Kaseke - Poletus + Sonum (EP). 1983; 1981 Estonia

Kaseke were a band that straddled the line between instrumental progressive rock and jazz fusion with sparse vocals. The CD combines all of their output, though in reverse order. Personally I think the stronger - or at least more consistent - material is on the EP, so I would have started chronologically. Mostly Kaseke will remind the listener of the lighter Scandinavian progressive rock acts like early Ragnarok, Dice, Atlas, and Finnforest. The production and some of the instrumentation is Soviet style so brace yourself for that. There's some really strong songwriting on these. I'm particularly fond of B3. And the EP features flute, which adds more spice to the stew.

Ownership: CD: 2000 Boheme (Russia). Jewel case release with a nice history in English. I originally started with the Melodiya LP (1996), but sold it off once the CD came out. To no regret.

1996; 2000; 9/25/23 (new entry)

Amenophis. 1983 Germany

Plenty more Round Ups to add back in, but let's blend in some of those revisit items I referred to.

There's a comfort level I experience with albums like Amenophis. No matter how wide my stylistic brush continues to go, I still enjoy coming back to the warm tones of European progressive rock. This is my happy place (I'm soooooo modern and sensitive lol). Amenophis were part of that large German movement of symphonic prog bands starting in the late 70s who looked towards England for their muse. Almost a rejection of the wild and wooly Krautrock that dominated the country throughout the early part of the decade. Genesis and Camel are two bands that leap right out. And Amenophis also has a strange predilection for Spanish music it would seem, noted in the rhythms. Take away the awkward English vocals, and you could convince me they're from Catalonia. 

Ownership: LP: 1983 private. Super thin oversized single cover. Like two poster cards glued together. As such the cover can be easily damaged, though my copy is fortunately pristine (better than these stock images - though my copy doesn't have the lyric inner). Purchased from a mail order dealer in 1992. For many years I also owned the Musea CD. As is usual with the label, they feature excellent historical liner notes. The bonus tracks, however, are modern and irrelevant. So I photo'd the liners and sold the CD.

1992; 3/27/23 (new entry)

Fragile - The Album. 1983 USA-California

Seems of late I've been going all-in for Female Fronted AOR, but it's a coincidence I assure you. With Lucksinger, Freeway, and Freeze all getting time on the turntable, it appears I have found a new genre to seek. Only problem is - I didn't keep any of those. Freeze was close, the others were not. But San Jose's Fragile takes it one step further. Their music is heavier than the other bands, and the synthesizer work is deliciously thick. There's even some Hammond here - it's a total 70s rig Hank Shaheen's got set up, and I sense he's the primary songwriter, though the band as a collective take the credit. And Dean Palmer shows up big with some great guitar solos. In this way, the band remind me of Alpha Centauri (Colorado), that I also recently crowed about. Despite the band's moniker, this isn't really prog, though elements of the genre creep in. Primarily - again - due to the 70s analog keyboard presence. Vocalist Jane Brey has a decidedly non-sweet voice recalling Pat Benatar. Definitely one of the better FFAOR albums I've heard.

Ownership: LP: 1983 Big Cheese. Single sleeve. Other than Lucksinger, all of these FFAOR albums came from JL, so I'm guessing that was/is his fetish. Surprisingly the band reissued this on CD in 2009. Though I'm sure that will prove to be harder to find than this LP. The cover as shown isn't exactly correct, as it has a white border drawn within. My copy has some substance and some writing, so I won't be able to override what's in Discogs. The date is on the label, which I could photo I suppose, perhaps one day.

10/29/22 (new entry)

Culprit - Guilty as Charged. 1983 USA-Washington

A few years ago I bought an album by a little known band called Chasar. There I wrote: "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." 

Replace Scotland with Seattle and you pretty much have Culprit's sole album as well. This one slipped under the radar, but is really a very creative album for the time and place. While Queensryche were getting all the local attention, Culprit were more innovative. This comes two years before Fates Warning got serious about bringing progressive rock ideas to heavy metal. But there are similarities here. A very inventive release where multiple listens reveal more each time. Easy recommendation for early metal fans.

