I've actually come across this beauty once on a record fair and I must
say I consider it one of my greatest collector mistakes to not have picked
it up when I had the chance. It would have been a new personal record
in most cash spent on a 7", but hearing this music now on a less
than perfect CDR-rip and still kicking myself for letting it slip through
my fingers feels so much worse than a momentary dent in the monthly beer
& debauchery-budget. Even though I love this kind of cover art it
left me rather skeptical of their musical qualities. It gives quite a
rugged impression, doesn't it? Well, fuck me! This is one of the best,
most well-produced and classy Scandinavian Metal singles I've heard in
a looooong time! (months, in all likelihood...)
"Shadows Are Falling" start out like the darker side of THIN
LIZZY riding on the back of a MAIDEN-tempo and then goes into classic
melodic Scanda-metal a la
RISING FORCE/early EUROPE on the chorus. It's
a very instant, catchy tune and so
NOT green-cannibalistic-space-monster-invoking
it'll give you quite a chuckle on the first listening. On the other side
of the river Styx we find "The Beast", a song so similar to
BRAINFEVER's "Capture The Night" we could very well be talking
pure theft here, but since the German's epic classic is one of Europe's
finest Metal moments it's quite impossible not to love this awesome song.
It makes this 7" is a perfect reminder of how rare double-A hit singles
are in this field of private demo-vinyls, so what the heck, let's forgive them their trespasses, OK?
From my own experience, the RANDY single is the rarest of the very few
private Danish 7"s issued in the 80's and no-one seem to know much
about the band's history or demography. Judging from these 2 trax they
had the solid backbone of pure Heavy Metal Class-A Quality to have released
a quite respectable full-length, but as fate has decided, it's now the
responsibility of the Metal-archeologists, cult-label executives and bootleggers
to settle the score. Go-go-gadget-reissue-LP!
It's a shame that this band released only one single and one 7-songer demo (1987). I have only listened to the single that contains two masterpieces in the vain of NWoBHM with remarkable vocals and great music. Nothing else can be said, just grab this piece of vinyl and discover this great band. If there is somebody that has the demo please contact me.
Some copies of this EP turned up years ago when a danish Heavy Metal Maniac bought the last copies from the band itself and spread it amoung the hysteric Metal crowd. I like the cover pic..totally Metal...yeah these guys knew what we want..we want blood! The EP features 2 tracks that are totally different sounding. "Shadows are falling" offers strong NWOBHM influences, just typical for this genre. The track is quite listenable but some heavyness is missed, although I'm far away from saying it's boring. nö nö... And "The beast" is just...a hammer of steel! Yeah boys! You bring it! An uptempo smash hit where your heads will be automatically starting to move. That solo still is robbing my mind every time I hear that track. So there is a 50:50 chance that "Shadows are falling" is not their typical sound you may think now...äähh..wrong guys...their "Demo 87" contains an unreleased album and all tracks do sound in the "Shadows are falling" vein, but mainly far weaker...so enjoy this EP and salute RANDY with a lonely beer...