Is there any mystery left in Olde Metal Hunting? A harsh question perhaps, but to the cynics and sceptics The Corroseum's answer will always be "Yes!" Plenty of features on this site will prove this point, often
dealing with artifacts possibly even more obscure than those presented below. Yet strangely enough, the
US and Canadian Heavy Metal 7"-scene
is still one of the least explored niches in the domain of Old Metal Vinyl Collecting, at least in relation to its size and popularity. Hence forum member and long-time fan & collector of rare American 7"s, Kristian "Khnud" Knutsson has taken on this impossible feat of documentation, making this the 3rd and - surely in the long run - largest Singles-Special of The Corroseum to date...
A note on rarity Most of the releases reviewed herein are to be considered rare, usually released in either 500 or 1000 copies by small independent labels, or by the bands themselves. The rating is therefore an attempt at approximating how often an item shows up for sale.
= Rather common, a copy can most likely be found without too much effort
= Uncommon, still turns up a few times per year
= Rare, you'll most likely have to search a bit before you find one
= Very rare, expect to have to search several years before one turns up
= More or less impossible to find. The number of known copies can be counted with the fingers of one hand
Also, please note that rarity scores might change over time. A good example would be the Hazardous Waste 45, which was once believed to have been released in only 200 copies and was at that point a very expensive and desired item. Many years later another 300 copies were discovered in a warehouse and the item is, at the time this is written, reasonably easy to find at an affordable price.
A note on ratingReviews are subjective. What I think is great, someone else might think is crap. And the other way around. I strongly suggest using the reviews as a general guide and not as a definitive quality indicator.
= Bad. You probably don't need this unless you're a manic completist (like yours truly)
= Ok, but nothing spectacular
= Good, definitely worth checking out
= Great, buy or die!
= You need this more than oxygen...
Finally, I'd like to thank John Haupt, without him this project would never have been possible.
View the 20 latest entries below, or browse by letter:
World War III - Intensive Care / Come And Get It
(Dorcas Records, 1982)"Intensive Care" definitely is one of the hidden gems of the 80's, being a total no frills classic powerful heavy metal track. Not many US bands sounded like this as early as 1982. The bad news is that the b-side "Come and get it" is a bit of a let down by comparison. The good news is that if you don't want to ruin yourself completely, both tracks are available as bonus tracks on the CD re-release of their self titled album. Rating: - Rarity: - Country:
Uncle Sam - Seattle / Rise Up Proud Eagle
(Emerald Records, 1985)Well, at least there's no question which city and country these guys came from. If you have the stomach to digest the rather cheesy and overly patriotic lyrics, the music actually isn't that bad, like a more metallic THE WHO. It's essentially the perfect sound track when advancing your troops north of the Washington State border, with the mission to turn Canada into the 51st state. Rating: - Rarity: - Country:
Thunderhead - Sled Dog Boogie / It Could Have Been You
(private, 1982)Arctic themed southern hard rock? Now I've heard everything. Looking at the record, you'll see a guy with a flying V on horseback. And the (very aptly named, I'll give 'em that) a-side is a boogie rock song about driving your dog sled through the snow. Pardon me if I feel a tad bit confused. The slower and definitely heavier b-side isn't half bad though. Rating: - Rarity: - Country:
Rock Blvd. - Y R U Lyin' / One Time Lover
(Fraternity Records, 1987)Definitely above average melodic metal, complete with fancy guitar work, great choruses, non cheesy keyboards etc. Had these guys from Nevada been more fortunate, they could have become the North American answer to EUROPE. But alas, as we all know - talent doesn't automatically mean success. Rating: - Rarity: - Country:
Holiday Shark - Stars At Twenty Five / Shake Up The World
