Jeremy Porter remembers legendary Iron Maiden vocalist Paul Di’Anno
Read MoreFive Live Albums that Signified the End of an Era, Episode One: Scorpions / World Wide Live - by Jeremy Porter
Jeremy Porter premiers a new Pencil Storm series exploring five classic live albums that captured the end of a special era in a band’s history.
Read MoreFebruary 26, 1981 Judas Priest Release Point Of Entry - by Scott Carr
US Cover art.
UK cover art
Released on February 26th 1981, Point of Entry is the seventh studio album by British metal gods Judas Priest.
In the 36 years since its release, Point Of Entry has become somewhat of a forgotten gem in the Priest discography. Released just ten months after their worldwide breakthrough album British Steel and followed up by the band's biggest selling album Screaming For Vengeance less than a year and half later. Point of Entry often gets lost in the shadows of these iconic metal classics.
After the success of the previous years' British Steel, Judas Priest found themselves with a bigger budget to record its follow up and sonically came up with their best sounding album to date. The band also had very little time to come up with new material for their new record.. The majority of the songs were written in the studio, which was typically not the way the band had done their previous records. Generally, Halford and Co. had most of the material worked out prior to entering the studio, but with the success and touring for British Steel there was no time for a break.
British Steel had spawned a minor hit with the anthem-esque "Living After Midnight," so the band took a more commercial direction with the material on Point of Entry. Three singles and videos were released from the record, including "Heading Out To The Highway". That song opens the record and sets the tone for the the songs that follow: a crunchy opening guitar riff, harmony guitar solo and a big chorus. "Don't Go" is up next and is probably the most different sounding track on the record, with it's pop rock swagger. "Hot Rockin'" is classic Priest and sounds like it was lifted right off of British Steel. This song is textbook Priest. "Turning Circles" again ventures into a more pop rock realm but has enough crunch that it still sounds like Judas Priest. Side one closes with the atmospheric sounding "Desert Plains" and is a highlight of the record. "Desert Plains" became a staple of the Judas Priest live set list for years to come.
"Solar Angels" kicks off side two with a mid-tempo grind and soaring vocals from Rob Halford. This track would open every show of the 1981 World Wide Blitz tour and became a fan favorite from the record. The last four songs on the record all kind of follow the same format: short, rocking and melodic. Of these four songs, "Troubleshooter" would be the strongest; the others are good but a bit forgettable.
While the band has said there wasn't a conscious decision to go in a more pop oriented direction with Point Of Entry, that definitely seemed to be the case. The core songwriting team of lead vocalist Rob Halford and guitarists KK Downing and Glenn Tipton have stated that it just happened organically and that's just how the songs came out. The record was recorded in Spain and it has been said there were many outside distractions during the recording of the record, so that may have also contributed to the overall direction of the record.
Point Of Entry went gold and was considered a bit of a failure compared to the million selling British Steel.
I rank this record pretty high in the Priest catalog and I loved it immediately. I thought it sounded different at the time but it worked for me. Of course I tend to like when a band takes a left turn and does something a little different. Priest would return to their metal roots with 1982's Screaming For Vengeance. Point Of Entry was not the bands last flirtation with pop tho, they tried it again with 1986's Turbo but the result was mediocre at best.
Some say Point Of Entry was a misstep for the metal gods but I think time has been good to this record and it still sounds fresh and exciting.
During the 1981 World Wide Blitz tour Judas Priest was scheduled to play my hometown of Huntington, WV with Iron Maiden as their opening act. Sadly that show got cancelled due to "lack of interest, low ticket sales": I'm pretty sure that's exactly how it read in the local newspaper. I was crushed. Luckily though, they would return to Huntington a year later, again with Iron Maiden as their opening act. Screaming For Vengeance had become a worldwide million seller and Point Of Entry was a distant memory. Things were right with the world and the Metal Gods were riding high once again.
Scott Carr is a guitarist who plays in the Columbus, OH bands Radio Tramps andReturning April. Scott is also an avid collector of vinyl records and works at Lost Weekend Records. So...if you are looking for Scott....you'll either find him in a dimly lit bar playing his guitar or in a record store digging for the holy grail.
