Tuesday, April 10, 2018

Chasar - Gypsy Roller. 1983 Scotland


Yes, this. This is exactly the type of NWOBHM music I'm looking for. Ambitious, yet amateurish. A clear product of the early 80s cassette culture. Some lads from Scotland get together in a room, listen to Rush's Permanent Waves, and decide on the spot to create a band in the spirit of Iron Maiden, Saxon, et al, but with a bit more creativity and free flow of ideas. Perhaps a label like Neat took a sniff, but couldn't comprehend the complexity of the music, and politely declined (in the vernacular "No fookin' way you bloody wankers"). And so the band went about releasing it on cassette, where it made a name for itself among the trading set of the day. This was then picked up by the confusingly named UK based American Phonograph for LP - except they had no metal history, and less distribution skills. Finally, now four years later, the ultimate bottom feeder Mausoleum decides to release it, but with a new cover and title (Gypsy Roller). And then... off into the mists of obscurity it went. And has yet to be discovered 35 years later, awaiting a proper reissue of some kind - any kind.

As noted about the music above, it definitely wears its Rush patch proudly, as well as adding some metal crunch. Nothing too heavy mind you, and there's plenty of guitar solos in the 70s hard rock tradition. One can hear the same embryonic steps that Manilla Road were taking at a similar time, different place. Another reference would be the obscure Florida based group UHF. Easy recommendation for those predisposed to these kind of sounds. And we know who we are - don't we?


Ownership: LP: 1987 Mausoleum (Belgium). Single sleeve. Recent online acquisition (2018). Originally issued as simply Chasar on cassette and two years later on LP. As noted above, no reissues exist.


4/10/18 (new entry)

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