(Great White, 1984)Humans are a predominantly visual species, we tend to rely on eyesight rather than smell, touch and sound. This likely proves why this very good hard rock/heavy metal hybrid combining JUDAS PRIEST riffs with more commercial TRIUMPH sounding choruses remains such a complete obscurity. I'll tell you why. It's because the picture sleeve is completely atrocious and whoever designed it is in serious need of optical reconstruction. And if the sleeve looks that bad, people will think the music is bad too. And in this case, it definitely isn't. Rating: - Rarity: - Country:
Heritage - Doomsday Heritage
(Pyramid Records, 1994)Post ELECTRIC EELS, now boasting a female singer. And much more metal oriented, even though both songs were written for the eels. Unfortunately this came out a bit too late to make any lasting impact on the Californian metal scene, and will most likely be remembered as a weaker HELLION clone. Rating: - Rarity: - Country:
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Gotham - (12 O'Clock And) All Is Well / The Witness Stand
(Crazy 8, 1989)A prime example of supreme US power metal in the vein of LIEGE LORD or JAG PANZER, featuring the well known formula consisting of great riffs combined with powerful vocals. Identical versions of both songs are included on the 2003 compilation LP released by Doomed Planet Records. Rating: - Rarity: - Country:
Faith of Steel - Metal With Meaning / Our Savior
(private, 1986)Ouch. This piece of metal might have meaning (a euphemism for preachy lyrics), but that's about all it has going for it. The vocals are quite weak, the playing is somewhat sloppy and the songs are about as amateurish as a kindergarten symphony orchestra. But what really makes this a cut below the rest are the absolutely atrocious guitar solos. They're out of tune, out of place, out of bounds, and just mind numbingly senseless. I know some people like this, but for the life of me I cannot see why. Unless you are a manic collector of christian music, I suggest staying as far away as possible from this. Rating: - Rarity: - Country:
Azalia - Watcha Gonna Do / Another Guitar Player Gone
(Silver Circle Records, 1982)Warning: total THE DOOBIE BROTHERS ripoff alert - "Watcha Gonna Do" is just a rockier version of their 70's hit "Long Train Runnin". Well, at least they skipped the congas. The b-side is pretty generic hard rock with a hefty dose of boogie, much like STATUS QUO. I'm afraid it doesn't get more interesting than this. Rating: - Rarity: - Country:
Ablaze - Psychopath / Sadistic Dream
(private, 1986)"Psychopath" is absolutely unrelenting power/thrash metal that never lets go from the moment the singer spits out the first word with a delivery so full of venom you'll instinctively want to call 911 and request an antidote. Unfortunately, the b-side semi power ballad isn't really up to the same level and also suffers from perhaps a few too many glass shattering falsetto screams. Still, this is one of the best metal 45s to come out of Canada, ever. Rating: - Rarity: - Country:
Vikron - Long Cool Woman / King Of The City
(Broccoli Rabe Records, 1986)If you don't mind paying a small fortune for one original song and one cover (yes, that's THE HOLLIES getting a US metal tune up, right there), then I s'pose you could do worse than tracking down a copy of this. Still, I can think of many other private 45s that will do a much better job of pleasing both your ears and your wallet. Yes, you heard me right. Despite its grail like status, it isn't really anything special. Just decent, run of the mill, 80's heavy metal. Rating: - Rarity: - Country:
Trooper - In The Dark / Devil's Million
(Reindeer Records, 1987)Pummelling, galloping metal that just oozes teenage lust with every panting breath. You'll know what I mean when you listen to the lyrics to "In The Dark", which I'm certain entertained more than one high school metal head about to experience their first ever sexual encounter. "Devil's Million" is a more mature affair, drawing from a diverse palette of heavy riffs, melodic interludes and decent solos. Still, I can't help but to think of "Gimme Shelter" by Mr. Jagger et al when hearing the chorus. Rating: - Rarity: - Country:
Trinity - Firey Skies / Steal The Wings
