were trying to find a good balance between hard, heavy, aggressive and catchy. Since it's Heavy Metal it needs to be hard, but if people can't sing or hum along or tap their feet to it's not going to stick. I think the 80s was probably the time when bands found that balance, and that's why Heavy Metal became popular outside the hardcore fans as well. Then eventually it became too commercial and the fans lost interest and moved along. I think the lyrics came out of frustration. We really wanted to make it and couldn't see ourselves having "normal" jobs or living "normal" lives. We were constantly told to stop dreaming, to cut our hair and get a real job. At that point in time no one thought that you could make it as a Swedish Hard Rock musician. It wasn't really until Europe made it, that people understood that it was possible. It's probably a little more catchy/commercial than the songs we usually wrote. All band members took part in the creation of "Runnin' Riot". That's the way we always did it, and still do. It's an important part of our sound. It's when everybody adds their pieces and way of playing it starts sounding like Torch. Judas Priest was (and is) a huge influence. You can probably tell that we had listened a couple of times to "Devils Child" when we created "Runnin' Riot". :-) With 'Electrikiss' out record label was hoping to trade us to a major label. They had just successfully traded Easy Action to Warner and were looking for a similar deal for us.They didn't tell us openly to write more commercial songs, but you could always tell that that they were hoping for it. That probably had some influence on the creation of 'Electrikiss'. It's interesting that you picked "Runnin' Riot". It's not one of our most popular songs like 'Warlock'. It's also from the album we're least satisfied with. For many years we would mainly say bad stuff about "Electrikiss". But now we've realized that a lot of fans love it. This caused me to go back and listen to it for the first time in many years. And it's not a bad album. It's a bit of a rush job, and the production is probably a bit 'over-the-top' 80s – but there are some good songs there. We're really happy that people still care about the music we created back in the 80s and we're overwhelmed by the response to our new 'Reignited' album. If someone would have told us back then that we would still be around and making music in 2021, we would probably have responded – Nah, we'll be dead by then. All the best and keep Runnin' Riot! 73. GLORY - I'm Hurt (1989) 72. CHARIZMA - Turn Me On (1986) Bosse Nikolausson: Well, it was a very long time ago but from what I remember the thing that inspired me and I think my brother with whom I wrote the song together with was that we wanted to write a song that was still hardrock but with a touch of pop and had a potential to become a hit, with radio potential. We've always been influenced by KISS and during that time they put in a little bit of a pop element into their music and think that probably inspired us to try it too. We wanted to try and do it a little bit differently than they did and we had a really great producer Hasse Engström, who's also an amazing keyboard player and he did an incredibly great job with the song. We wrote most of the song jamming in our rehearsal studio where we also did the pre production and recording a first draft. The first line of the song I think comes from the fact that our rehearsal studio was right on the water with windows facing the water and with a view of the harbor in our hometown Oskarshamn. Also when I write lyrics, I like to tell a story with a picturing a certain place in mind where it's really easy for me to get into a certain feeling that hopefully others also maybe can relate to, like you do when reading a book. I've always loved the ocean where I've, for as long as I can remember, used to go down to a lot, with that great sense of freedom, to think, deal with both the good and bad in life, dream, find peace of mind and to talk to God a little. I think that to summon up the song and what we're trying to say in the lyrics is that life has got a lot to offer where everything isn't really what it seems to be and what you hoped it would be but that there is something and someone greater that gives hope. I think that the songwriting style at the time was a time where melodies more and more became an important part of the songs in the hardrock genre and also keyboards, maybe especially in Europe also became an important part of the sound and production even though keyboardists we're not always permanent members. It felt like every new band in Sweden used keyboards in the mid 80's. Also sequencers and computers were just around the corner or had already started to being used. Regarding the song "Turn me on", I already mentioned KISS but other bands that I listened to a lot back in the mid-eighties and that probably has had an influence on my and the bands writing and especially reflects in the song "Turn me