Ownership: LP: 1983 Shrapnel. Single sleeve. Another part of the large buy from a local offline seller. There looks to be a high quality CD reissue with bonus tracks, and easy to find to, if you'd rather go that way. If I find one on the cheap, I'd probably supplement this copy.

9/8/22 (new entry)

Fastway. 1983 England

Last year I wrote about Fastway's sophomore album All Fired Up!, a very fine hard rock effort. I spoke about the history of the band there, so I won't cover that again. Now I've happened upon the debut, which I was more familiar with in the past. Primarily the song 'Say What You Will', which received decent airplay real time. Overall though, this debut is the template for future releases. Pure Zeppelin-ish hard rock. Which is why I didn't go for it much back in the day. By 1983, bands like Metallica were showing up, and that's what I wanted out of heavy metal. And yes, the latter designation is where Fastway was placed back then, due to its Motorhead heritage. But it's not metal at all. This is pure unabated late 70s styled hard rock, which obviously I appreciate more now than in my youth. I enjoyed this more than All Fired Up!, and I'll probably only keep one. This will likely be the sole representative for my collection. A decision for another day.

Ownership: LP: 1983 Columbia. Single sleeve with lyric inner bag. I like the simplicity of the checkered race flag cover - says what it needs to say. Found for a $1 at an estate sale (same one as the Goedert that I wrote about yesterday). Not as common an album as one would think (in the wilds) as I'm sure it sold quite a bit of copy back in the day.

8/30/22 (new entry)

Dio - Holy Diver. 1983 USA

I still remember the buzz on Dio's debut Holy Diver before its original release. There was a genuine sense of excitement given that Dio was of heavy metal royalty coming off a successful stint with Black Sabbath (not to mention Rainbow of course). Dio himself was going on and on about how Vivian Campbell was basically the next Randy Rhoads. And backed up by hard rock veterans like Jimmy Bain and Vinny Appice, there seemed to be no chance of a failed effort. So I bought the LP the first day it hit the shelves. I liked it. I didn't love it - nope - but I did enjoy it. It just didn't knock my socks off. It really didn't move the needle forward in the innovation category. Just a solid set of mid tempo metal anthems, a bit more tight and contemporary than Sabbath or Rainbow, but nonetheless the influences were similar. Eventually I moved the LP out and hadn't thought about the album in 20 years probably (as evidenced by my omission of a rating here until now). Time has passed, and nostalgia has kicked in. $5 will net one a new (original pressing) CD, so why not revisit? With rose colored glasses on of course. The result? Pretty much what I remember. Except I get more of a time and place kicker from it now. Solid early 80s metal from one of the captains of the industry. Every home should own one.

Ownership: LP: 1983 Warner Bros. Single sleeve with picture inner. Purchased from a local offline dealer (2022) for a bargain of a price (same guy as High 'N' Dry and many others to be announced). This replaces the commodity CD mentioned in the review above.

5/20/14 (RYM); 8/21/22 (new entry with LP acquisition)

Def Leppard - Pyromania. 1983 England

My history with Def Leppard goes back to the very beginning. Not the EP, but On Through the Night. Drummer Rick Allen is only one year older than me, so we were both young teens then. I was still a freshman in high school when this album came out. How I even heard about it was interesting. As with many schools, we always received a one week break in the spring. Back then (in Texas) it was still called an "Easter break" (even in the public schools), then they separated the religious dates and event to the more secular "Spring break". I'm not quite sure when that happened, but I bring it up because the date of release for On Through the night is March 14, 1980. So right about the same time. Because of this yearly break, my Mom and I would join my Dad on his business trips. He was the consummate travelling salesman, working in the industrial uniform business. And he controlled his schedule, so San Antonio would be one of our favorites choices as a destination. He had a favorite motel (yes, that's mo-tel - old days here), that had a nice swimming pool and good places to eat. And my parents even had a social set down there, all related to the business. Anyway...