THIS MONTH IN ROCK 'N ROLL HISTORY - IRON MAIDEN RELEASE THEIR FIRST ALBUM, BY SCOTT CARR
April 14, 1980 - Iron Maiden: Iron Maiden is released.
In a time when many were predicting the demise of heavy metal, 1980 proved to be a banner year for the genre. Black Sabbath and AC/DC both made triumphant returns with new lead singers. Black Sabbath had split with Ozzy Osbourne and brought in former Rainbow lead singer Ronnie James Dio and released their classic "Heaven and Hell" album. AC/DC had the tough task of replacing Bon Scott, who had passed away in February of 1980 but by July they returned with the biggest album of their career, "Back In Black." Also in 1980 Ozzy Osbourne released his debut solo album and Judas Priest made their commercial breakthrough with "British Steel." Although these heavy metal veterans were making great strides in keeping the metal flag flying, there was new breed of heavy metal bands coming out of England that would inject new life into the scene and pave the way for what would be metal's biggest decade.
This movement in the UK was dubbed the "New Wave of British Heavy Metal" by writer Geoff Barton for the first time in the May 1979 issue of Sounds magazine and was a way to describe this second wave of British metal music that was taking shape. Leading the way in the NWOBHM were Saxon, Motorhead, Def Leppard, Diamond Head, Girlschool and Iron Maiden. Iron Maiden was formed in 1975 by bassist and chief songwriter Steve Harris. but it would take a few years of trial and error before Harris would find the right combination of players for Iron Maiden. The band recorded their first demos on December 31st, 1978 and would eventually release these tracks as "The Soundhouse Tapes" in November of 1979 on their own label. "The Soundhouse Tapes" quickly sold 5,000 copies and the band secured a recording contract with EMI in December 1979.
The band attempted to record their debut album in December of 1979 with a couple different producers, but the sessions proved to be unsuccessful and the band went on tour. In January 1980 a third attempt was made to complete the record and with producer Wil Malone on board they finished the album in just 13 days. The album was released on April 14th, 1980 and received rave reviews from the British press and was a big hit on the UK charts. The sound of the album is very aggressive & raw and at times sounds almost punk..Steve Harris has commented that the band hated everything about punk rock music and that their music had nothing in common with the punk rock scene that had become very popular in England at the time. Listening to the album, it's hard to deny that punk had an impact on the energy and overall attitude of Maiden and the new wave of metal. Early favorites such as "Prowler," "Phantom of the Opera," "Charlotte the Harlot," "Transylvania" and "Remember Tomorrow" are included as well as the title track "Iron Maiden." 'Running Free" was released as the first single from the album and the band made an appearance on Top of the Pops. Maiden refused to lip-sync their performance on Top of the Pops and became the first band since The Who in 1972 to perform live on the show. The U.S. version of the album featured "Sanctuary," a track not included on the original UK release. Iron Maiden released three singles in 1980: "Running Free," "Sanctuary," and "Women in Uniform," all of which featured cover art by Derek Riggs, who also designed the cover for the first album, which featured the bands iconic mascot "Eddie." Riggs would work with the band into the 90's on most of their album & single covers and his artwork became almost as iconic as the bands' music.
"Running Free" single
"Sanctuary" single
The line up for this album included singer Paul Di'Anno, drummer Clive Burr, guitarists Dave Murray and Dennis Stratton and of course bassist Steve Harris. The band toured in support of the album opening for KISS on the European leg of their "Unmasked" tour and shortly thereafter guitarist Dennis Stratton was fired and Adrian Smith was brought in as his replacement. The band would record one more record with singer Paul Di'Anno - 1981's "Killers" - and then he would be replaced by former Samson vocalist Bruce Dickinson. With Dickinson in place the band became a huge international success with the release of their third studio album, "The Number of the Beast." One more line-up change came when Clive Burr was replaced by Trust drummer Niko McBrain: this would become the most stable and successful line up in the bands history.
Early Iron Maiden.