on" when it comes to melodies and harmonies is, Def Leppard, The Sweet, Stryper and maybe a little bit of Foreigner. Another band I listened to a lot in the early and mid 80's, which may not reflect in this song, but I mean really listened to a lot was Rainbow and to mention a few Scandinavian ones, Europe, Treat, Jerusalem, TNT but I also listened to classical music and artists like Howard Jones so I was a little bit all over the place. I think that we as a band during that period of time, that since we were jamming when writing the main parts of the songs we all contributed in putting a song together and to be fair I guess you could say that that was almost like a writing session in a studio with a computer would look like today. Göran Nikolausson: When we recorded Rock The World in 1985, we were very inspired by groups like KISS, Def Leppard, Europe and Bon Jovi. When we recorded "Turn Me On", we were looking more for a commercial AOR radio style. We listened a lot to artists like Aldo Nova, Boston, SABU, new Van Halen (1986). We were looking for a dance-friendly beat that we experimented with. We wanted to use effects, vary different sounds on guitars and electric guitars, synths, large choirs. We had a completely different text in the process "Don't you see that I am falling" (mostly to build a good melody hook, the text was more of a "blah text to be able to hum the melody). We wanted to paint a picture, create a feeling around the context. 'Standing by the shore' and thinking about life gives a broader perspective on life, what really matters and what is important. The other songs were jammed and recorded. Turn Me On was more of a definite process, where we were more sensitive to what would work on the radio. We felt that previous songs were good, but that none of the songs stood out. There was no given single song. However, it was "Turn Me On", very radio friendly for all kinds of channels, both P3 and P4. We decided entirely ourselves, as we ran the company ourselves. The producer was very important to the final production. He came from a different musical context, which created a different sound than if we had produced the song ourselves. The text is about love, the first verse is about human love and being left and abandoned and the feeling that it means, and that everything in life is changeable. Verse two is about discovering what is lasting, that is, being unconditionally loved by God, no matter what happens in life. That God never turns his back on anyone even if they have failed and made mistakes. Instead, he lifts up the one who has fallen and gives him the strength to try again. It thus becomes a comparative perspective between what is the great difference between human and God's love. 71. BLACKSMITH - Gipsy Queen (1985)
70. POWER - Danger (1987) 69. 220 VOLT - The Harder They Come (1988)
68. EASY ACTION - We Go Rockin' (1983) Peo Thyren: We were rehearsing in my parents garage in my home town Gustavsberg, where I grew up. Our lead guitarist, Mr Kee Marcello, started playing a cool kind of boogie riff that reminded me a little bit of ZZ Top, and had a shuffle beat. It stuck out a little bit for a Glam rock band in the 80s to have a song with that kind of beat. For some reason I started singing 'We go rocking tonight', and there we had the hook i.e. the first part of the chorus. I think Kee wrote the music for the verses, and most of the music in that song in general, and our dear singer Mr Zinny J San most of the lyrics to the verses. Party spirit and having a good time. We were ready to take on the world. As I recall it Zinny wrote most of the lyrics to the verses, but I probably came up with the words for the chorus hook. 'We Go Rocking' is a blend of a lot of things. The shuffle beat may have been inspired by "Rock n' Roll, Part 2" by Gary Glitter. In retrospective there may also have just a tiny pinch of Hanoi Rocks somewhere in the mix. Perhaps some Billy Idol as well. The label didn´t have any input whatsoever in the writing or recording process. We did it all by ourselves. As the song was written by Kee, Zinny and myself, it was our baby. And what about the POISON story? (they stole your song!?). That's a long story. We have been told years later that they had a copy of our record in the studio when they recorded their debut album, and discussed doing a cover recording of the song, but ended up saying 'Nah, let's do a rip off instead'. For all you Scandinavians out there I highly recommend that you check out my latest book (it's in Swedish) 'Från Noice till nu – Du lever bara en gång' which contains lots of crazy, fun stuff we did in Easy Action as well as other bands I've played in (Sha-Boom being another). I nowadays work as CEO for a tech company doing literally the coolest singing app on the planet. It's called Sing Along Official and contains original recordings by some of the greatest rock bands ever. In this app you get an idea of what it would sound like if you were the lead singer in any of them.