If you're wondering why I'm offering this background, think a bit deeper of what's happening. San Antonio, 1980. For those who know their metal history, San Antonio was ground zero for the metal movement in the USA (look it up). They had DJ's (Joe Anthony being the most famous) who played the newest albums by hard rock and metal groups. Coming from Dallas, it was much more scarce to hear anything like Def Leppard and Iron Maiden (actually we didn't - not back then anyway). So at age 15, listening to the radio was the new highlight of going south to San Antonio. I was at an age where playing in the pool wasn't so exciting anymore. Hearing Def Leppard for the first time, now that was eventful. Of course, upon arrival back home, I arm squeezed my Dad to stop at a record store so I could buy the album (now that I think about it - I was driving then on a permit. I made him wait in the car lol). Which I subsequently listened to 100's of times afterward. And, as luck would have it, I saw them open up for the Scorpions and Ted Nugent in the summer (at the new Reunion Arena), just a few months after first discovering them. It was one of the first concerts I ever attended. So yea, I was a bona fide Def Leppard fan.

One year later, during the summer of 1981, out came High 'N' Dry which I purchased on the spot. Had you asked me on Day 1 what I thought of the album, I would have told you it was great. But I knew it wasn't. Over the next year, my interest in the album had started to wane. As did my interest in the group in general. I was looking for heavier material, and more bands were cropping up to offer just that. Finding these albums were more the issue.

This is my personal setup for Pyromania. Instincts told me it was going to blow. And the fact that now the radio was all about Def Leppard, I knew something had gone awry. After hearing the album, played in full on its radio debut night, I about puked. Kiddie, pop metal. Music for wimps. I was a grizzled tough guy from the streets. I knew real metal... bla bla bla. We all have to be 17 at some point...

Of course MTV was now a thing, so Pyromania was inescapable. I went from a fan to now hating them. There were new "metal shows" popping up on the radio everywhere, and they all played this kind of crap. Where's Iron Maiden? And people wonder how Metallica was able to scorch the earth so quickly in 1983. Us hardened metal dudes were all starving for just that!

Are you actually going to listen to this CD now? Haha, yes, I'm getting there. 38 years on from my complete disdain of Def Leppard, I'm sitting down for an objective listen to Pyromania. Disc one of the set is the album proper. In hearing this, it's truly amazing how the band were able to tap into the psyche of the era. Hit after hit after hit. All the songs are very well crafted, and quite varied really. It's definitely pandering for a large audience, which they obviously succeeded at doing. Hard to blame a group for wanting to be megastars. And they most certainly did that. Overall, of course, my low rating for this album was not warranted. It was an emotional scoring from my late teen years. It's not something I would keep on its own, but yea, it's certainly good.

Then comes the second, live CD. Recorded in Los Angeles in 1983. OK, now I can really see the allure here. The tracks from Pyromania are much rawer than the polished Mutt Lange produced album, and they come alive in this set. And of course there are live renditions of earlier material from their first 2 albums, bringing me all the way back to my 1980 experience with the band. Ah shoot - I like this, despite my emotional pleas to the contrary. Ha. Yea, I'm keeping Pyromania as part of the collection. Sacrilege I would have decried in 1983. Sigh.

Ownership: 2009 Mercury (USA). Deluxe Edition. The CD comes in a fine multi-foldout digi-pak (in a slipcase) with a full essay about the band and the time. Recent thrift shop pickup (2021).

3/2/21 (new entry)

Images. 1983 USA-Colorado

I'm always on the lookout for local releases, and it seems I've run into this title before, but didn't pay attention close. So when this mint copy showed up at a local thrift shop, I nailed it. These guys were from Castle Pines, just south of Denver. The mountain and lake picture on the cover (oddly it appears the photo is from California - why not Colorado?) makes it look like any number of new age albums on the market at the time. Well it's not that, but it is a variant on smooth jazz. Even though woodwinds artist Joe Anderies lists flute, alto flute, and tenor sax, he is shown playing the trusty soprano sax, and that would be his preferred instrument (to my dismay). On the bright side, main songwriter Lee Bartley provides the wonderful grand piano and Fender Rhodes. There's also some guest female vocals on the first side that adds much needed variety. I found the compositions a cut above normal, and made for a very pleasant early evening listen. Given its provenance, this one stays.