(private, 1984)I know I name drop these guys a lot, but there's no doubt this is yet another RUSH clone. On "Firey Skies" (sic), the band try their best "Signals" or "Grace Under Pressure"-era imitation, perhaps forgetting to add keyboards in the process. The flip side has much more of a "Fly By Night" feel to it. While both songs are decent in their own way, they are pretty far off when comparing them with the real deal. And there are indeed some much better clones reviewed here (SABOTAGE come to mind) if you're in the mood (see what I did there?) for some Canadian power trio worship. Rating: - Rarity: - Country:
Swift Kick - Make Some Noise / Lady Killer
(private, 1982)This outfit from Long Island is perhaps most known for having 2 members who later went on to play in DANGER DANGER. They also released a 4 song EP released two years later but this 45 is way superior to anything else they recorded. "Make Some Noise" has a much richer and more melancholic sound compared to the EP version, but the real gem is "Lady Killer". A speedy, raunchy ripper of a song with great leads and a catchy chorus. You can't ask for much more than that. Rating: - Rarity: - Country:
Stonehenge - Cats Eyez / Heavy Metal Woman
(Stonehenge, 1985)Great, powerful heavy metal with a slightly maniacal vocalist. The band displays a surprising amount of diversity, especially on the epic "Heavy Metal Woman", nodding more than a few heads to similar mystic metal bands such as WYZARD, IMAGE etc. And interestingly enough, the chorus sounds exactly like METALUCIFER, even though this was released almost a decade earlier. I wouldn't be surprised to find this 45 in certain record collections in Japan. Rating: - Rarity: - Country:
Rok Sally - Blind Attitude / Head On Strong
(SRA Records, 1988)Pretty generic arena rock/hair metal, you betcha these guys loved KISS and early BON JOVI. "Head On Strong" is actually a quite good track with galloping rhythms and a strong melody, but it could probably do without the over the top whammy bar gymnastics at the end. Rating: - Rarity: - Country:
Rapid Tears - Headbang / Wonderland
(Chameleon Records, 1982)The second 45 from these maniacs from Toronto, Canada. Unfortunately both songs are identical versions to the ones included on their godly "Honestly" LP, minus the short intro to "Wonderland" that we're left without on this single. I really can't see the need to make a "single edit" of a song that was only 02:45 minutes to begin with but hey, we're still treated to two high octane guitar assaults, both very much in the vein of SAVAGE (UK). There's also a sleeveless version of this, apparently released one year earlier. Rating: - Rarity: - Country:
Mercenary - She's Evil / Plastic Eyes
(Empire Records, 1982)This is LEGEND mastermind Kevin Nugent's band from the 80's. And to no surprise it's a quite unique sounding affair, at once both progressive, quirky and epic while still firmly rooted in traditional hard rock and heavy metal. And, as expected, it all works out great. Even the long, jazzy, guitar and keyboard interludes fit in perfectly. There's not really another band that sounds similar (except LEGEND, of course), so this is one you really have to hear for yourself. And you should absolutely give this a chance, as both songs are completely stellar. Rating: - Rarity: - Country:
Mayhem - Flight To The Sea / Just Feeling Fine
(Mayhem Music Inc., 1989)The second of the two singles released by this Missouri troupe. Although the punk influences can still be found lurking beneath the surface this is a lot more pub rock oriented, reminiscent of borderline NWOBHM acts such as LIGHTNING RAIDERS. Still, it makes for some great sing a long choruses, so grab your beverage of choice and get to it. Rating: - Rarity: - Country:
Lust - Rock It On Out / Long Legged Sally
(No Mountain Records, 1983)No relation to any of the other bands sharing the same name. This incarnation of Lust is pure good 'ole raw, dirty, and mean Texas galloping hard rock, with that special Southern feel to it. It kinda makes you want to grab your bottle of whiskey, put on your boots and Stetson hat, and go fishing with a stick of dynamite. Some copies came with the band name stamped on the sleeve, I suggest you get that one. Rating: - Rarity: - Country:
...and the mandatory, accompanying, downloadable CDR-samplers:
For comments, questions and critique praise of this guide, please visit the designated North-American Heavy Metal 7"s Guide-thread in the forum, or contact The Corroseum (all messages concerning this guide will be forwarded to Khnud)