67. UNIVERSE - Weekend Warrior (1985)
66. HEAVY LOAD - Heavy Metal Angels (In Metal and Leather) (1982)
65. TRASH - Boogie Woogie Man (1985)
64. HEXENHAUS - As Darkness Falls (1988)
63. LEVITICUS - On The Rock (1985) 62. YNGWIE MALMSTEEN - Deja Vu (1988)
61. DALTON - Caroline (1987)
60. PARASITE - Nightwinds (1984) Anders Holmström: Cool! In fact, the first time I get the question about the song. I was a big fan of hard rock for a long time, Rainbow, DP, Zeppelin, Cream, Hendrix etc. But I think the whole band was inspired by "the new wave of British heavy metal" that appeared in the early 80's. The sound was probably a mix of Saxon, Motorhead, Rainbow, Dio and Iron Maiden I would say. The song was actually written 1.5-2 years before this particular recording was made in 1984. The riff itself was a "spinoff" of a reagge riff that I had done a few years earlier. I always used to sit with the guitar and test / play different variants (which I still do). The verse as well, I like when you can have "open positions" chords. The whole guitar sings more like that. The calm intro / outrot is based on the verse part and I had to borrow a 12-string guitar from the music store in town during the actual recording. I played it live on the electric guitar all the way though. Then a chorus was needed that broke off and differed from the other, tried a few different things here as well. Then we put all the parts together in the rehearsal room. The text is based on a film by John Carpenter called "The Thing" mixed with fantasy. Early Rainbow was a great source of inspiration with Dio's lyrics. I had read in "Highway star" (fan magazine for Deep Purple members) that Rainbow's next album would possibly be called Nightwinds. Which it did not. We rehearsed / played as often as we could and almost lived in the rehearsal room. If anyone had an idea / ideas, the arrangement of the song were worked out together. Which is an incredibly creative process! Today, no one seems to have the time/ patience for that. A big compliment to Hellrec studio, Ulf Hellström (R.I.P) & Anders Strengberg (Sacrifice) who helped us capture the sound!!! Played on a Stratocaster-79 that I carved out to fit a humbuck (Seymour duncan JB) in bridge mode. I also remember that we connected two 50 W Marshall in series and that I had a Tube Screamer to get the guitar sound. It was LOUD!!!! It was not possible to be in the room itself, but I had to stand in the drum booth and play, lol! 59. FINGERPRINTS - Time Is All We Need (1989)
58. SACRIFICE - Street Fighter (1985) Anders String Strengberg: Thanks for including 'Street Fighter' in the Top-100. The song melody is huge, important for Street Fighter's other music(al) accompaniment and the two guitarists' solos and licks! Because it is the song melody that connects the verse, the bridge, and the chorus which magically floats and gives 'Street Fighter' what it still is today- 36 years later! Both girls and boys born after 1985, even women and men who are in their 60s are writing to let me know what SF means to them. Many write that it is not only the best Hard Rock/Metal, NWOBHM song of the 80s but even as of today! They come from all over the world!! Listen carefully to the lead vocals! I sing the whole song in 1 shot/take, listen especially to how I "push" the bridge and go straight to the refrain! There's no clip but can you hear me breathing? I do not do that, however, I push the song and vocals to the max. Sacrifice fans from Brazil wrote that they competed at pre-parties about who could sing along to my lead vocals before they needed to breathe? From Janne Stark's The Official Story Of Sacrifice: 'It all started back in 1985 with the single 'Street Fighter', now a high-priced collectors item. The band had booked time in Studio Hellrec, where Anders worked as a recording engineer. When it was time for the singer to do his part, it turned out he had left the band just the day before. The band members were however too embarrassed to cancel the recording. Instead they asked Anders if he could possibly record vocals for the tracks. He told the guys to go out and buy back some food. During their absence, he wrote lyrics and worked on the vocal melodies. 30 minutes later he had recorded the vocals and joined the project'. -All this is completely true except that I did not write the text! I made some minor adjustments though, writing lyrics, do the song melody, arrangement and sing lead/ dubbing refrain. It had never worked in 30 minutes? Everything except the text I did in about 30 minutes though. In 1985 I was 22 years old working in Hellrec Studio as a recording technician, producer. You mentioned Parasite? Their EP was the first one I produced (1984) and a lot of other bands /artists.