Ownership: LP: 1983 Echo. Single sleeve. Recently acquired as noted above. Easy to find if you're so inclined.

Slayer - Show No Mercy. 1983 USA

I pretty much avoided Slayer in my youth, as I was never too comfortable with satanic imagery (still not). But like a lot of these early metal bands, it was more cartoonish than serious. Besides Araya was (and is) a practicing Catholic lol. In any case, the music here is fairly primitive, a long way from the competitor's Kill 'em All, but there's much more ideas and thought here than I'd ever expected. Not really thrash at this point, more toward Iron Maiden and Judas Priest actually. Worth keeping.

CD: 2007 Icarus (Argentina)

No better way to obtain these old metal albums than via bulk buy CDs dirt cheap. Folks are giving them away, so sure I'll take them then....

Elohim - Mana Perdu... 1983 France

Start with Seven Stories Into Eight era IQ (that is to say... the beginning), then toss Peter Nicholls out of the band, and invite instead Christian Decamps or Dominique Le Guennec. Now Tim Esau, time for you to leave, and we'll bring in Bernard Paganotti. Well, not Paganotti himself, but maybe a first year student of the master. Paul Cook - yea I think you're probably too good, and we'll just bring in some bum from the street to play drums. Holmes and Orford, you get to stay, though Martin you need to keep the palette of keyboard sounds to a minimum.

OK then.... Mana Perdu!

There's something incredibly charming about these old early 80s amateur prog bands. I first heard this album on LP in 1988, and it did nothing for me at the time. Now I hear it as something of a classic. Funny how that works... You really need to be a fan of the genre though, or otherwise this is not likely to resonate at all.

BTW - vocalist Jean-Paul Trutet went on to form Hecenia, whose second album La Couleur Du Feu is something of a modern masterpiece.

Personal collection
CD: 2000 Musea

For some reason the CD changed the band moniker's font. I like the original better (as pasted here).

Opus 1 - Opus. 1983 Germany

Opus (aka Pur) were an obscure German band from the early 80s who released this one quite intriguing album. Imagine Marillion doing their updated take-on-Genesis bit, but as a Neue Deutsche Welle band singing in German, rather than as a neo prog outfit. Yea, I know, but try.... There..... Now you get it... right? There's even mellotron on a few tracks. Jeez, these guys were hedging bets all over the place.

Discogs has the original as 1981, and RYM as 1983. The latter is the copyright date on the CD, and the music certainly sounds more like 1983 to me. I had no idea it was already reissued on CD, because of the name switch. Discogs put that together for me (RYM doesn't list it). I'm not sure it's worth pursuing to be honest, but an interesting album all the same. I'd keep the CD if it showed up. They should have stuck with the original artwork though.

