Forgotten Metal: Outstanding Metal Gems

Artist: Tyrant's Reign , Ray Gunn , and Ivory Tiger
Label: Revenge of True Jp
Category: Music

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Format: Import
Media: Audio CD

UPC: 667344368229
EAN: 0667344368229
ASIN: B0009UWZR2

Release Date: 2006-06-22

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Customer Reviews:

Three bands...three different metal music sounds to enjoy!.......2005-09-07

Hi Metal Fans! Earlier this year I discovered this series of triple threats from the Revenge Of True Metal(?) label and became immediately intreagued! There are 18 seperate discs in this series that chronicles some of the underground metal scenes most obscure recordings from the 1980's (mostly anyway...a few from the early 90's). Each one features 3 complete recodings by different heavy metal artists, making a total of 54 full-length LPs and EPs in all, so each one is jam packed with music!

I purchased a complete set of these and have now had time to listen to each one and, since these are expensive and many of you have no doubt never heard (or heard of!) a lot of the bands on these recordings, I thought I would help out and offer my reviews of each one and thereby recommend some of the better volumes in the series! Hope all my effort helps you pick the best ones!

Volume 2 features music by the bands TYRANT'S REIGN, RAY GUNN and IVORY TIGER.

First up on Volume 2 is the metal group TYRANT'S REIGN and their 1987 LP called "Year Of The Tyrants". This band hails from Illinois, USA and remind me of a number of different groups in the metal genre. The music is somewhat chunky, but never overly disorganized. After hearing the singer I immediately think of groups like DETENTE who have a huge high-pitched screamer at the vocal helm. Musically they aren't too far away from DETENTE either, but I also seem to think of bands like TYRANT and for some reason NASTY SAVAGE, although TYRANT'S REIGN is much more power and speed than the chorusy and more mainstream stuff that NASTY SAVAGE put out in the mid to late 80's. In all I liked the effort from this group quite a bit. I'm still in awe of how many super guitarists were around in the 80's working in the underground that never got any credit. TYRANT'S REIGN have two of their own in Karl Miller and Chris Nelken. If you like the heavier bands of the early MetalBlade and Medusa era, you'll love TYRANT'S REIGN. They'd have made a great fit for that family of labels back then! This group has actually reformed in the past year and in 2004 put out a self-titled CD with new material and a few updated songs from their 1987 release as well!

Next on Volume 2 is the self-titled album by RAY GUNN released in 1987. Yes, Ray Gunn is a person's name and doubles as the entire group's monnicker as well. Gunn plays lead guitar in this band, which instantly makes you expect a heaping of licks and solos within the landscape of the record's 9 tracks. In fact we do get a bunch of nice guitar to enjoy, but I was impressed by the quality of the group built around Ray and his, well...Gunn! The vocals are very reminiscent of early David Wayne (METAL CHURCH) and to me these guys also sounded a great deal like some Christian metal acts of the same time frame. Especially bands like RECON and SACRED WARRIOR come to mind! This band would have made a super fit for the Shrapnel label. Too bad they didn't stick around to make more great metal music for us all. But at least we can now savour the delights of their one full-length LP on Volume 2 of the Outstanding Metal Gems series!

Finally to finish up on Volume 3 we get the "Metal Mountain" 4 track EP from US metalurgists IVORY TIGER. This album was recorded in 1985 and serves as the only official entry into the annuls of metal history for the band. No one really specifically comes to mind at first when I hear these guys. The vocals are quite varied from front-man Bob Hoffman. Sometimes screechy and screamy and at others more melodic and mournful. Musically the band has a thick underbelly with a deep heavy sound in the bass and leads. I suppose MANILLA ROAD isn't out of the question as a comparative, but there are certainly other classic metal influences at work here too. Not bad at all, plus the cover art wins best and worst of the other two competitors on Volume 2. It's an oil painting (I think?) of a white tiger on a snowy plain mounted by what looks like Carmen Elektra playing an extra in the movie "Children Of The Damned". Bob Ross was definately not the coach of this guy's work, as this reminds me so much of many of the things that were hung in my high school showcase outside the art department. So much fun in so many ways are these old underground works. I love them for many different reasons!

All in all a pretty varied set of music in Volume 2. From TYRANT'S REIGN'S heavier sounds to RAY GUNN's more melodic stylings to the true metal sounds of IVORY TIGER, I can definately recommend Volume 2. It's not the best in the series, but there are weaker ones you could choose for certain.

Music CD:

Music CD

Music CD

Music CD

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