57. ALIEN - Tears Don't Put Out The Fire (1988)
56. SPELLBOUND - Burning Love (1984)
55. MADISON - Give It Back (1986) Michael Moon (Myllie): Do I recall what inspired me to compose and arrange the music? This is a question that comes up from time to time. Since the undersigned was responsible for most of the music and arrangement, I should be most suited to answer that question... ha,ha,ha. The answer: we in the band had a discussion about Europe and their Rock The Night (which we also liked a lot). The question that was asked was how the hell could they write such a good, simple song. I responded with a naive comment that "it's no problem. I'm writing a new Rock The Night". Yes, not as good but with clear inspiration. We tried to write a hit to be played on the radio. A hit single kind of track. Think we ended up on a newcomer list. Does it capture my typical songwriting style at the time? Well, I do not know. Everything should and did sound like that in the eighties. Have no good answer actually. The melody of its time. It was like the sound you thought it and wanted it to be. Flashy riffs and good choruses. Apart from Europe, when it comes to Give It Back, all the biggest bands were a great inspiration. Ratt, Def Leppard, Bon Jovi. Personally, I have always loved YES, do not know if it was reflected in the music I wrote though. When it comes to Madison, everyone had a part in the songwriting even if the idea came from one person. We wrote everything together, more or less. Do not remember what input the record company had more than that they were helpful in most of what we did. Maybe we should have listened to them more? Madison reissued Best In Show in 2019. Remixed. Think the remix was pretty good. Sounds better than I remember the record to sound actually. Thus, the contemporary platters released in the 80's sounded incomparably good. We probably didn't really get the sound we wanted there and then. Madison has been reunited in a different line-up today. Have unfortunately not taken part of their material, but I guess that it is both well played and ok produced.
54. YNGWIE MALMSTEEN - Queen In Love (1986)
53. TREAT - Strike Without a Warning (1986)
52. ALIEN - Go Easy (1988) Jim Jidhed: It's so long ago now but I think i felt then as I still do, that its a great song. I still today really think that song has the ultimate arrangement for a pop/rock song. I dont recall much from tracking that song in particular since its over thirty years ago. But it was a both fun and great experience recording that album. I think we were trying to capture a sound and feeling of what the rock stood for at the time. In our case, melodic rock. I'm not sure Iunderstand the question, but we had songs on that album that were written by other songwriters and Go Easy was one of those. We didn't considerd that a problem. Does it capture our style of music at the time? Well, if you compare a song like 'Touch My Fire' written by Alien with 'Go Easy' you can hear some difference but it still matches in a way. Our own songs had a more rock feel to them while the other songs had a more american pop/rock feel but at the time we were happy with the result in whole concerning that first Alien album. On our first big tour in 1988 after we had a huge hit with 'Only One Woman' we went through many crazy things. Like loosing our brakes on our bus going down a road or losing a wheel on our bus trailer and everyone, the road crew and band had to step out of it and look for the tire. I can go on but there you got some craziness. 51. BEHEMOTH - Deathwings (1982) QUICK LINKS: [ 100 - 76 ] [ 75 - 51 ] [ 50 - 26 ] [ 25 - 1 ] |