Last listen: August 8, 2016

Stencil Forest - Opening Act. 1983 USA-Indiana

Small world time for me. One of the members of Stencil Forest is the older brother of a very good friend of mine who I met through my work in the software industry. When I first visited his brother (who had already relocated to Denver where we all lived), he stuck this album in my face and said "So you're into obscure rock music - bet you haven't heard of Stencil Forest?". He was right - I hadn't (this was back in 1995). They were from that unlikely hotbed of talent - Fort Wayne*, Indiana (Ethos, latter day Happy the Man). For those that are exceptionally perceptive, they did indeed get their name from the Happy The Man tune and apparently hung out with them quite a bit in the early 80's. So fast forward to 2004. They just re-mastered the tapes and privately released their sole album on CD. It sounds absolutely fantastic! Very professionally done throughout. Musically this is Midwest pomp/AOR with a prog twist. Think Styx, Kansas, later period Starcastle, REO Speedwagon, Shooting Star, etc… Oh you know, stuff that comes from this list. Given the progressive leanings, probably the Canadian group Saga would be the most apt comparison. What’s most interesting is how creative some of the instrumental breaks can be. Not in a flashy chops way, but very much like a Happy The Man or Genesis in their prime would do. There’s also the cringe inducing choruses and obvious play for radio, but they really were shooting for the big time, as was everyone else in those days. Had this come out a couple of years earlier, they might have made it too. The only song on here that plays it straight throughout is 'Looking Back', one that can be skipped over quickly. The title track is a Cliff Notes version of what Stencil Forest are all about. You’ll be fumbling for the remote after hearing the starting sequence with its 1980's AOR guitar chord rock and insipid chorus lines. Then, suddenly, the composition shifts to a complex and highly melodic mid-section. And back and forth it goes. This type of adventurism wasn't found on most 1980's arena rock albums. 'Celestial Voices', 'Just a Fantasy' and 'Crossroads' all have this yin / yang quality about them. 'The Pandemonium Shadow Show' is, not surprising with a title like that, the all-in progressive rock track that makes fans of the genre wish they'd just done a whole album of similar. It’s also the longest track clocking in near 9 minutes (again no surprise). The final two tracks, 'Indian Summer' and 'Five Studded Poker Player' are probably the best overall when considering the balance of melodic content and progressive interludes. In fact, the latter track would've been my surprise pick for a single, as it has the type of hook that lasts long after the album has ceased playing. Even the 1992 bonus cut ‘Five by Five’ is similar in construct. For vintage gear heads, it’s the Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory with Mellotron, Hammond B-3, Mini-Moog, and Hohner D-6 Clavinet. Stencil Forest are a six member group so a lot of ideas and synergy can be heard. I can really appreciate the time and place aspect of this kind of music. And this is one of the finest examples I’ve heard – especially for the genre’s late date.

*Some of the band members were from Elkhart, but they set up shop in Fort Wayne.

Ownership: LP: 1983 Realtime. Single sleeve. Online acquisition (2018).

CD: 2004 private. Jewel case release with one bonus track. Acquired as noted above.

9//04; 8/21/16 (new entry)

Circles - s/t. 1983 Germany

What drew me to the debut by Circles is it isn't some sort of ordinary 80s electronik album. For one, there are few sequencers and zero Moog solos. And it certainly isn't "minimal synth". No - rather Circles seems to have channeled their inner Can, especially their instrumental years around 1974 and 1975 - that happened to be documented many years after these recordings via The Peel Sessions (and my personal favorite era of the band). Lots of psychedelic guitars, psychotic echoed vocals, flute, sax, trumpet, and even some steady metronomic drums (perhaps almost too rock oriented compared to the ultra disciplined Can). Some of the spacier moments recall Cluster's II album. It's amazing to me how well Circles' debut album captures the early 1970s Krautrock spirit. There's absolutely nothing Eighties about it.

Personal collection
CD: 2016 Mental Experience (Spain)

The CD reissue is taken from vinyl (masters are gone), but remastered nicely by Alan Freeman (Ultima Thule) and includes his full liner notes as well. An excellent reissue.

Cytrus - Kurza Twarz. 1980-1985 Poland (archival)

If you ever wondered what it would sound like if mid 1970s Kansas mixed with early 1980s Solaris - and who wouldn't wonder about that? - then you now have your answer. With perhaps some additional guitar rave-ups similar to late 70s Fermata. It's obscure prog blender night! Seriously though, this archival release from Poland's Cytrus is absolute dynamite. Recorded from various radio studio sessions over a period from 1980 to 1985, the band goes on to prove they are an instrumental tour de force. At least for the first 11 tracks presented here (1980-82, 84). The final 4 tracks (1983; 85) apply vocals to a bit more conventional songwriting, though they never stray too far away from a creative break... or three. Cytrus' wunderkind is Marian Narkowicz, the inventive gentleman who provides both the violin and the flute.

Personal collection
CD: 2006 Metal Mind

The CD comes with full liner notes in Polish, but laid out so one can easily discern the salient facts. Many photos as well. Wonderful sound too.

