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Which album do you prefer of TB?Which singer Alan Marsh or Vic Wright?I certainly prefer Vic Wright.The debut of Tokyo Blade had ''If Heaven Is Hell''(the best TB song)
and some great cuts but unfortunately two-three trax boring.As for their second LP the band progressed naturally making better songs so it was wise for me to change the singer and find Vic so they released one of the best metal albums ever and surely one of the 5-best british records.Tokyo Blade was one of the very first bands to hear from Metal(somewhere in 97-98 ) so their music was a lot of inspiration for me(Judas Priest actually started listened much later).I also think the two tracks of the single Fever and Attack,Attack the track that included also in the reissue was two also of their best tracks.Has anyone heard later albums by TB i think some of them released also by the legendary label GAMA records.Can someone upload ''Black Hearts And Jaded Spades'' i have it only in vynil?

I voted for the first album (strangely it has 2 different names "Tokyo Blade" or "Midnight Rendez vous" and different track lists , it depends on which label it has been released I guess !), this first album contains so much TB classics : "If Heaven is Hell", "Break the Chains", "Killer City", ...

I never could stand Vic Wright vocals ! I've never listened to their newer stuff, worth hearing ?

Definitely the first for me too.

The debut is the only regular LP release worth listening to. Vic Wright is just horrible.
But I strongly recommend the "Night of the Blade - The Night Before" CD, which is basically Night of the Blade in its original form, with Alan Marsh on vocals.

...please don't shoot me, but I actually quite like 'No Remorse' believe it or not. Something about the songs & the horrible vocals that I dig!

...the first album is a classic tho'! 'Night Of The Blade' is also very good...

I have the 'Live From London' DVD which I havent even watched yet!

I cast a vote for Night of the Blade actually. I know the vocals aren't all that great, but I suppose it has something to do with the fact it's the first TB album I heard (back when it first came out). The first album is great too, but there are some filler songs on it that make me put Night of the blade over it. Fever is such a great song.

As a side note, I always thought they were a band who never really realised their potential. Some great songs, but there were always filler tunes among them on their albums, and then they turned commercial and I lost all interest. TB at their best though was fantastic.

"No Remorse" ey? That was the first Tokyo Blade I heard. For the occasional dabble in some commercial sounding stuff or whatever they call it... AOR? I like "1000 Years/The Eye Of The Storm" its a good track! The rest of the album isn't that good at all, though there are a couple of other moments I don't mind.

Out of these I choose the first one! But my favorite is actually No Remorse - very catchy, great and unique vocals with superb songwriting and some of the coolest guitar tones I've ever heard, plus the solos are outstanding!!!

peavy wrote:But my favorite is actually No Remorse - very catchy, great and unique vocals with superb songwriting and some of the coolest guitar tones I've ever heard, plus the solos are outstanding!!!

Very underrated album, i agree with you! "Shadows of insanity" is my favorite Tokyo Blade track along with "Attack, attack".

omen of hate wrote:I voted for the first album (strangely it has 2 different names "Tokyo Blade" or "Midnight Rendez vous" and different track lists , it depends on which label it has been released I guess !), this first album contains so much TB classics : "If Heaven is Hell", "Break the Chains", "Killer City", ...

another case of great band management...

has there been a cd reissue with the full session on it?

Re-released by High Vaultage in 1997 with five bonus tracks from 'Midnight Rendezvous' EP

This would be the version to get, Then you wouldn't need to get both the S/T and Midnight Rendezvous as it combines both versions into one.

the christian at no life til metal wrote:Remastered and re-released by High Vaultage Records in 1997. While this self title album was their first full-length album, later pressings carried the name "Midnight Rendezvous" and added some different tracks. This CD contains all the tracks from both pressings. It also includes a 12-page booklet that includes a biography, lyrics and photos. This version also restores the original, silly track, "Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia". The bonus tracks here are a bit more polished than the original songs from the self-titled, but are still prime NWOBHM. "If Heaven is Hell" has to be one of the catchiest tracks ever written.

Midnight Rendezvous was originally released as a MLP with four tracks. It was later reissued as an LP with four bonus tracks from the first LP I think, so it's not really a different version of the LP, but a different version of the MLP.

mordred wrote:Midnight Rendezvous was originally released as a MLP with four tracks. It was later reissued as an LP with four bonus tracks from the first LP I think, so it's not really a different version of the LP, but a different version of the MLP.

yeah, i think you're right here - i remember seeing both versions of it in the store and went for the one w/ 8 songs just to avoid picking them both up and being superflous

of course, now that i am thinking back on this, my ocd is kicking in and wished i had bought both of them for completeness sake, but thats neither here nor there

So, have you all checked out "Night of the Blade - The Night Before" yet? If not, do so. It's "Night of the Blade" as it should have been. With Alan Marsh on vocals.
Here's the track list:

1. Night of the Blade
2. Warrior of the Rising Sun
3. Unleash the Beast
4. Love Struck
5. Attack Attack
6. Fever
7. Dead of the Night
8. Breakout
9. Madame Guillotine
10. Someone to Love

It's actually a really worthy successor to the debut album, unlike the homosexual abomination that was finally released back then, with some songs switched and Alan Marsh replaced with the horrendous Vic Wright.

mordred wrote:homosexual abomination

That's the title for my band's first demo sorted out. Cheers!