Thirty-five years on Iron Maiden remains one of the most successful metal bands in the world, selling out huge stadiums all around the globe and releasing new albums every few years. Maiden's first record is still a fan favorite and the band closes most shows with it's title song and a song that bares their name, "Iron Maiden".
Scott Carr is a guitarist who plays in the Columbus, OH bands Radio Tramps and Returning April. Scott is also an avid collector of vinyl records and works at Lost Weekend Records. So...if you are looking for Scott....you'll either find him in a dimly lit bar playing his guitar or in a record store digging for the holy grail.
A page from Iron Maiden's 1981 "Killers" tour book documenting their tour with KISS in 1980.
THIS WEEK IN ROCK N ROLL HISTORY - HEAR 'N AID CELEBRATES 29TH ANNIVERSARY, BY SCOTT CARR
When talking about charity songs from the 1980's, Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" and USA For Africa's "We Are The World" generally come to mind first. Both singles brought together some of the biggest pop music stars of the 80's to help raise money for famine relief throughout the world. Band Aid was made up of mainly British and Irish performers while USA For Africa was predominately American artists. These songs were very successful, "Do They Know It's Christmas?" went to the No. 1 position in the British Charts while "We Are The World" took the top spot on the Billboard singles chart in America. While both projects proved to be a hit, there was no real involvement from anyone outside the pop music genre.......and it left a void that felt like the rock world had been left out.
In 1985 the heavy metal/hard rock music community came together to create their own anthem to help in the world's fight against hunger. The project was called Hear 'N Aid and the song they delivered was "Stars." The initial idea was brought to the table by DIO band members Jimmy Bain and Vivian Campbell. Jimmy felt that representation from the hard rock/heavy metal community was light in regards to the fight against famine and thought it was time for hard rock/heavy metal artists to step up and do their part to help and be heard. Jimmy and Vivian talked to Ronnie James Dio about their idea to create a charity single, Ronnie liked the idea and the three wrote the song "Stars."
The song was recorded in 1985 over two days at A&M studios in Hollywood, California. The project featured contributions from members of Dio, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Quiet Riot, Dokken, Mötley Crüe, Twisted Sister, Queensrÿche, Blue Öyster Cult, Vanilla Fudge, Y&T, Rough Cutt, Giuffria, Journey, W.A.S.P., Night Ranger and even parody band Spinal Tap was involved. Lead vocal duties for the track were shared between Ronnie James Dio, Rob Halford, Kevin DuBrow, Eric Bloom, Geoff Tate, Dave Meniketti, Don Dokken and Paul Shortino. A lengthy guitar solo was recorded for the mid-section of the song and included blazing riffs from the likes of Vivian Campbell, Carlos Cavazo, Buck Dharma, Brad Gillis, Craig Goldy, George Lynch, Yngwie Malmsteen, Eddie Ojeda, Neal Schon, Ted Nugent plus Iron Maiden's Dave Murray and Adrian Smith supplied a nice harmony guitar part.
Ronnie James Dio had intended for the single to be released shortly after it was recorded but due to legal issues with some of the artists involved it did not get released until January 1st, 1986. Dio felt that the delay in releasing the single may have hurt the impact it made. "Stars" was released as a single and there was also a documentary called "Hear 'N Aid - The Sessions" released at the same time. A compilation album was released featuring "Stars" as the lead track and included live tracks from some artists that were unable to participate to the recording of the single, including Kiss, Accept, Motorhead, Rush and others. Hear 'N Aid was originally only available on vinyl and cassette. In 1994 it was released on CD for the first time, but only in Japan. Ronnie James Dio's widow Wendy Dio has said that there will be a reissue of the project on CD & DVD at some point and that there are plenty of outtakes that will be included. No info on when this may happen.
The project was reported to have raised 1 million dollars in its first year.
I have included a couple links below, one is the documentary on the making of "Stars." The section featuring the recording of the lead vocals is worth the price of admission alone. Check it out....good stuff.
Scott Carr is a guitarist who plays in the Columbus, OH bands Radio Tramps and Returning April. Scott is also an avid collector of vinyl records and works at Lost Weekend Records. So...if you are looking for Scott....you'll either find him in a dimly lit bar playing his guitar or in a record store digging for the holy grail.