Tamarisk - Frozen in Time. 1982-1983 England

Tamarisk reminds me of everything I like about the NWOBPR scene. They're tight, melodic, fast, and reasonably complex. The vocalist sounds like every other UK vocalist who spent a wasted youth with his dogeared Genesis albums (I mean that as a compliment). The guitar playing, in particular, is well done. And lots of mellotron on Lost Properties. All in all, very satisfying material.

CD: 2012 private (as Frozen in Time)

The two cassettes are very obscure, and I personally had never even heard of Tamarisk back in the day, even though I was already deep diving the NWOBPR scene in the early 1980s. Moe Curly turned me onto them via a CD-R only a few years back, and thus they became a feature on our CDRWL site. Frozen in Time is a well done private CD reissue of Tamarisk's two albums made by the band. The first 4 tracks are from the Lost Properties EP cassette (1983), whereas tracks 5 to 7 are from their debut EP cassette (1982). There are no bonus tracks.

Eskaton - Fiction. 1983 France

Quite simply a brilliant fusion of dark 1970's Magma inspired Zeuhl and early 1980's bright New Wave sounds. Our two angelic gals are joined by main songwriter Marc Rozenberg on vocals here, adding a bizarre male narration to the proceedings. Perhaps even better is the heavy use of that wonderful compressed French fuzz guitar sound, an instrument largely missing from Zeuhl music in general. Unless, of course, you've heard that incredible brilliant debut by Eider Stellaire. And there you have the storyline for Fiction: Early Eskaton meets Eider Stellaire. I will tell you this - there is no other album like Eskaton's Fiction. Not one. Nada. If the early 80's were filled with albums like Fiction, it could have well been my favorite era of music. Alas, it was not meant to be. Folks, you really need to listen to me while I shout from the mountaintops here: Eskaton were the embodiment of pure genius. Do not miss anything the band released. Buy them all. Listen to them repeatedly. You cannot go wrong here. If everyone thinks you're nuts, then you know you've found gold.

Ownership: LP: 1983 private. Single sleeve. Mail order acquisition (1994).

CD: 2005 Soleil Zeuhl. Jewel box reissue with excellent sound, photos and lyrics. Different song order than the LP. As bonus tracks, the reissue includes 'Le Musicien', which is a rare track from a compilation called Preludes (1985). As well, the reissue contains 4 tracks from the unreleased 1985 album Icare.

1994; 2//05; 11/9/12 (new entry)

Tangle Edge - Improvised Drop Outs. 1983 Norway

Improvised Drop Outs is well named, as that's exactly what it is. Basically these are relatively short song skeletons, with free form psychedelic improvisations thrown on top. If you're familiar with Tangle Edge at all, the style is instantly recognizable even at this early stage. It can all be a bit much. As the AC joked on the CDRWL: "seems like nine and a half hours", but it does have a trance like effect if you leave it in the background. It's incidental film and TV music for an opium den. For my ears, this is way more preferable than the modern noise makers such as Acid Mother's Temple.

Ownership: CD: 2010 private

The CD is titled Dropouts and is self-released by the band. It's a 2 CD set in a small flip pack. It's lacking any extras, like bonus tracks, liner notes or photos, but it's still nice to have this on CD - and much better than those old cassettes! Despite this, I had too much Tangle Edge already, and let this one go.

9/10/11 (new entry)

Bacamarte - Depois do Fim. 1983 Brazil

Considered by many, including myself, as the best 1980s era progressive rock album for all of South America. The scene was rich in the 1970s, but had pretty much died by the 80s, with a handful of exceptions. Bacamarte definitely sounds like a band from the 70s, and it's been said the album was recorded in 1978. Speedy guitar runs, complex meters, soaring female vocals and melodic passages all define this mature work. Highly recommended. It must be said though, that the band doesn't really sound Brazilian as there's a total absence of indigenous sounds. In this way, Bacamarte are more like the current South American progressive scene as found in both Brazil and Chile.

Ownership: CD: 1995 Rarity. Contains one bonus track. My first exposure to this album was the original LP on Som-Arte (1992), which I sold upon obtaining the CD (1995). Probably wouldn't do that today, but no great regrets either. I did obtain good money for it.

1992; 1995; 2/9/10 (new entry)